Duke Motor Lodge

35.969343, -78.960978

Year built
1953-1960
Neighborhood
Use
Building Type
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dukemotorlodge_1960s.jpg

Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd. Route 3, Box 24 Durham, North Carolina 76 New Units - Located at Jct. U.S. 15-501 Bus. and 15-501 Bypass; 1 mi. So. Durham - Near Duke Univ. and Hosp.; Veteran's Hosp.; Univ. of N. C. 20 Kitchenettes; Room Controlled Elec. Heat and Air-Conditioning; T.V.; Phones; Tub-Showers; 2 Swimming Pools; 9 Holes (Par 28) Golf on Premises. Choice Restaurants Nearby. Phone 489-9111

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Comments

There was an abandoned incomplete set of rooms behind this motel along the old 15-501 entrance ramp that used to be there Robby

This was a Ricer haven and they had many long term guests that gave it a very unique flavor.  It was rustic and charming ...the shag carpeting the wooden beams the ice cold air conditioning..I can still remember the ice cold Sprite in the machine.  It was a lovely wonderful place of freedom and comfort.  There was a Howard Johnson next door.  We would get chef salads and ice tea and have lunch at the pool and then go to Hartmann's or The Angus Barn or the Peddler for dinner and back in the pool til midnight...at least....great memories great times. 

I remember the ramp from the 80-90's. When 15-501 was widened, the fly-over to MLK added, etc. the ramp was closed. Previously you entered the highway to head north by going right beside what is now Rooms To Go.

The intersection of 15-501 Bypass and 15-501 Business was reconfigured in 1994-1995, if I recall correctly. It was definitely in place before late-1996 (I remember navigating it almost daily during my senior year of high school), but had not begun, as of March 1993. Feb 28, 1993 Overhead Apr 1, 1998 Overhead

I am almost positive the ramp was there in the 80's and 90's. It took me the longest time to get use to going the other way. I lived in the Colony Hill condos from 1984-1988 and I used that short cut every day. I think they blocked the ramp off when they built thr MLK bypass in that area.

I recall in the '90s the road i n front of Rooms to Go (Westgate according to the map) being a ramp to get on the highway...

Stayed there the summer of 1964 when I was visiting schools during my junior year in high school. We drove over to Duke and it was love at first sight--not of the motel but the campus! Now a Dukie for life. Thanks for the post.

Dan, that sounds right, b/c I had two children at that time and made weekly trips to Toys-R-US. They remember when the ramp was closed, and they would have been around 7 and 4.

I remember it well. From the early 1970s I stayed there every time I visited my parents in Durham. I was there on Thanksgiving weekend 1996 when it closed. Sad to see it go.

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