Larry Smith with his Hawkeye collection, 1990s
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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).
Lois Wiederrecht-Finke
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Wiederrecht-Finke%2C+L.+%282003%29+The+Blue+Top+Motel.+New+London%2C+IA%3A+Lane%27s+End+Publishing.+">Wiederrecht-Finke, L. (2003) The Blue Top Motel. New London, IA: Lane's End Publishing. </a>
Coralville Public Library. Coralville Digital History Library.
1990s
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English
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Coralville, Iowa
Lois Wiederrecht-Finke studying at the Blue Top Motel, 1990s
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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.<br /><br />As a commuter student to the University of Iowa, she stayed at the Blue Top once a week. Upon learning the owners Larry and Judy (Howe) Smith planned to close down the business, she began a project of taking photographs to document and preserve the motel (Wiederrecht-Finke, p. xv-xvi). These photographs were later featured in a book titled <em>The Blue Top Motel</em>, published in 2003.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Wiederrecht-Finke%2C+L.+%282003%29+The+Blue+Top+Motel.+New+London%2C+IA%3A+Lane%27s+End+Publishing.+">Wiederrecht-Finke, L. (2003) The Blue Top Motel. New London, IA: Lane's End Publishing. </a>
Coralville Public Library. Coralville Digital History Library.
1990s
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=37&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Lois+Wiederrecht-Finke">Lois Wiederrecht-Finke</a>
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jpeg
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Coralville, Iowa
Judy (Howe) Smith takes a phone call at the Blue Top Motel, 1990s
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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.
Lois Wiederrecht-Finke
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Wiederrecht-Finke%2C+L.+%282003%29+The+Blue+Top+Motel.+New+London%2C+IA%3A+Lane%27s+End+Publishing.+">Wiederrecht-Finke, L. (2003) The Blue Top Motel. New London, IA: Lane's End Publishing. </a>
Coralville Public Library. Coralville Digital History Library.
1990s
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English
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Coralville, Iowa
Cabins at the Blue Top Motel, 1990s
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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).
Lois Wiederrecht-Finke
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Walch%2C+T.+%282015%29+Images+of+America%3A+Coralville.+Charleston%2C+SC%3A+Arcadia+Publishing">Walch, T. (2015) Images of America: Coralville. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Wiederrecht-Finke%2C+L.+%282003%29+The+Blue+Top+Motel.+New+London%2C+IA%3A+Lane%27s+End+Publishing.+">Wiederrecht-Finke, L. (2003) The Blue Top Motel. New London, IA: Lane's End Publishing. </a>
Coralville Public Library. Coralville Digital History Library.
1990s
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jpeg
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Coralville, Iowa
The street sign for Blue Top Motel, 1990s
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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 sits in front.
Lois Wiederrecht-Finke
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Walch%2C+T.+%282015%29+Images+of+America%3A+Coralville.+Charleston%2C+SC%3A+Arcadia+Publishing.">Walch, T. (2015) Images of America: Coralville. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing.</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Wiederrecht-Finke%2C+L.+%282003%29+The+Blue+Top+Motel.+New+London%2C+IA%3A+Lane%27s+End+Publishing.">Wiederrecht-Finke, L. (2003) The Blue Top Motel. New London, IA: Lane's End Publishing.</a>
Coralville Public Library. Coralville Digital History Library.
1990s
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=37&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Lois+Wiederrecht-Finke">Lois Wiederrecht-Finke</a>
Educational use only, no other permissions given.
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English
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Coralville, Iowa
Blue Top Motel business card, 1960s-1980s
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A business card advertising for the Blue Top Motel, which was located in Coralville, Iowa. The text printed in the center of the card states:
"Blue Top Motel
- The Finest -
3 miles west of Iowa City, IA.
1 Block North off Hiway 6
Quiet - Clean - Restful
Kitchenettes - Automatic Heat."
In the top left corner is the word "Telephone" with the number "5197" below. The top right corner has the AAA logo with the word "Recommended."
Finally, the names of the owners are in the bottom two corners: "Laurence Smith" on the left side and "Helen Smith" on the right.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Wiederrecht-Finke%2C+L.+%282003%29+The+Blue+Top+Motel.+New+London%2C+IA%3A+Lane%27s+End+Publishing.+">Wiederrecht-Finke, L. (2003) The Blue Top Motel. New London, IA: Lane's End Publishing. </a>
Coralville Public Library. Coralville Digital History Library.
Late 1960s-early 1980s
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=37&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Larry+%26+Judy+Smith">Larry & Judy Smith</a>
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English
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Coralville, Iowa
A list indicating mileage from the Blue Top Motel to surrounding cities, undated
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This mileage sheet was likely given as a resource to guests and potential guests of the Blue Top Motel to show the driving distances between the motel in Coralville and several cities in Iowa, as well as larger cities in Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Missouri. The sheet states the following:
"Mileage from Blue Top to
Iowa City.......3
Univ. Hospital......2
Vet's Hospital......2
Oakdale San.......3
Cedar Rapids......22
Newton........69
Grinnell........42
Des Moines......115
Ames........128
Omaha........255
Minneapolis......288
Waterloo.......89
Burlington.......81
Mason City......170
Kansas City......300
Davenport.......60
Clinton.......100
Chicago.......223
St. Louis .......264"
The distance from the Blue Top Motel to the local hospitals was of particular importance to the out-of-town guests who were staying while a loved one received prolonged treatments or recovered from a surgery.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Wiederrecht-Finke%2C+L.+%282003%29+The+Blue+Top+Motel.+New+London%2C+IA%3A+Lane%27s+End+Publishing.+">Wiederrecht-Finke, L. (2003) The Blue Top Motel. New London, IA: Lane's End Publishing. </a>
Coralville Public Library. Coralville Digital History Library.
Unknown
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=37&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Larry+%26+Judy+Smith">Larry & Judy Smith</a>
Educational use only, no other permissions given.
jpeg
English
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Document">Document</a>
Coralville, Iowa
Guests sit outside the Blue Top Motor Court, 1950s-1960s
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Blue+Top+Motel">Blue Top Motel</a>
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<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Family-owned+business+enterprises">Family-owned business enterprises</a>
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<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Nineteen+sixties+%5B1960s%5D">Nineteen sixties [1960s]</a>
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 Gustave R. (Rudy) and Iva B. Falk in the 1940s. The family listed the property in 1952. A gentleman named Russell Miller noticed the advertisement in the Des Moines Register and encouraged his nephew, Laurence Smith, to purchase the motor court. He and his wife Helen ran the motel together until his death in 1984. Helen Smith continued to manage the motel with her son, Larry, and his wife, Judy (Howe) until her death in 1994 (Wiederrecht-Finke, p. 5-6, 12-13).
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Wiederrecht-Finke%2C+L.+%282003%29+The+Blue+Top+Motel.+New+London%2C+IA%3A+Lane%27s+End+Publishing.+">Wiederrecht-Finke, L. (2003) The Blue Top Motel. New London, IA: Lane's End Publishing. </a>
Coralville Public Library. Coralville Digital History Library.
1950s-1960s
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=37&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Larry+%26+Judy+Smith">Larry & Judy Smith</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=37&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Lois+Wiederrecht-Finke">Lois Wiederrecht-Finke</a>
Educational use only, no other permissions given.
jpeg
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Coralville, Iowa
The Blue Top Motel's announcement of closure, 1996
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A printed document announcing the closure of the local Coralville motel, The Blue Top Motel, by the owners. The document has a border around the edge with embellished corners. A photograph of Larry and Judy Smith is in the center of the page; in the image, Larry has his arm around his wife as they both smile at the camera.
The text above and below the image states the following in bold:
"After 44 Years
The Blue Top Motel
operated by
The Smith Family
(L.E. & Helen & Larry & Judy Smith)
will be closing it's doors
Tuesday, December 31, 1996
To our patrons -
local to worldwide -
We have fond memories
of all of you.
Larry, Judy, Linda, & Lynn"
Larry & Judy Smith
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Wiederrecht-Finke%2C+L.+%282003%29+The+Blue+Top+Motel.+New+London%2C+IA%3A+Lane%27s+End+Publishing.+">Wiederrecht-Finke, L. (2003) The Blue Top Motel. New London, IA: Lane's End Publishing. </a>
Coralville Public Library. Coralville Digital History Library.
1996
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=37&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Larry+%26+Judy+Smith">Larry & Judy Smith</a>
Educational use only, no other permissions given.
jpeg
English
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Document">Document</a>
Coralville, Iowa