Changes at the Walker Motel

Things change on the old roads all the time, so it’s good to revisit them from time to time. Not long ago I went out to see a few key places on the National Road in western Indiana. One of them was the Walker Motel, in Putnam County. Here’s what it looked like when I photographed it in 2009. Despite the sign’s peeling paint, this place looked to be reasonably well kept. In particular, the hanging plants under the eaves suggested that someone cared. I can’t easily find information about when this motel was built, but I’d guess it’s from the early postwar period. Here’s a postcard view of the hotel from the 1950s. I’m sure this hotel was hopping in US 40’s heyday, before I-70 opened in the 1960s. After that, guest volume certainly fell, changing the economics for the owners. Plenty of hotels on bypassed US highways fell into disuse and disrepair. Many were ultimately demolished. But the Walker’s owners found a way forward, and turned their rooms into apartments. This change happened…