Random Photographs, Thoughts, & Tales|September 2025
Downtown Cincinnati’s “Backstage District.”
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7th St, Cincinnati.
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Motor Inn - Mendon, OH:
The Motor Inn’s classic “EAT” sign always represented the halfway point of my family’s frequent roadtrips between Cincinnati and Fort Wayne. As a kid, it was the only example of Route 66-style, roadside Americana I’d ever seen outside of cartoons or movies. That shabby truck stop awash with classic neon wasn’t the kind of place my family was going to stop and eat at, but by the time I was making the drive myself: it was the exact kind of place I wanted to visit.
The Motor Inn sign in 2011, 2013, and 2017.
The Motor Inn was a place out of time, a classic institution that occupied a perfect geographic location at crossroads large enough to not have been driven into extinction by the Interstate System. The kind of spot where you could sip black coffee while sharing conversation with a grease-covered mechanic who’d ordered (and recommended) “the rabbit” off the menu.
Motor Inn reuben, 2017.
And then one sad, cold day—I drove up to the place with hungry anticipation only to find the place demolished down to the dirt. In its place: proclamations that a rebuilt Motor Inn would one day rise.
I don’t make this drive as often anymore, but I recently saw that the classic sign is alive atop a new building. I couldn’t stop in at the time since the dog was with me, but I hope that the food is still solid even if the charm has changed.
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Egypt on the Road:
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Potawatomi Inn:
The closest thing I’ve ever experienced to the “Great Northern Hotel” from Twin Peaks.
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Angola, Indiana:
Angola holds a special place in my heart. Growing up, it’s where we’d visit my grandparents and spend summers on Crooked Lake. It’s the quintessential American small town—from its charming city center to its dollar-store-style suburban sprawl. It even once boasted an abandoned amusement park.
When I recently stopped to make this photograph of the city’s downtown movie theater—the Brokaw Movie House—I remembered that Die Another Day was the last movie I saw there.
Except, once I eventually looked up the film’s November 2002 release date, I began to question that memory.
So, I pulled up one of my older Angola posts to see if I’d claimed that personal fact before and found that I (kind of) once had back in 2010.
But, while looking at that old post, I started to question if this was even the correct theater. Because, as it turns out, Angola’s downtown square once boasted two classic movie theaters:
The nearby, former Strand Theatre as seen in 2010.
While the Brokaw Movie House remains and the Strand Theatre has closed—the two once had an intertwined history.
But, if I’m being perfectly honest at this moment: I can’t make sense of it.
What I can make sense of on CinemaTreasures.org, however, is this incredibly beautiful photograph uploaded by a user named “Granola” which appears to show both theaters at some point in the 1980s:
Angola’s Strand and Brokaw Theaters as seen in a photograph uploaded to CinemaTreasures.org by user “Granola” under the Creative Commons (Attribution) License.
When I passed through Angola recently, all traces of the Strand and its marquee were gone with the internet hinting that the place had closed around 2016.
Sadly, one other thing I noticed when looking back at that 2010 post was this brief conversation I’d once recalled with The Strand’s owner:
“You missed the matinee,” said the owner as he wiped down the windows. “Stopping by tonight for the evening shows?”
We explained that we weren’t from the area and on our way out of town, but that we had good memories of going there as kids (‘Die Another Day’ is the last movie I can remember seeing there). According to him: business had been dropping steadily—down about 3000 customers since 2001. He chalked it up to people wanting to stay home with their entertainment systems and large TVs.
Hopefully business starts to look up for this guy.
As to whether or not I saw Die Another Day at the now-defunct Strand, the existing Brokaw, or even within the confines of northeastern Indiana at all—I still have no idea. What I do know with confidence, however, is that the 20th James Bond film was bad. Even thirteen-year-old me could sense that it was a low point for Pierce Brosnan to go out on.
Goldeneye’s great, though.
And so is Angola.
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The “Botkins Motel” of Botkins, Ohio:
Even I wouldn't have tried had it still been open.
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Faded diner sign near an abandoned Wendy’s in Dayton, Ohio.
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Northside, Cincinnati:
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Egypt.
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Downtown Cincinnati:
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Cincinnati Oktoberfest.
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Pendleton, Cincinnati:
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Evanston, Cincinnati.
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Fountain Square, Cincinnati:
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“A#1 Roller Rager” was the last great song cKy ever made.
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Downtown Cincinnati:
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Also updated “the list” (and if you liked all the old signs in this post, there’s a lot more there).
Back with more stories soon.
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