HoJo's

 Whenever my parents and I took a trip across the state to visit relatives, our route was along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. At each of the service plazas was an easily recognizable restaurant, Howard Johnson’s. While we rarely stopped at any of these plazas, other than to use the bathrooms, we passed lots of HoJo’s in our travels.

    The restaurants along the turnpike were housed in attractive stone buildings but the Howard Johnson’s on other roads usually had that distinctive shape and orange colored roof. You knew what they were before you even saw the sign.

    The company started in the 1920’s, opening its first restaurant in Quincy, Massachusetts. In the mid-50’s they opened their first Motor Lodge. The company used to be huge, in 1965 its sales exceeded McDonalds, Burger King and KFC combined. Sadly, this wouldn’t last. Fast food claimed the prize eventually. Howard Johnson’s had over 1000 restaurants and 500 motor lodges before their success started to wither. 

    I can remember going there for my birthday. I think I looked forward to the fried clams more than their 28 flavors of ice cream!

    The chain was bought and over time the iconic buildings started to disappear or change purpose. As of 2018 there was only one restaurant with the Howard Johnson name on it, located in Lake George, New York.

    In Hampton Township there are the remains of what used to be a HoJo Motor Lodge. Once being visible from the turnpike exit it is now hidden from view by tall trees and weeds. When exactly it closed, I’m not sure but in 2012 it had been approved by the township to be rebuilt and reopened. That never came to be. 

    It sits beside a closed Max and Erma’s restaurant. The motel is covered with plywood to keep scavengers and vandals out. This hasn’t worked since some of the wood has been torn off and the sliding glass doors broken. The rooms and furniture are exposed to the weather and the openings provide easy access to the insides. I stayed outside since there are No Trespassing signs posted on the building. I did look inside though.

Vines and weeds covered the balconies.

Guests would have to search for their room numbers!

    The lodge provided top of the line technologies as the satellite dish shows. Looking at this site takes us back to another time, the days of traveling and pulling into a motel to get some rest, often without even calling for a reservation. Motels scattered alongside the roads, often owned by the families that cleaned them and lived in the house next door.

    Many were just 5-10 rooms with the bare essentials, a place to sit your bags, a bed and a bathroom. If you were lucky there would be a “color” TV! Hanging by the road would be a flashing Vacancy sign. Of course, the locals used these rooms also. There is no need to go into any details about that here, we’ve all heard the stories. (I’m not talking about the stories where you’d wake up in a bathtub full of ice and missing a kidney!)

    Chances are that this place is destined to be torn down and a new, multi storied, corporate hotel will take its place. For now, it is a reminder of what used to be and another thing that is slowly disappearing from our lives.