Then & Now: Abe Lincoln Motel – Frankfort

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

Early in the decade, nearly 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., which is nearly three times the number during 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 diners, hamburger stands and drive-in restaurants.

In addition to the businesses that catered to the ravenous needs of the traveling public, there also were entrepreneurs who saw the need to help provide shelter for road-weary motorists.

As more Americans took to the road, motor courts, inns and highway motels appeared and catered to the traveling public.

By the late 1940s, most motels were arranged in an open “U”-shape or “L”-shape design.

The office was no longer front and center but located to the left or right of the architectural layout.

This allowed for increased space for the sign, which was located on its own, away from the motel and near the street.

A Lincoln Highway roadside haven, designed to be automobile-friendly in the postwar years, was the Abe Lincoln Motel.

Located near Frankfort, the Abe Lincoln Motel, built in the late 1950s, is an example of an “L”-shape design and still operates in its original location today.