{"nrhp_refnum":"04001392","name":"Sea Foam Motel","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"7111 S. Virginia Dare Trail","address_restricted":false,"city":"Nags Head","county":"Dare County","state":"NC","lat":35.91043995700005,"lon":-75.59607630799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-12-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A beachfront brick motel complex at 7111 South Virginia Dare Trail in Nags Head, Dare County, North Carolina, begun in 1948 and expanded in 1951, the mid-1950s and 1964. It has 51 rental units and several recreational features.","why_significant":"The motel is argued to be significant under Criterion A for entertainment/recreation, as an example of the post-World War II growth of tourism on the Outer Banks. It is also significant under Criterion C for architecture, as one of the last and best preserved post-war motor courts on the Outer Banks. It was among the first beach motels with an in-ground swimming pool.","narrative":"Sea Foam Motel is a one- and two-story brick motel directly on the Atlantic beach at Nags Head, North Carolina. Theodore and Rosa Meekins began it in 1948 as a single row of about ten rooms with a two-story office. A beachside wing followed in 1951, a north wing in the mid-1950s joined the sections into a U shape around a parking area, and a 1964 addition brought the total to fifty-one units. The grounds include an in-ground pool from 1948, a playground and a shuffleboard court. Rooms keep knotty pine paneling, tiled bathrooms and screen doors. The motel is significant as a surviving example of the post-World War II motor courts that grew up as better roads and bridges brought tourists to the Outer Banks. It was among the first beach motels with a swimming pool, and it remains in operation, with many families returning for generations.","period_of_significance":"1948-1964","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Modern Movement","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still operating as a motel; survived Hurricane Isabel in 2003 with limited damage, and doors and windows were replaced to match the originals.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:52.942585-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/15/7199/47719915/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/04001392.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001392/846858e470-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001392/846858e470-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Flickr user sarahstierch","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sea_Foam_NRHP_Dare_Co_NC.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Flickr user sarahstierch</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sea_Foam_NRHP_Dare_Co_NC.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719915","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Foam_Motel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18217266"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/dare-county/sea-foam-motel-04001392/"}