Normal, Illinois, can be added to the list of Signature Inns I've never visited, and to the even shorter list of ones I'll never be able to.
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| aerial imagery courtesy of Bing Maps |
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| map graphic courtesy of signature-inns.com at archive.org |
Normal, Illinois, opened in 1988. It was one of four hotels that would open during that time. This hotel was built with 124 rooms.
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| from The Pantagraph, a photo showing the hotel's lobby. This photo ran two days after the hotel's opening. Courtesy of newspapers.com |
Below are a few photos of the hotel that I found on the Normal Township, Illinois, assessor's website. I love the signage on the hotel!
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| Feb. 2006 photo, courtesy of Normal Twp, IL, assessor |
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| Feb. 2006 photo, courtesy of Normal Twp, IL, assessor |
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| Sept. 2012 photo, courtesy of Normal Twp, IL, assessor |
This hotel was one of a handful that kept the Signature Inn name through the Jameson years. It was sold in late 2012 and became a Howard Johnson in December 2012. Hojo did very little exterior work on the building, thusly retaining its Signature Inn awesomeness.
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| Feb. 2013 photo, courtesy of Normal Twp, IL, assessor |
I found an article from late May 2013 stating that the ceiling under the hotel's canopy had fallen down, resulting in no injuries. Three months later, it was announced that the hotel would close. Demolition commenced in October of that year.
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| from The Pantagraph, 5/29/2013, an article on the hotel's ceiling collapse. The photo came from the newspaper's website; article from newspapers.com |
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A pair of articles from The Pantagraph
Left: 8/1/2013 announcing the hotel's closure
Right: 8/2/2013 announcing the hotel's sale and eventual demolition
Courtesy of newspapers.com |
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from The Pantagraph, 8/31/2013, a classified article advertising an auction of the hotel's contents.
Courtesy of newspapers.com |
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from The Pantagraph, 10/18/2013, a couple of photos on the hotel's demolition
Courtesy of newspapers.com |
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| Oct. 2013 photo, courtesy of Normal Twp, IL, assessor |
The hotel's site is now home to a Chick-Fil-A and a Red Robin restaurant.
sources for this post include the Normal Township, Illinois, assessor's website, information found through newspapers.com, and imagery found through Bing and Google Maps.
Photographs of other Signature Inn locations can be found here: Formerly Signature Inn by Ryan on Flickr
As usual, nice use of the newspaper clippings and other resources to follow the story of this hotel both historically and photographically; it's cool seeing a Signature Inn hotel with Signature Inn signage, haha! Has the site been redeveloped yet?
ReplyDeleteI know, the signage was great!
DeleteI guess I COULD have put that information in the post...the site is now home to a Red Robin and a Chick-Fil-A
Thanks :)
DeleteMaybe next time I'll proofread my work a little better :-Q
DeleteI appreciate history. It is easy to let the local stuff get lost.
ReplyDelete