From the Archives: Greater Lansing's classic motels

A State Journal ad for the opening of the “Beautiful Motel Burkewood” in 1949 said the rooms had Hollywood beds with Lake Kraft Deluxe innerspring mattresses and box springs, along with desks and luggage racks.

The small, green motel, which opened near the end of 1949 at 3210 W. Main St. in Lansing, attracted attention both for its tourist accommodations and recently developed building materials used in its construction, one of which was called Modern-crete.

Owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Burke, their son, James, and his wife, Margaret, it consisted of an office and utility center, flanked on either side by wings 52 feet long and 16 feet wide, each containing four tourist rooms.

The motel still exists on Lansing Road as the Burkewood Inn. It was purchased by the Homeless Angels in 2016 and now serves as the nonprofit's home.

Mom-and-pop motels had their heyday in the mid-20th century. It was easy for weary travelers to make a pit stop along highways and interstates for a night's rest.

By 1953, a survey taken by the State Journal revealed there were 24 motels operating in the Lansing area at that time. Fifteen were considered Class A accommodations, built in recent years.

The motels, sometimes called motor courts, or cabin courts, had a total of 298 rooms, with accommodations for 784 persons – the equivalent of a large hotel at that time.

About 80 percent of the Class A accommodations had been constructed since the end of World War II. Other units were modernized.

By the 1970s, the roadside motel had begun to be replaced by hotel chains. 

Some of the more popular motels in the Lansing area included the Spartan Inn on East Kalamazoo Street, Pennway Motel on South Pennsylvania Avenue and the Motel 6 on East Main Street.

Contact Vickki Dozier at (517) 267-1342 or vdozier@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickkiD.