posted 04-25-2006 11:44 AM            

The Satellite Motel was a bit further along the road with its satellite/Earth globe on the hotel ad pole!

Also, the Wooden Nickel "shack" that served pretty good - and much cheaper than motel/hotel - food! Us Brits in those early long haul charter days were on a tight budget!

A lot of the big aerospace companies (NAA, McDonnell, Boeing, Grumman) would take over hotels for week or two to have their PR people giving news handouts, freebies, etc. and organising site visits. Also, some of the countdown and support staff would be housed in them.

posted 04-26-2006 06:55 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Blackarrow:
What became of the Atlantis?

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posted 04-26-2006 07:20 AM               

Other popular motels were: Satellite Motel, Polaris, Vanguard, Sea Missle, Holiday Inn, Silver Sands, Sea Air (sp?), Astrocraft, and the Cape Colony Inn, to name a few.

The Cape Colony Inn hosted a full news center in 1964 with offices for LIFE, National Geographic, NBC, CBS and the wire services.

Romon's was a popular restaurant for Cape workers back in the 50's, and was built in 1958. Fat Boys was a popular place that the Mercury astronauts would eat at. Gus Grissom loved their ribs and would make a point to fly down there just to get them. This was told to me by his wife, Betty.

A really great book about the early Cape and the Cocoa Beach area is titled "The Missilemen" by Mel Hunter. It was published in 1960 by Doubleday and reminds me of the film of "Growing Up With Rockets."

Another good history book to get about Cocoa Beach is titled "The City Of Cocoa Beach: The First Sixty Years" by Glenn Rabac.

One interesting note: A sign was put up that read "Cocoa Beach 8 Miles From Confusion" and was paid for by the Cocoa Beach Booster Club. Locals didn't like it because of the word "Confusion."

The story behind the motels at Cocoa Beach is quite interesting. At the time the Cape was being built there was nothing there and a lot of motels had to go up in a hurry to make up "motel row". The last time I was down there the "Silver Sands" motel was still there and so was the Sea Air. They both look a little out of place, but glad they are still there.

Another thing, Guenter Wendt would put up the Mercury astronauts at his place when they wanted to get away from the press.

quote:

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Originally posted by Canaveral:
I wonder what ever happened to the Satellite Motel display on the main strip

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While doing some research for a book I was working on I talked to the owner of the motel about it and he let me have some nice pieces from it (all fiberglass).

posted 05-03-2006 12:22 AM            

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Originally posted by Rick Boos:

I found the photos of the Earth globe from the Satellite Motel.

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If my memory has not failed, I'd say the above picture was taken after Hurricane David brushed by Florida in 1979. I remember that both of the smaller, spheres were still in place prior to that storm (though the upper one had already "migrated" down the rod by that point).

posted 08-05-2006 05:36 PM            

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Originally posted by bshockley123:
I often stayed at the Satellite (and the Holiday)...

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posted 01-20-2008 10:07 AM               

The astronauts stayed at the Holiday Inn where Henri Landwirth was a manager, he was replaced by Larry Koen, Ed Wilson and Jack Bovard during that period.

When the Mercury 7 astronauts "invested" in the Cape Colony, they stayed there. When NASA frowned on their participation in the hotel, they went back to the Holiday Inn. The Lounge was one of their hang-outs, another was the Ramada's Wolfie's for late night snacks after partying. Also the Ramada featured entertainers, such as Frank Sinatra, Jr. and Trish, who was a popular folk singer.

The Cape Colony was very popular because of Mark Wayne's band with Johnny Bolan at the piano. They kept the place "hopping" and always full.

Ramon's, the Surf, Alma's and the Mousetrap were the best resturants to be seen or to just indulge.

The Holiday is still there, Ramada became the Carriage House, the Cape Colony is now La Quinta, the old Hilton is gone.

Alma's, Ramon's and the Mousetrap are no longer and the Surf is under new owners.

posted 07-19-2009 08:21 AM               

I understand that there are such hotels as the Holiday Inn, La Quinta and the Best Western Hotel but can anybody recommend a hotel that they think reflects the time of Apollo, firstly as it will be a fitting end to a holiday in my favourite place in the world, , plus my daughter and I will be celebrating our birthdays as well, in fact my daughter's birthday is on the day of the actual launch itself (not forgetting its the 40th anniversary of Apollo 12 as well).

I myself quite like the idea of La Quinta or the Super 8 Motel in Titusville near the Kennedy Space Center but any advice as usual is always gratefully received.

posted 10-06-2010 08:17 AM            

Across the road is the La Quinta, which used to be Cape Colony, with which the original Mercury 7 astonauts were involved. There is a suggestion that this site used to be the old, original Holiday Inn but there was insuffcient space to expand so they sold up and moved across the street, making the original motel available for purchase by the Original 7. However, a book on the history of Cocoa Beach suggests the Cape Colony was a new build, at the time the largest motel in the area, casting doubt on the above suggestion. Also, there is suggestion is that the Original 7 planned to invest the money paid by LIFE magazine for their exclusive stories in this motel, but this was frowned upon by the upper echelons of management at NASA. The above-mentioned book suggests the Mercury 7 were forced out of part-ownership of the motel before construction was completed. Again, this conflicts with reports of the Original 7 staying there whilst still owners.

Trying to find definitive evidence as to which account is correct and the timelines has been complicated. However, I came across this, in Wally Schirra's 2003 book: "Leo DeOrsey had proposed to us that we build a motel in Cocoa Beach... Henri Landwirth, also a part-owner, quit his job at the Holiday Inn to become the manager. We named the motel the Cape Colony Inn. ... The motel didn't do as well as we hoped and Leo suggested we sell... End of story, almost. Henri had to leave Cocoa Beach because of a no-compete clause in the contract to sell the Cape Colony. He and John Glenn later became partners and today they own two very profitable Holiday Inns adjacent to Disney World in Orlando." That would appear to clear that one up.

As I understand it, the hotel and pool area have been altered and updated but the basic building has remained largely unchanged since the Mercury days and the upper apartment section was reputedly the home of the families of the Mercury 7 while they were in town for the launches. Next door (now a beach shop?) appears to have been the office building complex that became a fully functional press suite.

Next to the Holiday Inn, to the south, is the Ocean's Landings Resort; this used to be the The old Atlantis Beach Lodge. Before this, the Atlantis Beach Lodge was the Carriage House Motel and before this, was the Ramada, famous particularly for Wolfie's Deli, home of the infamous Gemini III Corned Beef and Pickle on Rye sandwich.... Other sites suggest the Ramada was subsumed by the Holiday Inn on expansion but from what I've read, pulling together various pieces and threads, I think the above is more probable unless anyone has evidence to the contrary?

The fourth motel often debated in discussions around early space program lodgings was the original Hilton at Cape Canaveral. Most sites list this as demolished, and confirming the original location hasn't been straightforward. However, from a book on Cape Canaveral it appears that the Cape Canaveral Hilton was not demolished, but acquired by Dr Carl McIntire. As far as I can make out, he moved his bible college (Shelton College) there for a while and re-launched as the “Gateway to the Stars, the Bible Conference and Freedom Center". The book notes that, after the end of the Apollo Program ended, real estate prices crashed and the site was picked up fairly cheaply; other sources state the site was acquired in 1971 as the program was winding down. The college itself (at the Cape site) closed in 1992. Archived documents give the address of the center as 8701 Astronaut Boulevard, Cape Canaveral. This is now the site of the Radisson Resort at the Port. I have no evidence if this is the original building but the site seems plausible. Certainly the current appearance of the area fits with the description from a former student who describes "a residential neighborhood filled with split-levels, basketball hoops and two car garages". Mention is made of the "Under the Stars" hotel; I'm unsure as to whether this is what the Hilton became before the buy-out, or what the college became after it closed in 1992. I have also found a second reference confirming the Radission as the location of the Cape Hilton in a site featuring Cocoa Beach trivia.

Some other motels from the same era:

The Satellite Motel (home of the apparently oft-frequented Pillow Talk Lounge) with it's famous Globe sign has now gone, having been demolished. The site is now, as far as I can tell, occupied by the Resort at Cocoa Beach.

The Starlight motel was the first major motel to be built at Cocoa Beach, built in 1956. I believe this was/is next to what is now the Oceans Beach Resort mentioned above. I am working on pinning down the exact location. This appears to be where Henri Landwirth first got a job as a motel manager in Cocoa Beach. I note the recent comments of the poster above and would welcome clarification on which empty building was being referred to...

Silver Sands motel appears to be still in existence at 225 N Atlantic Avenue though I can't confirm with certainty yet if this is the original site/building. The Sea Aire motel, from the same area, also seems to be in existence at the original location, at 181 N Atlantic Avenue.

The Apollo motel is now a Best Western, at 5600 N Atlantic Ave. The Durango steakhouse in the same area used to be the Mousetrap Restaurant and Bar, which was a frequent haunt of the NASA staff. Again, I presume this is the original building (rather than a new site or simply re-use of the name) but have yet to confirm this. The location of the Apollo would indicate that the Apollo motel and the Polaris motel, also mentioned in these discussions, were actually one and the same, during different eras.

Finally, the Sea Missile Motel appears to have been located at the corner of Cocoa Beach Causeway and A1A, now the site of the CVS opposite Ron Jon's surf shop.

posted 10-11-2010 07:23 AM            

In August I stayed at the Sea Aire Motel. It is still run by the same family who built it in the early 1950's. I chatted with Gary, the manager who is the grandson of the original owner(s). One of the interesting things he told me that was that Werner Von Braun stayed in Room 10 - a fact apparently well known to German tourists, who Gary said seek out the room for that reason.

I have also continued collecting postcards of the motels from this era, and came across two places I had never heard mentioned. The first is Crossway Motor Inn, 3901 N. Atlantic Ave. Today, a Comfort Inn is located there, which appears to be a completely new building, not a remodel of the Crossway. The second is the Bal-Ray. There is no address listed, but the card says it is (was) "directly on the beach" and "close to the shopping district", which may mean "downtown" Cocoa Beach.

posted 03-09-2011 05:38 PM               

I have a few good sources but would like to enhance the richness of my research. I've already come across some very amusing anecdotes, one concerning a boat in the swimming pool. (I would love to know more about that, by the way.)

posted 03-12-2011 07:14 PM               

The now-Radisson Resort at the Port is of the same location as the old Hilton was on.

Yes, indeed, just about all the old Hilton foundations and structures were completely re-built. The resort's convention center, if I recall, still maintains a similar structure in use today.

I think the bar that Worden made reference to at the old Hilton was the Pieces of Eight Lounge near the motor inn's romantic Gaucho Steak Room.

During the Cape/Hilton days, the Norm Schooping Trio, with Norm at the piano, was one of the most popular Space Coast beach entertainment spots.