Signature Inn Peoria, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan

I have not visited either the Peoria or Detroit locations, so I have no photos of them.  I am again creating a double post to make up for the lack of pictures.

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing maps

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

The Peoria, Illinois, Signature Inn was one of four hotels built in 1988.  It contains 124 rooms, which was about the standard, give or take a couple, for those built during that time.

One thing I found of particular interest was that a lot of previous references to this hotel showed a co-branding with Best Western.  I couldn't really tell when it started, but it looked like the Best Western references were gone as of mid-2009.  Also, I was unable to pinpoint when the Jameson name replaced the Signature name, but I can only surmise it was in 2006 when the Jameson name appeared on a lot of the other inns.

This hotel was one of the final seven hotels remaining with the chain, sold in late December 2012 or early January 2013. Since then, it has been a Quality Inn.

Also notable is that the hotel appeared to retain its Signature Inn charm for quite some time.  However, I found a Google capture that shows some significant work had been done.

The exterior walls of the hotel were re-done, as was the roof.  Perhaps even more significant than those two changes were the enclosure over the pool and the heavy renovation to the canopy.

The Detroit, Michigan, location was one of five locations opened in 1987.  Depending on who you ask, this location was referred to as either Detroit or Romulus.  This was on the larger side of the hotels, with 135 rooms.

This hotel missed the changeover to the Jameson flag.  It was sold in 1992 as Signature Inn was exiting its financial troubles and bankruptcy of 1990-1991.  It became a Hampton Inn in early 1992; it was later known as the Lexington Hotel and is currently a LaQuinta Inn.

classified ad from The Detroit News and Free Press, 4/5/1992, mentioning a Hardee's open house.  By this time, the Detroit/Romulus had become a Hampton Inn.  Warren, mentioned a couple posts ago, would hang on for about another year.
courtesy newspapers.com

I am not sure when this building was renovated from its Signature Inn look, but as of 2011, it's still fairly recognizable:

Sometime between July 2011 and July 2015, this property received another renovation.  This time, even more of the Signature Inn look was stripped away, leaving us with:

I almost didn't recognize the property myself!  I had to go back to the 2011 GSV capture to make sure I was looking at the right address.  Tripadvisor.com has some current photos of the property.  Not too shabby, despite the fact it's virtually unrecognizable as a Signature Inn.

sources for this post include the Peoria County, Illinois, auditor's website, signature-inns.com archived at archive.org, jamesoninns.com archived at archive.org, information found at newspapers.com, 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

Has it been a year already?

After posting my Normal, Illinois, article, I realized it had been about a year since The History of Signature Inn began.  Looking at my first blog post, I see I am celebrating the site's one-year anniversary 8 days late.  Better late than never!

In the last year, I have covered 20 of the chain's 35 hotels through the blog, with the other 15 in various stages of the writing process and waiting their turn to see the light of day.  While I had done most of my research and photography just prior to this thing getting off the ground, there were still a handful whose photos I had taken afterward.  Plus, as we all remember, I recently found even more stuff I didn't know I didn't know.

As has been my dream since I started this project, I have been able to spend three nights at two different former Signature Inns and am still looking/hoping for opportunities to stay at others.  It's been a fun year as far as this blog goes and even though my update schedule will take me through about the next seven months, I hope to stretch it out a little bit through additional updates of information I've already presented.

I leave you all with this article from April 1983, courtesy of The Indianapolis Star via newspapers.com.  I love the wording..."Dynamic New Motel"...

Signature Inn Normal, Illinois

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.

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing Maps

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.

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!

Feb. 2006 photo, courtesy of Normal Twp, IL, assessor

Feb. 2006 photo, courtesy of Normal Twp, IL, assessor

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.

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.

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

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

from The Pantagraph, 8/31/2013, a classified article advertising an auction of the hotel's contents.
Courtesy of newspapers.com

from The Pantagraph, 10/18/2013, a couple of photos on the hotel's demolition
Courtesy of newspapers.com

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

Signature Inn Cincinnati North

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing maps

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

One of seven locations built in 1987, the Cincinnati North location opened for business on September 2, 1987.  This hotel is located in the northern suburb of Sharonville and contains 130 rooms.

advertisement for the hotel's 9/2/1987 opening

advertisement for the hotel's 10/14/1987 grand opening celebration

My only stay at a Signature Inn was at this hotel back in 1991 on a trip with my family.  As a child of 10, I enjoyed the semi-frequent road trips we would go on and particularly enjoyed staying in different hotels.  This hotel in particular was one of my favorites to stay in and left quite an impression on me.  I snagged a hotel directory (long since thrown away :( ) and filled out one of the comment cards, to which I received a response in the mail (also gone).  The hotel made such an impression on me that I never forgot about it and here I am now 25 years later writing about it.

One of the things I liked most about the hotel was the lobby, which I unfortunately do not have photos of.  I'm still trying to find an opportunity to stay at a former Signature Inn and snap some photos.

This particular hotel, up until mid-2015, still retained the classic Signature Inn look on the outside.  During the summer, a remodeling project had taken place and along with it, the wall-mounted cladding was painted a darker color.  I have to say that it does dress it up somewhat.

The canopy still has its skylights, but no lights.  In my photos, it's hard to tell if there ever were lights.

While this hotel was still part of the chain after its sale to Jameson Inns, it did not make the changeover to the Jameson name.  The hotel was sold in early 2004 and from what I can tell has been a LivINN since then.

sources for this post include the Hamilton County, Ohio, auditor's website, signature-inns.com archived at archive.org, jamesoninns.com archived at archive.org, and imagery found through Bing Maps.  Newspaper ads courtesy of The Cincinnati Enquirer archived at newspapers.com

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 Dayton, Ohio

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing Maps

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

Signature Inn added seven locations in 1987, one of which was their Dayton, Ohio, location.  This hotel was built on the south side of town on the other side of I-75 from the Dayton Mall.

an overview of the Dayton location

a canopy shot of the Dayton location

This hotel was built, possibly due to the configuration of the lot, without the ell that was common on their other hotels.  Still, somehow this hotel managed to have 125 rooms (at least according to the hotel's old website).

As with many other locations, this still retains its classic 1987 look.

As I stated before in my January 3, 2016 "Looking Back" post, this ended up being the third Signature Inn I had come across.  I knew of one in the Cincinnati area (which will be the next blog post) and one in the Canton area since the early 1990s, but it was on my drive home from work one evening when I spotted an old painted-on billboard advertising Signature Inn.  The vinyl wrap had been removed, exposing the billboard's original message.

A nighttime shot of the billboard.  Being December and with my work hours they way they were, it was always dark when I passed by

I had a chance to take a daytime shot of the billboard about 3 weeks after I took the nighttime shot.  I'm glad I had the opportunity to capture this; it ended up being covered up the next day.

Back to the building itself...

the stairwell area of the building with the sign in the background

This hotel was sold in June 2005, before many other Signature Inns started wearing the Jameson Inn banner.  It was a Days Inn prior to its current branding, Quality Inn & Suites.

looking at the hotel from route 725 across I-75

sources for this post include the Montgomery County, Ohio, 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, Warren, MI

Warren, MI, is another former Signature Inn location that I have no been able to visit.

Earlier on in my posts, I said there were three Signature Inns built in 1986.  Through a series of developments mentioned in my April, 25, 2016 post, I have found a fourth Inn that opened in 1986.

Warren, MI, opened in 1986 on Eleven Mile Rd., just off I-696 almost in between I-75 and I-94.  This 124-room hotel was jettisoned in 1993, after Signature Inns' financial troubles of 1990-1991.  Since then, it has operated as a Holiday Inn Express.

Below are a couple of photos of the hotel that I found on the Macomb County, Michigan, auditor's website from an unknown date.

It's hard to tell through Google Street View what the hotel looks like now, but it appears that the cladding was painted at some point through the years.

Finally, a newspaper ad than ran in the July 23, 1986, edition of the Detroit Free Press.  Warren was set to open later that year (as was Evansville, Indiana, which I covered earlier).

sources for this post include the Macomb County, Michigan, auditor's website, information found through newspapers.com,  and imagery found through Bing Maps.

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

Signature Inn's "missing pieces"

Last week I ran a post stating that I found a 29th location that was never on Signature Inn's website.  Also in that post was reference to an article that stated there were 35 locations built.  Once I found #29, I began a new search to find the six I was missing.  Unfortunately the Internet was largely not around back before 1998, so I figured this new search would be a tad difficult.

Wrong

My searches led me to newspapers.com, a searchable archive of old newspapers around the globe.  They were advertising a free 7-day trial, but they needed my credit card in the event I lose track of days so they can hit me.  At first I backed out of the site because I really didn't want to enter my info, but then I realized that this may just be the ticket.  So, armed with my free trial, I went to town searching for whatever information I could gather.  I ended up with over 100 pages, some about the company's news happenings over the years and some with ads I found particularly interesting.

In that search, I was easily able to find addresses, or at least the general area of the locations I previously had no knowledge of.  Google Maps was very helpful once I knew of the general locations...thank goodness for Signature Inns' unique look and footprint!  I found some updated dates as well for openings of some of the other locations.  Some I found a full date for, some I found at least a month and year; others had no mention and what I listed before still stands.  I also was able to update a few dates as to when some of the hotels were sold.

Following is my attempt to correct and add to my earlier-posted timeline.  I have put my corrections/additions in bold:
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Their first hotel was opened in 1981 in northwest Indianapolis, Indiana.  Many more locations were built through the 1980s, with at least one each year being built up through 1989.  One was constructed in 1996.  Four locations were other hotels purchased by Signature Inn, two in 1987 and two in 1997.  All together, the chain consisted of 35 locations.  Indiana, the chain's home state, contained 14 locations.  Ohio and Michigan contained six locations, Kentucky had four hotels, Illinois had three, and Iowa and Tennessee each had one hotel.  There was a 36th hotel planned in Nashville, Tennessee, for 1995, but those plans were cancelled and the land was sold in 1998.

Below is a timeline I've put together showing the chain's growth:

1981 – Indianapolis Northwest (IN) opens

1982 – Fort Wayne (IN) opens

1983 – Indianapolis/Castleton and Lafayette (IN) open

1984 – Muncie (IN) and Cincinnati Northeast (OH) open

1985 – Indianapolis West, Indianapolis South, Indianapolis East, and Kokomo (IN), and Columbus (OH) open

1986 – Evansville (IN), Florence (KY), and Warren (MI) open

1987 – Elkhart, South Bend, and Terre Haute (IN), Detroit/Romulus and Grand Rapids (MI), and Cincinnati North and Dayton (OH) open.  Terre Haute and Grand Rapids were other hotels before becoming Signature Inns

1988 – Normal and Peoria (IL), and Lexington and Louisville South (KY) open

1989 – Bettendorf (IA), Auburn Hills, Kalamazoo, Plymouth, and Warren (MI), Canton and Middleburg Heights (OH), and Knoxville (TN) all open

1995 – Nashville (TN) planned, but never built

1996 – Indianapolis/Carmel opens

1997 – Springfield (IL) joined the chain after being a Sheraton and a Best Western.  Louisville East (KY) joined the chain after being a Best Western.

For the sake of correctness, my original post said four hotels didn't match the Signature Inn building style.  Because Grand Rapids was another hotel prior to its acquisition by Signature Inn, there were five hotels that didn't fully share the standard Signature Inn look.
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Another startling discovery was that Signature Inn filed for bankruptcy in 1990 on nine of its 32 inns ("Debt woes bankrupt Signature Inns," The Indianapolis Star, April 24, 1990).  The company built its hotels and then sold them to private investors, who would then pay Signature Inn a commission fee along with management and accounting fees.  Once the hotels were sold, the proceeds would be used to help pay down the debt incurred to build them.  Unfortunately, they were unable to sell a total of nine of them and the company was saddled with that debt.

A February 23, 1991, article from The Indianapolis Star titled, "Travelodge goes after Signature Inns," outlined those nine hotels.  They were the Peoria and Normal locations in Illinois; Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Plymouth in Michigan; Canton and Middleburg Heights in Ohio; and Knoxville, Tennessee.  By March 1991, Travelodge ended its bid and the bankruptcy case was over before the month was out.  Signature Inn's nine motels in question would still remain company owned.

The next article I was able to find, "Signs point up for once-struggling motel chain," The Indianapolis Star, January 29, 1995, mentions that in 1994 the chain began having a profitable year.  BUT, it also mentions that Signature Inn had 23 hotels, which was down from 32 back in 1990.  Searches of various county auditor sites and little newspaper snippets show me the following:

Detroit/Romulus and Grand Rapids, Michigan, were sold off sometime in 1992.  Auburn Hills, Michigan, and Lexington, Kentucky, were sold in late 1992 or early 1993.  Kalamazoo and Warren, Michigan, were sold in 1993.  I turned up an ad in the August 16, 1993, edition of The Akron Beacon Journal for a bank directed sale of the inns in Canton and Middleburg Heights, Ohio.  By the early part of 1994, they were in the hands of other chains.  By late 1994, Plymouth was no longer a Signature Inn.

To "complete" the sale timeline, I am reposting information from June 2015 with corrections in bold:

After 1994, the next location to be dropped would be the Northeast Cincinnati location in early 2002.  Next to go in late 2003 or early 2004 was the Florence, Kentucky, location.  Cincinnati North followed behind somewhere between February and April 2004.  Bettendorf, Iowa, disappeared from the web site in mid-2005.  Dayton, Ohio, was sold in June 2005 and Terre Haute, Indiana, was sold in December 2005.

The Indianapolis Northwest (their first hotel) and Indianapolis East locations were sold off sometime in mid-2006.  Somewhere between September 2006 and October 2006, the Columbus, Ohio, location was gone from the site (though the county auditor shows the property was sold in February 2006).  Also of note is that somewhere around this point in time, a lot of the remaining establishments would be under the Jameson Inns name.  However, it appears that Springfield, Illinois; Normal, Illinois; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Lafayette, Indiana; and South Bend, Indiana, would keep the Signature Inn name.

As of late 2006, the chain was down to 17 locations.  The next one would be sold in August 2007, that one being the Fort Wayne, Indiana, location.  The rest of the chain was granted a reprieve until February 2010 when the Springfield, Illinois location was closed (that hotel was demolished two months later).  According to property records I've been able to find, the Lafayette, Indiana, location was no longer part of the chain as of May 2010.

The remaining 14 locations would be safe until sometime in early 2011 when Kokomo, Indiana, would no longer be affiliated with the chain.

The next round of closures came in late November or early December 2012.  Normal, Illinois; Elkhart, Indiana; Evansville, Indiana; Indianaoplis West; Indianapolis South; and Muncie, Indiana, would all be removed from the chain, dropping the number of hotels from 13 down to seven.

When the end of 2012 rolled around, the remaining seven locations would all be sold off, those being Peoria, Illinois; Indianapolis/Castleton; Indianapolis/Carmel; South Bend, Indiana; Louisville, Kentucky, East; Louisville, Kentucky South; and Knoxville, Tennessee.
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The good news is that most of what I've found fits in the timeline of my update schedule since nearly all of these newly-found locations were built in 1988 or after.  Warren, MI, is the exception and that may be next up.  The not-so-good-but-not-a-big-deal news is that a lot of my previous posts have SOMETHING to be added to them.  I will be working on a plan for presenting the updated information.  My long-term goal is still to figure out how to visit the other 16 still-surviving locations that I've not been to.

former Fort Wayne location, now a Quality Inn