Editing Motel (section)

==Architecture==
[[File:Star Lite Motel in Dilworth, Minnesota, USA. Winter view.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Star Lite Motel]] in [[Dilworth, Minnesota]] is a typical American 1950s L-shaped motel.]]

[[File:SWIMMING POOL OF THUNDERBIRD MOTEL ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER WITHIN YARDS OF THE INTERSTATE BRIDGE CONNECTING WASHINGTON... - NARA - 548083.jpg|thumb|right|Motels frequently have large pools, such as the Thunderbird Motel on the Columbia River in [[Portland, Oregon]] (1973).]]
[[File:Motel lobby in Custer, South Dakota.jpg|thumb|right|A typical motel lobby at the Rocket Motel in [[Custer, South Dakota]]]]
Motels differ from hotels in their location along highways, as opposed to the urban cores favored by hotels, and their orientation to the outside (in contrast to hotels, whose doors typically face an interior hallway). Motels almost by definition include a parking lot, while older hotels were not usually built with automobile parking in mind.

Because of their low-rise construction, the number of rooms which would fit on any given amount of land was low compared to the high-rise urban hotels which had grown around train stations. This was not an issue in an era where the major highways became the main street in every town along the way and inexpensive land at the edge of town could be developed with motels, car dealerships, fuel stations, lumber yards, amusement parks, roadside diners, drive-in restaurants, theaters, and countless other small roadside businesses. The automobile brought mobility and the motel could appear anywhere on the vast network of two-lane highways.

===Layout===
Motels are typically constructed in an I-, L-, or U-shaped layout that includes guest rooms; an attached manager's office; a small reception; and in some cases, a small diner and a swimming pool. A motel was typically single-story with rooms opening directly onto a parking lot, making it easy to unload suitcases from a vehicle.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.thefreedictionary.com/motel |title= Motel |publisher= The Free Dictionary By Farlex |access-date=June 28, 2012}}</ref> A second story, if present, would face onto a balcony served by multiple stairwells.

The [[post-war]] motels, especially in the early 1950s to late 1960s, sought more visual distinction, often featuring eye-catching colorful [[neon sign]]s which employed themes from popular culture, ranging from [[Western (genre)|Western]] imagery of cowboys and Indians to contemporary images of spaceships and [[Atomic Age|atomic era]] iconography. [[U.S. Route 66]] is the most popular example of the "neon era". Many of these signs remain in use to this day.

===Room types===
In some motels, a handful of rooms would be larger and contain [[kitchenette]]s or apartment-like amenities; these rooms were marketed at a higher price as "efficiencies" as their occupants could prepare food themselves instead of incurring the cost of eating all meals in restaurants. Rooms with connecting doors (so that two standard rooms could be combined into one larger room) also commonly appeared in both hotels and motels. A few motels (particularly in [[Niagara Falls, Ontario]], where a motel strip extending from [[Ontario Highway 20|Lundy's Lane]] to the falls has long been marketed to newlyweds) would offer "honeymoon suites" with extra amenities such as [[whirlpool bath]]s.