Then & Now: Walona Motel – New Lenox

The 1920s was a period of dramatic economic growth in the U.S. Prices for cars actually fell during the decade as the assembly line permitted faster production.

Early in the decade, about 90 percent of all the world’s cars were made in the U.S. By 1930, more than 20 million cars were registered in the U.S., about three times the number in the previous decade.

As the interest in car travel grew, so did the number and variety of roadside services available in the U.S. It was during the 1920s that many of the modern conveniences for motorists sprang up along highways and major roads.

These new roadside businesses catering to the motorist included motels, diners, hamburger stands and drive-in restaurants.

Many of the earliest suppliers of food on the Lincoln Highway started out selling gas before diversifying into food, snacks, drinks and other amenities. Other highway caterers, however, became more adventurous and enterprising from the beginning, including many family-run roadside stands, diners and drive-ins.

These small businesses were successful until larger franchises and chains began competing with them for the traveling customer.

It was not until the 1920s that cheap, basic accommodations for road travelers appeared in the form of “motor camps,” open-air camping grounds with communal laundries and washrooms. These facilities were gradually superseded by sites providing individual huts containing beds and thousands were built across the country between 1929 and 1933.

Establishments such as this were the forerunners of the “tourist court,” a semi-circular layout of cabins around a manager’s office. Soon, most courts had running water in their rooms, and in years to come, air conditioning, radio, and, eventually, TV were introduced.

The Then image is a postcard advertisement for the Walona Motel in New Lenox. Notice the artist uses an insert feature to highlight the motel sign.

The irregular shape of the Walona Motel sign represents a shift away from the traditional vertical or box format design that was common in the late 1950s.

The motel was once operated by Walter and Iona Ruthenbeck and was both AAA rated and Duncan Hines recommended. Still in operation today, the Walona Motel is an example of a theme motel that provided temporary shelter for Lincoln Highway tourists. The Now image shows a view of the historic motel today.