First Holiday Inn

First Holiday Inn (HM1720)

Location: Memphis, TN 38122 Shelby County
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Country: United States of America
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N 35° 8.925', W 89° 53.767'

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Inscription
The world's first Holiday Inn was opened on this site, August 1, 1952 by Memphis entrepreneur Kemmons Wilson as a result of his unsatisfactory lodging experiences on a vacation the prior summer with his wife Dorothy and their five children. He soon joined with builder Wallace B. Johnson to establish a nationwide chain of inns, each marked by a giant green and yellow neon sign topped by a star. By offering family-oriented, predictable convenience and "inexpensive luxury", this single 120-room motel located on the main route into Memphis from the east would evolve into the world's largest hotel-motel system and make Mr. Wilson's life a true rags-to-riches story. The first Holdiay Inn was retired by sale in 1973 and finally demolished in 1994.
Details
HM NumberHM1720
Tags
Placed ByShelby County Historical Commission
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Friday, October 24th, 2014 at 6:50am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16S E 236165 N 3893379
Decimal Degrees35.14875000, -89.89611667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 35° 8.925', W 89° 53.767'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds35° 8' 55.50" N, 89° 53' 46.02" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)901
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 4923-4957 Summer Ave, Memphis TN 38122, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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