Bungalow Motel on Michigan Ave., Inkster, MI, circa 1950

About this postcard

A white single-story motel with a red roof and a wide green lawn fronting Michigan Avenue in Inkster, a Wayne County suburb west of Detroit. The roadside sign reads "Bungalow Motel" and "Vacancy," and the AAA emblem at the upper left marks the court as an approved stop for motorists. The units open directly onto the grounds, the layout typical of the tourist courts that served auto travelers from the 1930s into the 1950s. Cards like this one, printed by MWM Color Press of Aurora, Missouri, sat in the office rack and were mailed to travelers holding a room. The two telephone numbers use named exchanges, a mid-century convention that disappeared once all-digit dialing arrived.