{"nrhp_refnum":"94001268","name":"Lazy A Motel","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2840 Peoria Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Springfield","county":"Sangamon County","state":"IL","lat":39.83926326100004,"lon":-89.63323329799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1994-11-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 13-unit, U-shaped motor court at 2840 Peoria Road, Springfield, Illinois, built in 1948-49 along U.S. Route 66 in Southwest Vernacular style. It is now used as apartments.","why_significant":"The nomination argues local significance under Criterion A for its association with U.S. Route 66 and under Criterion C as an example of the owner-operated motor court with garages between the sleeping units. It is described as the only one of this type remaining on Route 66 alignments in Illinois. Its Southwest Vernacular style is unusual for the region.","narrative":"Built in 1948-49 on Peoria Road in Springfield, this U-shaped motor court once offered 13 rooms to travelers on U.S. Route 66. Its stuccoed concrete block walls, flat roof with tile-topped parapets, tiled shed-roof hoods over entries, cast iron railings and heart-shaped door hardware reflect a modest Southwest Vernacular style, uncommon in Illinois. A two-story center section held the office and manager's apartment. Garages once sat between the rooms; only a few remain intact, while others now serve as bedrooms or kitchens for apartments. Original features such as the neon sign, wood gateways and wagon-wheel fence have been lost, though the grass courtyard survives. Harold Gordon and Daisy Gordon Tucker built it as a small family-run operation. It was listed for its link to Route 66 between 1949 and 1956 and as the only surviving Illinois example along the route of a motor court with garages between its units, reflecting the shift from autocamps toward the modern motel.","period_of_significance":"1949-1956 (Transportation); 1949 (Architecture)","architect_builder":"Unknown (built by Harold Gordon and Daisy Gordon Tucker)","architectural_style":"Other: Southwest Vernacular","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Now used as apartments; the 13 original motel rooms remain basically unaltered, but most garages have been converted to bedrooms or kitchens and the neon sign, wood gateways and fence are gone.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.787304-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/8940/28894098/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/94001268.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94001268/c8f178e6fb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94001268/c8f178e6fb-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lazy_A_Motel.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lazy_A_Motel.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894098","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazy_A_Motel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6506094"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/sangamon-county/lazy-a-motel-94001268/"}