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Hill and Sons Motel

 
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JD



Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 956

PostPosted: Oct Fri 14, 2011 6:46 pm    Post subject: Hill and Sons Motel Reply with quote

Cleaning out my parents home our family moved into in 1957....I found some old tourist stuff from our annual car vacation each year.

I found a tourist booklet where we stayed probably in the early to mid 1960s.

Since us kids HAD to have a pool, and motor lodges were the order of the day...I found info on one place we stayed and I remember.

"Hill and Sons Motel" 61 units in U shape on South Virginia.

(JOHN: Can you fix these images so they SHOW up without clicking on the link? Is there a way I could do it?)

Anyone recognize this place?

http://www.cardcow.com/303747/hill-sons-motel-reno-nevada/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Postcard-Hill-Sons-Motel-Reno-NV-/330602075925

http://www.ioffer.com/i/Vintage-Hill-and-Sons-Motel-Reno-NV-Hotel-Guest-Soap-68369411

The book says "Single= $ 10- $ 12, Double= $ 12- $ 14, Some two rooms available. Lower rates Oct - April".


And there's MORE.... Question


Last edited by JD on Oct Sat 15, 2011 9:16 pm; edited 1 time in total
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BC Dave
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Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 1592

PostPosted: Oct Sat 15, 2011 2:18 pm    Post subject: I think so Reply with quote

For the longest time there was an abandoned old place on Virginia quite a ways south of town. I remember walking by it and it pretty much looked like the motel in the ebay link.
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JD



Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 956

PostPosted: Oct Sat 15, 2011 6:50 pm    Post subject: Hill & Sons Reply with quote

But do you recognize THIS motel, Dave? Anyone?

I think the one YOU'RE thinking of was the Mark Twain close in or Merry Wink way out South...same style (U shaped motor court with pool in the courtyard), same vintage, and many examples down on S. Virginia and East 4th Street.

There are still some out on 4th...777 is one, Pony Express Lodge, The Sandman (w/ '40 Ford sign) Sutro Motor Lodge, and there's more if I think about them.

But who knows what became of the Hill & Sons Motel?

NO FAIR USING GOOGLE.
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BC Dave
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Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 1592

PostPosted: Oct Sun 16, 2011 11:41 am    Post subject: No fair? Reply with quote

I remember family vacations in the '60s too. And we always stayed at motels with either pools or near a beach. Ours were usually in B.C. either the Okanogan or Vancouver Island.

Jeez...No fair using Google? What's left? Oh I remember - I had a memory! Alright I'm engaging it's full capacity right now and.... Man I can remember Cocktail waitresses from the eighties! Your motel, well kinda, sorta, maybe.

Actually I looked for it on Google Earth which lets you zoom back to 1990 on some areas of South Virginia. I didn't find it though. Given the description of the location, "Two miles south of the Reno Arch", it should be pretty close to the Peppermill right?

J.D. give me some credit for actually being interested. Can you scan the booklet and post that? Are you going to reveal more on this place?

You may be right that I have the wrong place in mind. But the one I remember occupied a large piece of real estate like the post card shows. However by the time I saw it in the mid to late eighties, I'm sad to say, it was just a dusty old place with sage brush growing here and there.
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BC Dave
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Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 1592

PostPosted: Oct Sun 16, 2011 11:59 am    Post subject: More googling... Reply with quote

J.D.

I did some image and map searching for the two other motels you mentioned. It couldn't have been the Merry Wink as it's too far south. I used to go on long walks from town but never made it past the Meadowood Mall.

So was it the Mark Twain? Could be, but the images I find for it don't look as familiar.
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BC Dave
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Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 1592

PostPosted: Oct Sun 16, 2011 12:28 pm    Post subject: More on motels Reply with quote

Just web browsing now... Checked out some of the other motels you mentioned. Here's a site with a few old photos and facts..

http://www.route40.net/page.asp?n=4&s=NV&x=Nevada

And check out the former name of the Castaway Inn

http://www.route40.net/page.asp?n=1349

"Not that there's anything wrong with that."

OK, enough googling! I gotta go out and get some fresh air!!
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JD



Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 956

PostPosted: Oct Sun 16, 2011 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reno Motor Lodges Reply with quote

I think that "Highway 40" is still there & LOL on the "Castaway". I know the "Sandman" is still out on 4th Street halfway to Sparks.

The Mark Twain had a temporary cyclone fence around it for years. I think it was across the street from the Parklane Mall's giant parking lot. Another place I miss is Fey's Slot machine museum/prime rib joint, "Liberty Belle Saloon".


Hint: Hill & Sons Motel's address was 2701 South Virginia (one of those old postcards had the address) and I remember it had a restaurant near the open end of the "U" close to Virginia Street. My flawed memory remebers it as kind of like a Denny's with a few slot machines. Times change.


Read page 127 of: http://books.google.com/books?id=HLPovnU9HlwC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127&dq=Hill+and+Sons+Motel+Reno,+NV&source=bl&ots=h_Qb6-gIlU&sig=F0F1RRHhBppvbXjE5R7wOBf6PU8&hl=en&ei=7vKYTs3kGpSBsgLU47SqBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CEMQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=Hill%20and%20Sons%20Motel&f=false


Those old post cards are kinda cool, huh?


Go ahead a use google...I owe you for the avatar.
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john
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Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 1181

PostPosted: Oct Sun 16, 2011 2:43 pm    Post subject: Re: Reno Motor Lodges Reply with quote

JD wrote:
Hint: Hill & Sons Motel's address was 2701 South Virginia (one of those old postcards had the address) and I remember it had a restaurant near the open end of the "U" close to Virginia Street. My flawed memory remebers it as kind of like a Denny's with a few slot machines. Times change.

The Peppermill's address is 2707 S. Virginia. I think it may have been the start of something larger.

Sorry, JD, I couldn't grab the images from the pages you linked to.
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BC Dave
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Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 1592

PostPosted: Oct Sun 16, 2011 3:37 pm    Post subject: Thanks Reply with quote

Got my fresh air. It gave me a headache. Wow, this is the busiest the board has been on a Sunday for a long time. Good thing we have such interesting lives.

As it happens I am the proud owner of that book. (Thanks to John!) I didn't need Google after all. The shame of it all!

John you nailed it! You da man, Mr. Reno!

J.D. You know you're right. The old postcards are pretty cool. You have to do some memory work but those old motels were actually pretty inviting back in the sixties. It's a shame that they are largely sad reflections of their former selves now.

I stayed at the City Center Motel once. 20+ years ago. It was across Virginia from Circus Circus. I had driven into Reno on the weekend and there were no hotel rooms left. Circus Circus found the room for me with their reservations computer. It was $50 a night. I stayed for one night. Everything was OK except for the mattress. It had an odd incline that constantly threatened to roll me back onto the floor. Guess that was their way of saying, "Hey this town's not for sleeping, get out and gamble!"


http://www.art.com/products/p13073995-sa-i2304239/ray-laskowitz-city-center-motel-sign-at-dusk-reno-nevada.htm
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