Signature Inn South Bend, Indiana

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing maps

map graphic courtesy of signature-inns.com at archive.org

Located in northern Indiana just off the toll road is Signature Inn's South Bend location.  This was one of three hotels built in 1986 and featured 123 rooms, two fewer than the other hotels built in this year.

The front/entrance of the hotel

The entrance canopy still retains its lights and skylights!

a shot of the canopy

Zoomed in on the canopy to better show the lights

I am unsure if this hotel was built with an indoor pool, or if the enclosure was built after the fact.  Imagery from Historic Aerials in 1998 shows the pool enclosed; the capture prior to that was from 1967, nearly 20 years before the hotel was built.

the pool area

The hotel became a Jameson Inn in 2006.  This was one of the last seven Signature Inn hotels owned by Jameson.  After December of 2012 or January of 2013, it became a Quality Inn.  Interestingly, according to St. Joseph County's records,  the owner is still listed as JER Jameson Properties LLC...

sources for this post include the St. Joseph County, Indiana, auditor's website, signature-inns.com archived at archive.org, jamesoninns.com archived at archive.org, and imagery found through Bing Maps.

Photographs not accredited in their captions were taken by me.  These and additional photos can be found here: Formerly Signature Inn by Ryan on Flickr

Signature Inn Evansville, Indiana and Florence, Kentucky

Since I have not visited either the Evansville or Florence locations, I have no photos of them.  To make up for the lack of photographic material, I decided to combine two hotels into one post.

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing maps

map graphic courtesy of signature-inns.com at archive.org

The Evansville Signature Inn was one of three hotels built in 1986.  It was on the larger side of the hotels with 125 rooms.

This hotel would become a Jameson Inn sometime in 2006 when many others were converted from Signature Inn.  It would remain in the chain until December of 2012 when it became a Howard Johnson.

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing maps

map graphic courtesy of signature-inns.com at archive.org

The Florence, Kentucky, location was another of the three locations built in 1986.  Like the Evansville location, it had 125 rooms.   This was one of three hotels in the Cincinnati area, as shown by the map below:

map graphic courtesy of signature-inns.com at archive.org

This hotel likely missed the changeover to the Jameson flag, as it was sold in late 2003 or early 2004 (according to the time it disappeared from the website).  In doing an address search, names I've found associated with the address include Ramada Limited, Hotel Ivy, and Clarion.  It is currently a Baymont Inn & Suites.

sources for this post include the Vanderburgh County, Indiana, auditor's website, signature-inns.com archived at archive.org, jamesoninns.com archived at archive.org, and imagery found through Google Maps and Bing Maps.  The dividing lines were also "borrowed" from Signature Inn's old site.

Photographs of other Signature Inn locations can be found here: Formerly Signature Inn by Ryan on Flickr

Signature Inn Columbus, Ohio

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing maps

map graphic courtesy of signature-inns.com at archive.org

 This hotel was built in 1985 and out of the five built that year, it was the only one that was not located in Indiana.  The Columbus, Ohio, location was also the largest one built that year, with 125 rooms.

The Columbus hotel was listed on Jameson Inn's site until September/October of 2006, but the county auditor's records show that it was sold in February 2006.  I am not sure if this ever received the Jameson name, but my inclination is probably not.

This hotel has been a Ramada Inn since then.  There has not been a whole lot of work done to the exterior of the hotel, though the metal cladding on the side of the building has been replaced with some sort of stucco or masonry work.  The same had been added to the canopy pillars.

sources for this post include the Frnaklin County, Ohio, auditor's website, signature-inns.com archived at archive.org, jamesoninns.com archived at archive.org, and imagery found through Google Maps and Bing Maps.

Photographs not accredited in their captions were taken by me.  These and additional photos can be found here: Formerly Signature Inn by Ryan on Flickr

Signature Inn Kokomo, Indiana

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing maps

map graphic courtesy of signature-inns.com at archive.org

Signature Inn built five hotels in 1985, four of them in Indiana.  Three were built in the vicinity of the Indianapolis beltway; this one was built in Kokomo off of what was at the time, US 31.  Interestingly, this appears to the only property that doesn't have an interstate in the vicinity (the closest is 30 miles away).

the front of the building

the building's canopy

Like the other Indiana hotels built in 1985, this hotel had 101 rooms.  I don't know if the enclosed pool was original to the hotel...neither historicaerials.com nor the property records were much help.

looking toward the pool enclosure

Not mentioned in my History Part Two post, but something I stumbled upon while doing some fine-tuning research for this article is that this appears to be another hotel that kept the Signature Inn into the Jameson era.

Though the hotel appears on the Jameson Inns website until 2011, property records show the hotel being transferred to another owner in April 2007 and then again in January 2011.  A Google search on the address turns up the names Best Western and Ramada Inn, along with its current name, Garden Inn.  It's the only still-surviving location that is no longer affiliated with a national brand.

the rear of the building

This is one of a handful of hotels that still retains its original Signature Inn look.

a drive-by shot of the building

sources for this post include the Howard County, Indiana, auditor's website, imagery found on historicaerials.com, signature-inns.com archived at archive.org, jamesoninns.com archived at archive.org, and imagery found through Google Maps and Bing Maps.

Photographs not accredited in their captions were taken by me.  These and additional photos can be found here: Formerly Signature Inn by Ryan on Flickr

Looking at the past 13 months...

This post has nothing to do with the hotels themselves, but as I was preparing the next update, I realized it's been at least a year sine I embarked on this journey.  I went to my photo archives to see exactly how long it had been.

I had known of two locations since the early 1990s, but was never fully aware of how far-reaching the chain was until I saw a billboard one evening as I was driving home from work.

A billboard???

Many billboards back in the day were glued on or painted on; today's are largely some sort of vinyl wrap.  This particular billboard usually advertises a furniture store, but the wrap was missing, uncovering its original message:

The date of the photo was December 3, 2014.  After I found the billboard, I decided to start searching for other locations and what information I could find on the chain.  That made three I knew of, there HAD to be more...

In the months that followed, I found their old website on archive.org, leading me to 24 more of their locations.  A simple "Signature Inn" search online led me to many of the same locations, plus a 28th that wasn't on their site.  I began searching by address to find what the hotels are now and what other names they carried.  I learned that for the most part, county auditor sites are a great source of information (some charge a fee or have limited information; others are a wealth of knowledge).  I eventually decided to begin this blog in order to present what I've learned.  The History of Signature Inn made its debut on June 9, 2015.

As of mid-June 2015, I visited and photographed 17 of 28 locations.  Of the remaining 11, there are seven within a few hours' drive from me that I hope to get to, two that I may never get to, and two that have been demolished.

Also since beginning this project, I managed to find some memorabilia as well.  I ended up with a packet of matches from eBay, and a set of Do Not Disturb signs from a collector of DND signs.

At this point, I am about one third of the way through posting the locations on this blog.  I still expect to feature a new location every two to three weeks, along with any updates as I run across them.

To those that have followed me thus far, thank you!  I hope you have enjoyed what you have seen so far!

Signature Inn Indianapolis East

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing maps

map graphic courtesy of signature-inns.com at archive.org

Signature Inn Indianapolis East was built in 1985, one of five hotels built that year.  It was one of three in the Indianapolis area for the year and by the end of 1985, there would be five Indianapolis locations.  The sixth wouldn't appear until 1996...but that's a whole new post on down the line.

the hotel as it sat in June 2015

the hotel's canopy

the rear of the building

Like the other Indiana locations built in 1985, this hotel had 101 rooms.  As can be seen in many other aerial views I've posted, this one also had an S-shaped pool on the grounds.  I happened to stop by at just the right time, as there was very little activity outside and I was able to snap a quick photo of the pool:

I don't believe this hotel was part of the chain when many of the others became Jameson Inns.  This particular location disappeared from the website between early 2004 and mid-2006.  The property card I was able to dig up on this property wasn't much help.  Historicaerials.com shows that a renovation was done between 2005 and 2010 when it received its current color scheme.  Google Street View from November 2008 shows this hotel being a Best Western, which it still is to this day.

sources for this post include the Howard County, Indiana, auditor's website, imagery found on historicaerials.com, signature-inns.com archived at archive.org, jamesoninns.com archived at archive.org, and imagery found through Google Maps and Bing Maps.

Photographs not accredited in their captions were taken by me.  These and additional photos can be found here: Formerly Signature Inn by Ryan on Flickr

Signature Inn Indianapolis South

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing maps

maps graphic courtesy of signature-inns.com at archive.org

One of five hotels built in 1985 was the location on the south side of Indianapolis.  Signature Inn Indianapolis South had a total of 101 rooms.

the front of the building

the canopy, which still retains the lights & skylights

Looking at historicaerials.com, this building had the classic Signature Inn look until sometime between 2005 and 2010.  Like other locations that were to be re-branded Jameson Inns, I imagine that the repaint took place around the same time as the name change.

This location became a Jameson Inn sometime between 2004 and 2006 and stayed in the chain until November or December of 2012.  It then became a Baymont Inn & Suites.

sources for this post include the Marion County, Indiana, auditor's website, imagery found on historicaerials.com, signature-inns.com archived at archive.org, and imagery found through Bing Maps.

Photographs not accredited in their captions were taken by me.  These and additional photos can be found here: Formerly Signature Inn by Ryan on Flickr