Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done?"
God says, "Out on Highway 61."
Airline Highway in Baton Rouge, also known as the storied Highway 61, is famous for its sketchy motels. Sketchy motels are an essential part of our cultural heritage: that's where nearly all the murdering and philandering and all sorts of untoward business goes down. Just look at every movie from No Country For Old Men to...well, almost every other movie ever.
It was at one of these Airline motels a little further south, Sugar Bowl Courts, where Jimmy Swaggart met with disgrace in 1987, along with his ladyfriend the prostitute. They don't still exist in the numbers they used to, but kind of shockingly, these mom & pop motels do still exist in this era of chain hotels and motels.
A few such establishments have already appeared here on Abandoned Baton Rouge: Ten Flags Inn and The Bellemont, the latter which you can see in happier days above. All of the historic "before" postcards in this post were found online or otherwise by Ken Freeman and posted on his website dedicated to remembering his hometown, Alexandria Retrospective. After he contacted me recently, the historic postcard section about Baton Rouge on his website gave me a new idea for finding sites for this blog: work backwards from historic photos and their addresses. Seeing those motel postcards prompted me to make a trip to Airline and see what was still standing.
The exercise reinforced a lesson I've been learning: seek and you shall find.
Oak Manor was apparently too Tudor for this world, for this is what holds its place today:
Right across the street:
Still going, although that pool has been filled in with gravel.
Next, Wood Acres.
Yes, Wood Acres is still open, in fact, here is an online review of the motel:
Oct 30, 2009| Wood Acres Motel is the good for long distance traveler, Good Bed, warm water, Color Cabel TV with lot's of variety channels, Direct dial phones and Cheap. This is the best compare to price you get every things here. |
maps.google.com
I called Wood Acres, and the phone was answered by someone I strongly suspected to be online reviewer Hiren.
Vel Rose here was also still in effect.
But now I want you to look closely, because the Hollywood Motel has changed quite a bit.
The sign in this next postcard is still mostly there, as you'll see in the second modern-day photo.
It appears the Hollywood Motel has gone from West Wing and South Wing, to Wing Nut.
Selections from the signs out front of the former Hollywood and former Admiral Motel: One Bad Ass Mistake, America. No You Can Not ( x 5), an endorsement for Fox News, a Wake Up, America. Also:
WARNING: DRUG DEALERS AND PROSTITUTES ARE NOT WELCOME ON THIS PROPERTY.
You just know this is the kind of place where the guy (certainly a guy) inside is armed and waiting for the shit to go down. Seeing that the warning sign included illustrations of crossed weapons, I was very conscious of being mowed down on suspicion of being a drug dealer and/or prostitute and/or general harlot/ jezebel/ fornicator/ abortionist/ godless commie lib'ral. Hence, it was a very quick visit to this self-proclaimed Cajun Safe Haven.
Dishonorable mentions: The Alamo, not technically on Airline/61, but just as shady: Read about it here.
I took the road further, across the Mississippi River, over the Huey Long Bridge, and found some more abandoned/ questionably occupied seediness, followed by a patch of the way I imagine Airline/ 61 used to look.
And below, the second establishment featuring askew cocktail glasses in the immediate vicinity:
Don't miss the murderous barking hounds. I didn't! It's hard to miss multiple beasts yelling at you that they want to tear your throat out. But most curious of all is the hound facing the door despite the din, as if listening to its master's voice. What, exactly, is going on inside Nick's? In the interest of my getting out of this town alive, pretend I didn't ask.
And finally, here's what Airline may have once looked like (the parts that weren't seedy motels, restaurants, etc.).
Stumble It!
(applause) :)
Posted by: otter34993 | January 01, 2010 at 03:08 AM
sooooooooo cool!
But I'm so relieved to see that "Hollywood" isn't overrun by commie hippies anymore.
Posted by: jason | January 01, 2010 at 12:16 PM
Fantastic! Your "Abandoned" series is incomparable, Colleen. I love it!
Posted by: Randall Griffith | January 01, 2010 at 02:57 PM
Where in baton rouge by the river like by earl k. long hospital or by pepboys and applebees by hammond aire
Posted by: Kendal Harper | January 01, 2010 at 11:05 PM
The loveliness of those old postcards is briefly destroyed by that crazy at the Romira!
Even if I was on that dude's side politically, I'm not sure I'd feel very invited to stay at that motel. Trigger happy!
Posted by: twitter.com/theoriginalecs | January 04, 2010 at 11:00 AM
Awesome entry!
Posted by: Alicia | January 05, 2010 at 10:58 AM
Excellent work, as always, Ms. Kane. Bravo!
Posted by: Joey. | January 05, 2010 at 06:59 PM
Very, very well done!
Posted by: Kevin | January 06, 2010 at 01:30 PM
More KUDOS to Ms. Kane! Thank you!
Posted by: P Buckman | January 11, 2010 at 10:45 AM
Missed seeing the Continental Motor Hotel (Baton Rouge's Welcome to the World). Once the first major hotel on US 61/190 in BR coming in from the north, and constructed of poured-in-place concrete walls and floors/ceilings, it was abandoned in 1986 when the owners could not give it away.
Posted by: Alan Jennings | January 23, 2010 at 10:51 PM
At one time the Bellemont Motor Hotel was considered a very high quality place to stay.
Posted by: Richard | January 24, 2010 at 12:05 AM
I love it - thank you! The Bellemont was actually the sight of the Baton Rouge Assembly Debutante Ball into the mid '90's. You've got to love tradition in this town....
Posted by: Rachel | February 02, 2010 at 08:50 PM
Colleen,
I was looking for info on the Vel Rose, as my foster children had the misfortune of suffering there recently. I came across your site.
So, a few comments:
I think you might enjoy reading Walker Percy's "Love In the Ruins". Perhaps you've read it already. Although a disturbing book, it does shine the light of humanity on all the people that we currently reduce to a summary (i.e. wing nut).
"You just know this is the kind of place where the guy (certainly a guy) inside is armed and waiting for the shit to go down." For the guy working that motel--and tens of thousands of others--maybe it's already gone down.
See you at HoJo's!
John
Posted by: john rees | February 24, 2010 at 11:12 AM
The motel itself was very very clean, which is what I look for. The bathroom's were immaculate. The outside property was cleaned several times a day, there were staff outside sweeping the sidewalks and parking lot all day.
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Posted by: Ray Ban Aviator | November 30, 2011 at 08:50 PM
I am wondering How did you get so nice post?Hope you can keep writing more for us in the future.Thanks very much.
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Posted by: Ray Ban Wayfarer | November 30, 2011 at 08:53 PM
I've heard a lot of good stuff about this place. Good thing they revisited it. I wish I can go there as well.
Posted by: Motel Management | March 28, 2012 at 09:50 AM
ANOTHER GREAT JOB!!!! YOU SAVED ME LOTS OF GAS AND FILM. I HAVE ALL OF THOSE POSTCARDS AND WAS PLANNING TO GO TAKE PHOTOS OF THE SAME PLACES AS THEY ARE TODAY. YOU MIGHT ADD THE TEN FLAGS INN, THE OLD HOWARD JOHNSON'S AND THE NOW DEMOLISHED CONTINENTAL MOTEL. THANKS FOR REMINDING US OF WHAT BATON ROUGE USED TO BE
Posted by: DOUG ALFORD | May 01, 2012 at 11:10 AM