The Old Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge
This was originally the Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge at 8201 W. Higgins Rd in Chicago near O'Hara airport. My grandparents James and Izora Moreland and my uncle William Moreland were the people that originally built it in 1960. They also built the homes on the other side of the Kennedy Expressway across from Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge.
They Built That
Here they are in front of their Real Estate Office at 5717 N. Milwaukee Ave in Chicago Ill.
They also owned and ran their Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge. It was a 4 Star Motor Lodge back then. My uncle was always proud of that rating. He kept it in top shape. He was the first to have Cadillac Limousines running to and from O'Hara airport for the guests.
Above is a post card of the Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge
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The Morelands are having a family party at our Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge, 1971I started working there in 1968 right after I got married. I was one of the maintenance men but soon my uncle had me working behind the desk and doing ever other job that it takes to run a hotel. There are so many stories I could tell about that place. Some were funny while others were not. Then in 1972 my uncle called me into this meeting. All of the family were there. My grandparents, my aunt, and my cousins. The whole family had some part in running the hotel plus we all had shares in the business. My Uncle starts off and says, "We're selling the Motor Lodge." Well I almost fell over because I was young and just had a baby. I said to the whole family, "What am I going to do for a job?" Everybody laughed and said, With the money you will get you won't have to worry about that." Well I was worried. My Grandparents , my uncle and my aunt where planning on retiring. I still had my whole life ahead of me.
After they sold the Motor Lodge they retired and bought a huge home called "WestGate" on lake Geneva Wisconsin.
After they all passed away the new owners remodeled the whole inside. But for some reason unbeknown to me they never moved into it and then they tore in down. It doesn't exist any longer.
When the new owners of the Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge took over after my grandparents sold it, they fired all 52 employees. I was on my own. I eventually got my Real Estate License and sold homes in the northwest suburbs of Chicago for the next 10 years.
After the Motor Lodge was sold it became a Holiday and then as a Wyndham. By the latter 2000s it was unbranded and called The Chicago O'Hara Garden Hotel. Last year, the owners Sethi and his father were sued in federal court for $355,000 by the Wyndham hotel chain for failing to maintain sanitary conditions in the hotel, which Wyndham said violated a franchise agreement. The hotel lost the Wyndham name and was operating independently as the Chicago O'Hara Garden Hotel.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-15/news/ct-met-china-investment-visas-sethi-sidebar-20120715_1_eb-5-hotel-proposal-foreign-investors/2
I don't know what happen to the hotel but if you look around the windows in the pictures I took you can see some burn marks. It looked like it had a fire, maybe, I'm not sure. Someone told me that the fire department used the hotel for practice just before they demolished it.
I suppose my Uncle would have been a little upset to see someone run his building into a pile of rubble but since he and the whole family are long gone now, I'll never get a chance to ask him what he thinks about it.
As far as I'm concerned, I don't care. I'm glad to see it torn down. Yeah there is a story behind that too but I'm not here to write a book about the way I feel in this post. Maybe some other time.
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Update
Well it looks like Somebody tried to pull a scam and got caught. To bad they tore down the old Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge. Now it will probably stay a vacant lot for a long time. I know my Uncle who built that Motor Lodge would probably be pretty pissed right now.
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Update
July 23, 2014
Fortune
Whistleblower unmasked as partners battle over $14.7 million award
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Update
July 29, 2014
Well, I found out that they finally put the property up for sale. Back when my Grandparents and my Uncle sold it back in 1972, I remember my uncle saying that they got 1 million for the Building, I million for the land underneath the building and 1 Million for the property that was on the east side of the Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge at 8101 Higgins rd, They later sold the Howard Johnson Restaurant for 600K in 1984 or 85. That was a lot of money back then. Here is what they want for the property now in 2014.
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Hi. Great blog and pictures. My grandparents were good friends of your grandparents and your Uncle Bill
ReplyDeleteNice photos of the place. I live across the street in Park Ridge and remember when it was first built.
ReplyDeleteMy mother tells me it was a lovely place. She and her two sisters enjoyed dining at the restaurant with Bill Moreland.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. My uncle Bill along with my Grandparents Built it, Owned it and ran it as the manager. I worked there until they decided to sell it and retire. After it was sold it went down hill from there.
ReplyDelete