Travelodge motel, downtown Gatlinburg, TN, circa 1960

About this postcard

The Travelodge in downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee, seen from across its private swimming pool. Sunbathers lounge on the deck beneath striped umbrellas, a swing set stands at the edge of the lawn, and the motel's stone buildings with balconies and a small tower rise behind. Wooded ridges of the Great Smoky Mountains close the view. The card calls it "A modern motel located in the heart of Gatlinburg convenient to the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park," and lists television, air conditioning, tile baths, room phones, and cross ventilation among the comforts. Gatlinburg in these years was a small resort town serving park visitors, and chains like Travelodge were spreading along the country's highways to house the postwar driving vacation.