On Sept. 1, 1957, the Colony Motel at 9232 W. Ogden Ave. in Brookfield opened its doors for the very first time. On Sept. 1, 2007, the Colony Motel celebrated its 50th continuous year of operation, no small achievement for any business.
In early spring, 1957, the long undeveloped, vacant property located on the northeast corner of Madison and Ogden avenues, was about to undergo a fairly “permanent” change.
The 1950s were a great time for vacationing travelers, eager to get out and see the sights. So some of them ended up going to or from the big, bright, bold city of Chicago and to or from Brookfield’s hot local attraction, the Brookfield Zoo.
In either case, they usually came into Brookfield on its busiest, well-known street, U.S. Highway Route 34, known since 1872 as Ogden Avenue.
Naturally, these travelers needed places to stay, and in the spring of 1957, the rafters and roofs of the Colony Motel began to rise above the humble landscape. Soon, vacationers would be driving into the carport out front and getting the keys to their rooms for a bit of rest and relaxation, free from the cares and worries of navigating on the open highway.
The Colony Motel was to be the utmost in modern, but budget-priced elegance. But no matter how it looked on the outside or the inside, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Fikejs, the motel owners, knew that what was truly needed to advertise the motel’s presence to drivers speeding by, was a great big sign. It had to be easy and clear to see by day, and colored attractively by neon-tubed letters at night.
In August, Mr. and Mrs. Fikejs and their 18-year-old son, Richard, moved into their on-site living quarters in rooms behind the motel’s check-in desk. This area today is still the residential section of the current managerial caretakers of the motel.
By the end of August, work on the single-story high Colony Motel was completed. The beds were made, and the towels were up. The little soap bars were on the sinks, and the paper-covered glasses and ice buckets were ready for use. In rear alcoves to the east and west of the center section of the motel, the Coca-Cola machine was humming and cold, ready to dispense, for a dime, its small glass bottles of caffeinated refreshment. Here, also, the ice machine held its treasure chest of free frozen cubes. Now came the time to hold the grand opening.
The motel owners paid for a large advertisement in the local Citizen newspaper, which stated that “persons traveling by car, desiring the ultimate in up-to-date accommodations, enhanced by a colonial atmosphere, will find just that in the new Colony Motel to be officially opened at 9232 Ogden Avenue, in Brookfield, September 1.”
While the opening inspection that day was intended for local residents, friends and officials, the owners were happy to welcome in anyone passing by to look around. In the early evening of that Sunday, Sept. 1, the Colony Motel’s green, red and white neon sign was turned on for the first time, along with its bright and easy to read “VACANCY” lettering. The owners must have looked forward to being full up, and having to turn on the “NO” neon letters to the left of the word “VACANCY.”
It did not take long for the unique look of the motel to attract passing motorists, whether they were vacationing or not. Reported the Citizen, “Motorists stopping at the motel will find the clean simple lines of the exterior or the building, which is enhanced by quaint lattice work, and the attractively-decorated and wisely planned rooms, a welcome retreat from their road travels.
n
“The motel’s 20 units, including a bridal suite, all feature radiant heating, air conditioning, carpeting. Philippine mahogany-paneled walls and adjoining ceramic tile showers, where built-in shelves afford adequate storage space. Each unit is also equipped with two full-size beds, a dresser-desk combination, two lounge chairs, a 21-inch television set, and a telephone.”
Each room also had an individual temperature control, something of a luxury in most motels, as was “luxurious” wall-to-wall carpeting. Outside, there was space for 35 cars provided in the two parking lots.
No records exist as to how much it cost to stay in one of the rooms, but it must have been extremely cheap by today’s standards. Of course, the television set was a black-and-white model. Still, they had 21-inch screens, and that was really huge for the time.
As the 1950s passed into becoming the 1960s, an additional section of rooms was built on the east, adjoining the 1957-built rooms. This new, two-story-high section was erected in the late 1960s. The same colonial style was duplicated on this new section, and fits so well even today that many people believe that it was there from the very beginning. But it wasn’t.
There have been few changes over the years to the exterior of the motel complex. The iron lattice work is still intact, and is still painted white. The original 20 rooms have been expanded to a total of 36. In 2005 and 2006, there was some remodeling and renovation done. Further repair and remodeling is planned, including a project to raise and repave the parking lots to aid in drainage. Also, in a nod to the new century, guests have been getting free use of the wireless Internet in their rooms. One thing gone since its first days is the bridal suite. Maybe enough brides weren’t checking in. It is just another room now.
The giant neon Colony Motel sign, built and erected by the E.F. Klecka Company, looks almost exactly as it did back in 1957. Early on, the letters on the sign had reflective, colored, painted letters in back of the similarly-colored neon ones. But this paint faded over time. Since the early 1970s, black paint has outlined the neon letters, which still bear their true colors.
It is almost an eerie sight, suddenly seeing this old-style motel, as if it were plucked out of the 1950s and set down in the 21st century. This is a largely unchanged example of a 1950s motel, just sitting on a frontage of 235 feet along Ogden Avenue, still waiting to be noticed. Still, as in the 1950s, beautifully kept-up little gardens are spread out here and there around the grounds. It’s a miracle that all this has survived for as long as it did.
n
Half a century! But there will be no great celebration held at the motel, no great speeches made, no historical booklets printed. In its quiet, humble, serving way, the Colony Motel will continue on, giving a place of rest to those people lucky enough to take notice of it.
Some people who see the Colony Motel might think it is old-fashioned and sorely out of touch with today’s modern, boxy, featureless motels. Maybe it is still “quaint,” and maybe it is something of a relic of another era. But if you’re going to stay at a motel, why not stay at one with true style? And with any luck, maybe that style will endure here in Brookfield for another 50 years.