It started with a vacation from hell .... Memphis businessman Kemmons Wilson vowed, upon their return home, to develop a chain of motels which had consistent quality control, and, most importantly, allowed kids to stay free.

Wilson asked an architect to design a layout.  That night while doing so, an old Bing Crosby movie was on TV -- the title of which he sketched on the blueprints.  When Mr. Wilson reviewed the layouts, he liked that name.

And that's how Wilson's new experiment in lodging became HOLIDAY INN.

The first Holiday Inn to open in Alabama was located on the Bessemer Super Highway, about halfway between Birmingham and Bessemer.  During his first year coaching at the University of Alabama, Coach Bear Bryant was said to have taken his football team to eat at the Holiday Inn restaurant when they were in town for games.
1957:

SEPTEMBER 27, 1957: The Great Sign in all its splendor.  This was the first version of the Holiday Inn logo; soon it would drop the word HOTEL. If this doesn't make your heart skip a beat, then look to your right.................

Kemmons Wilson was very involved in the creation of The Great Sign.  At night, it was nothing less than a beacon -- playing an enticing visual melody for the business traveler or vacationing family ready to wind down after a full day's driving.

Some interesting thoughts about The Great Sign can be found in this post on "The ZehnKatzen Times",  a blog maintained by Samuel John Klein from Portland, Ore.: zehnkatzen.blogspot.com/2007/10/logodesign-holiday-inn-great-sign-first.html zehnkatzen.blogspot.com/2007/10/logodesign-checking-out-old-checking-in.html

TODAY:

The property still functions as a motel, however it hasn't been a Holiday Inn in more than 20 years!  When I-20/59 opened between Bessemer and Ensley in 1977, it took most non-local traffic off the Bessemer Super Highway.  It's yet another case of "only the clientele has changed"  ;-)

Here's another view of the old Holiday Inn, now called HIWAY HOST MOTEL (no connection with Hi-Way Host Motor Lodge, a defunct motel chain from the '60s & '70s)

During the Holiday Inn's heyday, a bowling alley opened adjacent to the motel -- cashing in on its neighbor, it took the name HOLIDAY BOWL (no connection to the motel except for the name).  Curiously, while Holiday Inn is long gone from this location, the name lives on through this venue.

1957 photos courtesy of the Dixie Neon Company archive
2005 photos by Russell Wells

10/28/2007 -- 1037 PM EDT