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Larry Smith, the co-owner and manager of the Blue Top Motel, was an avid Hawkeye fan. In this photograph, he stands with his personal collection of Hawkeye memorabilia, including buttons, a clock, a Herky, and a clown (Wiederrecht-Finke, p. 22).

The back of Lois Wiederrecht-Finke as she studies at a desk in a Blue Top Motel cottage. A rotary phone sits on the desk to her left; a turned on lamp to the right.As a commuter student to the University of Iowa, she stayed at the Blue Top once a…

Judy (Howe) Smith, a co-owner of the Blue Top Motel, sits with a phone to her ear as she looks down at her desk. On the walls behind her is another phone, a file organizer, and two plaques.

Four cottages from the Blue Top Motel sitting in a half circle, surrounded by fully grown trees. The Motel was run by the Smith family for 44 years from the time of purchase in 1952 until December 31, 1996. (Wiederrecht-Finke, p. 6, 13).

The street sign of the Blue Top Motel, alongside 5th Street. Made of wood with a small, shingled roof, the sign reads:

"Blue Top Motel
Cable - TV - HBO
AAA"

Next to the sign is a street lamp; a planter filled with flowers and hanging ivy…

A photograph of the Blue Top Motel. A row of small cottages sit in a line, surrounded by small trees. Some guests sit outside in the sun. A row of flowering bushes stand next to a gravel road.

The Blue Top Motel was originally built and owned by…