This 12-page brochure was published in early 1967 and shows all of the available makes and models in the Ford Falcon line. The art is wonderfully modern late-1960s with an array of greens, oranges and yellows.
In the early 1970s America was in the middle of an economic crisis. With less money to spend, America’s travel plans understandably changed. Once affordable chains like Howard Johnson and Holiday Inn had essentially become hotels and with the hotel amenities such as a pool, restaurant, and often a night club, prices had gotten too high for a family looking to just stay somewhere decent to stay for a night. New motels with fewer frills and a lower price were now in vogue.
Budget motel chains such as TraveLodge, Motel 6, Super 8, began to take a much bigger piece of the roadside lodging. These big chains began taking a major hit and were so worried that they both tried budget motel chains offshoots with the short-lived Howard Johnson’s 3-Penny Inns and Holiday Inn, Jr.
The Sheboygan Press – September 9, 1973
A budget motel arms race began to build as many economical, inexpensive motels with just the basics – a clean lobby, hot shower and a place to sleep. The Marcus Corporation, a Milwaukee-based company that ran a series of theatres, Captain’s Steak Joynts, Big Boy franchises and operated the venerable old Marc Plaza and Pfister Hotels in downtown Milwaukee, wanted to get in on the budget lodging game and began construction on the first motels in the chain in the summer of 1973.
Located in Sheboygan and Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the motels would offer $8 per night rooms “in keeping with the increasing importance of economy in the minds of travelers and consumers.” The Marcus Corp., also announced that a Big Boy franchise would be adjacent door to every future Budgetel.
A view of the not-yet finished Budgetel in Oshkosh – The Oshkosh Northwestern – October 6, 1973
The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle – May 29, 1975
The Oshkosh located opened on March 8, 1974 and the Sheboygan location, after some construction delays, in November of that year. (The $8 price promised had already been increased to $8.95 by opening and would be $9.50 in 1975). They were an immediate success. A third location in Bloomington, Minnesota would open on June 1, 1975. Two other motels under the Guest House Inns name, were added to the chain.
In the Fall of 1975 the Budgetel would introduce a new idea called the Road Runner Club. According to an advertisement in the Wausau Daily Herald on September 24, 1975, the Road Runner Club was:
A new concept in accommodations for frequent travelers: stay ten nights at any one or all of our Budgetels and Guest House Inns within one year, and your eleventh night is free.”
That incentive program, never before offered by a lodging chain, would reward guests for staying a Marc budget motel. It worked like a charm.
By the 1982 there were twelve Budgetel locations. Over the next fours years, the would be locations in eighteen states across the Midwest and Southeast. In 1986, when this brochure was published, there were 47 locations with 6 more to open by the end of 1987. One decade later 153 Budgetel properties in thirty states.
In 1998, Marcus Corp. announced that the franchise would change its name name to Baymont. Doris Keller, head of the Company’s Franchise Advisory Council, stated in 1998 interview that the name no longer reflected the subsidiary’s features and amenities. “Budgetel has always been a great hotel product for business and leisure travelers, but the name is a misnomer.”
In July 2004, Marcus Corporation would sell the chain to La Quinta Corporation.. La Quinta was sold in 2005 to the Blackstone Group who in turn sold the Baymont name to what it is now known as Wyndham Worldwide. The Baymont is now part of a group of 15 hotels owned by Wyndham including Super 8 & TraveLodge.
The 1987 brochure offers a glimpse of the Budgetel in all of its 1980s glory. There’s the lobby complete with flowers everywhere at two women with floppy bows.
A conference room with more flowers, a painting of a flowers, a very modern lamp and a VCR available upon request.
The last picture shows the Leisure Suite complete with more flowers, a floral bedspread and a woman in a shiny lamé shirt with shoulder pads for days.
The address listed below were the locations of every Budgetel Inn in 1986 and 1987. The key:
GREEN – Motel still standing, now a Baymont Inn
BLACK – Motel still standing, now a La Quinta Inn
BLUE – Motel still standing but not a Baymont Inn or La Quinta
RED – Motel gone
ORANGE – Actual street location unknown/cannot find current or previous location
ALABAMA
BIRMINGHAM (Open Summer ’87)
513 Cahaba Park
HUNTSVILLE
4890 University Drive NW
MONTGOMERY
5225 Carmichael Rd.
ARKANSAS
FORT SMITH
2123 Burnham Rd.
LITTLE ROCK
1010 Breckenridge
FLORIDA
FORT LAUDERDALE WEST (Open Winter ’87)
Exit #20 east to West Commercial Blvd.
TAMPA EAST
4811 U.S. Hwy 301 North
TAMPA SOUTHEAST
602 S. Falkenburg Rd.
GEORGIA
ATLANTA (Lenox-Buckhead)
2535 Chantilly Dr. NE
ATLANTA (Peachtree-Norcross)
5395 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. Norcross, GA
BRUNSWICK
105 Tourist Dr.
COLUMBUS
2919 Warm Springs Rd.
ILLINOIS
CHICAGO NW (Glenview)
1625 Milwaukee Ave.
CHICAGO NW (Hoffman Estates)
2075 Barrington Rd.
CHICAGO SOUTH (South Holland)
17225 Halsted St.
DECATUR
5100 Hickory Point Frontage Rd.
WILLOWBROOK (Hinsdale)
16 W. 395 79th St.
INDIANA
FORT WAYNE
1005 W. Washington Center Rd.
INDIANAPOLIS – AIRPORT
2650 Executive Dr.
LOUISIANA
BATON ROUGE
10555 Rieger Rd.
MASSACHUSETTS
WORCESTER/AUBURN
444 Southbridge St.
MICHIGAN
DETROIT WEST (Canton)
41211 Ford Rd.
DETROIT AIRPORT
900 Wickham Rd.
DETROIT (Roseville)
20675 13 Mile Road
JACKSON
2035 Service Dr.
WARREN
30900 Van Dyke Rd.
MINNESOTA
MINNEAPOLIS-AIRPORT
7815 Nicollet Avenue St.
MINNEAPOLIS NORTH
6415 James Circle N.
MISSISSIPPI
MERIDIAN
730 Roebuck Dr.
MISSOURI
NORTH KANSAS CITY
2214 Taney
ST. LOUIS (Westpoint)
12300 Dorsett Rd.
ST. LOUIS SOUTH (Festus) (Open September ’87)
1303 Veterans Blvd.
NEBRASKA
OMAHA
10760 M Street
OHIO
CINCINNATI NORTH
12150 Springfield Pike
CLEVELAND (Independence)
6161 Quarry Lane
CLEVELAND (Mayfield Heights)
1421 Golden Gate Blvd.
SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA EAST
1538 Horseshoe Dr.
COLUMBIA WEST
911 Bush River Rd.
TENNESSEE
JACKSON
2370 N. Highland Ave.
MEMPHIS
6020 Shelby Oaks Dr.
MEMPHIS AIRPORT
3005 Mill Branch Rd.
NASHVILLE AIRPORT
531 Donelson Pike
NASHVILLE NORTH (Open Late Summer ’87)
120 Cartwright Ct.
TEXAS
DALLAS (Plano) (Open August ’87)
621 Central Parkway East
WISCONSIN
APPLETON
2930 W. College Ave.
KENOSHA
7540 118th Ave.
MANITOWOC
908 Washington St.
MILWAUKEE NORTHEAST
5100 N. Port Washington Rd.
MILWAUKEE NORTHWEST
5442 N. Lovers Lane Rd.
MILWAUKEE SOUTH-AIRPORT (Open Winter ’87)
13th St. at Rawson Ave.
MILWAUKEE WEST
20391 West Bluemound Rd.
OSHKOSH
1950 Omro Rd.
WAUSAU
1910 Stewart Ave.
WISCONSIN AFFILIATE
GUEST HOUSE INN
APPLETON
3730 W. College Ave.
Coming in Spring of 1988 an all new Guest House Suites.
Sinclair Dinoland was an exhibit at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. Sinclair had used a brontosaurus as their mascot for years so it made perfect sense for them to have an exhibit featuring “LIFE-SIZE” dinosaurs.
This particular item is a 16 page brochure with background on Sinclair and the dinosaurs that roamed the World’s Fair exhibit. You will learn all about dinosaurs and why Sinclair quality oil is the best.
A 1938 book publish by the Curteich company featuring prints and information about”America’s Friendliest City.”
Car Talk in a Woman’s Language was published in 1956 by the Champion Spark Plugs Company. The booklet was designed to make cars easier for women to understand.
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Published in 1958, by C.H. Pearson and Bowling World Magazine, this booklet is designed to help the entire family improve their bowling scores.
Located at 207-217 Michigan Street across from the once-famed State Theatre, Robertson’s Department Store was the anchor of a once lively downtown shopping area in South Bend, Indiana. It would ultimately become the victim of a collapsed industry and a failed urban renewal plan would set the area back for years to come.
South Bend Tribune archives
Originally founded in 1904 by George A. Robertson at 127 S. Michigan St, the original Robertson’s Department Store was a simple, one-room operation. Robertson’s offered quality goods and reasonable prices. By 1910, business has grown so much the Robertson was able to purchase the building the next door and expand the store into that location.
By 1923 the store had outgrown the space and was moved to the 200 block of S. Michigan St, at a location that once held the Studebaker brothers blacksmith shop.
The Robertson family would sell the store in 1932 to a pair of brothers, Will & Sig Welber. The Welbers would make Robertson’s a smashing success. In 1938, the Welber brothers would purchase 7,500 square feet in the building just south of the store.
Later that year, Robertson’s introduced a new concept to Indiana called “Chargea-Plate.” The idea was to provide a charge account system for customers to buy goods on credit. The store was the first in Indiana to offer this anything like that.
By 1941, Robertson’s had become a South Bend Institution. The famed tea room, located on the sixth floor, was the premier social spot in North-Central Indiana. The War would slow the store’s momentum for a few years.
Robertson’s wasn’t just for the white social elite of South Bend, the store was considered the best place in town to shop if you were an African-American. Most of the downtown shopping area was considered either unwelcoming or not available for non-white shoppers. Robertson’s actually allowed African Americans to try on clothing before they purchased. Barbara Brandy was one of the one of the first African American secretaries hired downtown at Robertson’s.
Robertson’s was truly for everyone. This Anonymous post in The Department Store’s comment section for the store provides great insight into life in South Bend Time at the time and what Robertson’s meant to the town:
Robertson’s anchored the downtown shopping experience in South Bend. A few blocks north was minor competition with Wyman’s Dept Store and there was a large JC Penney across the street from Robertson’s. Kresge’s bordered the store on the north and first Grand Leader and then the Francis Shop to the south. The bright lights and marque of the State Theatre across the street added to the adventure. Other stores right close were Osco with a beauty school above it, The Star Store, Schiff Shoes, St Joe Valley Bank, The Sherland Building, lots of other shoe stores, WT Grants and Woolworth (wood floors, tin ceilings, and fans), Richman Brothers, Granada Theatre to the north, and the Planter’s Peanut store with the peanut man.The crowds moving up and down the streets; noises of the heavy traffic and fumes from buses/trucks; the handicapped man in front of Kresge’s on the sidewalk selling pencils; slush of the winter and heat of the summer; all in all it was a great exciting experience for us kids to be taken downtown. We’d normally park at the Sear and Roebuck store on Western Ave (free parking and eat a sandwich lunch in the car), and walk to Michgan Ave past Western Auto and that fish store. During lunchtime (not for us), but it was so exciting to watch the people stand behind someone waiting for them to finish their meal at the Kresge, Woolworth, or Grant lunch bars–very noisy with all of the glass dishes clanging.Robertson’s was a little out of our price, but the basement offered a lot of back to school buys. A few times I got taken to see Santa there way upstairs. The big stores had escalators which was great to a kid. Penney’s for a long time had a black lady who worked the elevator for you–no push buttons.
South Bend Tribune archival photo
Business would take a hit as the major Studebaker factory in the U.S., located in South Bend closed in December 1963. With that closure, other industry would leave town and South Bend would be hit by a giant recession. Any new buildings or businesses were built in the new mall area in the next town over, Mishawaka. Downtown South Bend was dying.
In 1974, a doomed urban renewal project converted S. Michigan St. from a busy street to a pedestrian mall. The move created no passing traffic and gave further reasons for people to not come downtown and business was crippled.
After years of struggling sales and a bankruptcy by their parent company, the giant store was a financial burden. In 1982, the store closed.
South Bend Tribune archives
South Bend mayor Roger Parent would work with ownership and re-open Robertson’s a month after closing.
South Bend Tribune archives
However, the big building was way too much store. In June 1984, the decision was made to move in to the smaller, now vacated J.C. Penney’s building across Michigan Street. The giant building would remain vacant for several years.
The move didn’t help. After two years Robertson’s closed. The last day was June 14, 1986. The original large Robertson’s building has been converted to apartments for seniors.
By the time I arrived in South Bend in 2007, the Robertson’s Apartments were just a reminder of a once-thriving downtown shopping area.
The Newport Resort Motel in the Sunny Isles area of Miami Beach opened in 1967. From the beginning, the Newport was designed with the hip, young crowd in mind. The verso on their first postcard says:
A swingin’ new way of life! C’mon down to the “in” place…it’s the lively one.
21″ Color TV & refrigerator in every room – 1000-foot fishing pier – 2-block private beach – 2 heated pools – restaurant – coffee shop – nightclub – tot’n teen programs – free self-parking.
On the Ocean at 167th St. – Miami Beach, Fla. 33154
Their early advertising smacks of late 1960s design and colors. This brochure shows of the Miami Beach sights.It also mentions the Newport’s multiple on sight eating & drinking establishments including: Dover Coffee Shop, The 7 Seas Nightclub & Lounge, The Pub Restaurant and the Rhum Rooms.
Entertainment was provided nightly from 9:30pm to 5pm. Joe Cavalier Revue provided the “Girls a La Mod” showcase. Music from Sheila MacRae dazzled while Jessie Ferguson & His Gospel Jazz Singers and The Treniers provided more upscale music, and Mike Vetro and His Brothers and Tom & The Craftsmen brought the party tunes. But the swingingest show was Pirates a Go-Go featuring the beautiful treasure chests .
The Newport wasn’t just for food, drinks and partying, there were brand new basketball and tennis courts.
You could fish or play mini-golf on their pier.
The Newport catered to newlyweds with their honeymoon packages and their new, world class amenities.
These die-cut rate schedules provide a glimpse of how the rates fluctuated from season to season. This one is from Spring/Summer/Fall of 1967
This one is from Winter/Spring of 1968:
The Newport is still open. There have been major renovations done to modernize the space and it looks like a great place to stay. I doubt the beautiful treasure chests are still there.
This is a 1948 cookbook/instruction book featuring 9 different ways to use 7up in your daily life.
Over 12 pages, you will learn how to use 7up for everything from ham to ice cubes. You Like It….it Likes You!
