Signature Inn - gone but not forgotten

For those who have been following along with The History of Signature Inn, much of what I have presented here has already been explained and this is going to be almost a cross-post of my recent blog entry over there.

For those of you who have NOT been following along, Signature Inn was a hotel chain formed in the late 70s intended to be a mid-priced brand geared toward the business traveler, but with amenities that  leisure travelers could enjoy as well.  By the end of 1989, the chain had grown to 32 hotels in seven states, with most of them being in Indiana where the chain was founded.

In the early 90s, the chain faced some financial difficulties and bankruptcy filing; as of 1994, the chain was down to 23 locations.  A merger with Jameson Inns took place in 1999 to bring Signature and Jameson under one corporate umbrella.  A couple of mergers and acquisitions had taken place in 2004 and 2006.  In 2005, more hotels began to be sold off and the Signature Inn name was replaced by the Jameson Inn name on most of their properties in 2006, though a few hotels were still branded as Signature Inn.  In 2011, Jameson had over 100 of its properties foreclosed upon due to financial difficulties it faced, in part because of the loan the company took out to finance a 2006 merger.  By early 2013, none of the original hotels were a part of their parent company.

Two hotels in particular were close to my heart, one in Cincinnati/Sharonville, where we had stayed as a family in 1991, and one in Canton, that I had seen during our many family outings to Belden Village Mall.  After seeing the name disappear from the Canton hotel, I had wondered whatever happened to them.  But because I was 14 and the internet was still just someone's pipe dream, all I could do was wonder.  Then in mid-2014 after happening upon the Cincinnati location where we stayed years ago (which has become another hotel brand), my interest was rekindled.  It was further piqued later on that year when I came upon a billboard whose original vinyl overlay had been removed, revealing an ad for a Signature Inn in Dayton.  At that point, I wanted to see what others were out there and thus began the advent of the Signature Inn blog.

My job requires a certain amount of travel during the summer and during the summer and fall of 2015, I was able to photograph the exteriors of many of the Indiana and Ohio locations.  One of my goals besides being able to visit all of the locations at some point has been to actually spend a night (or more) in a former Signature Inn.  That dream finally came true in June 2016.

It was a dark and stormy night...

Well, it was dark and rainy anyway. I had a slightly challenging back-roads drive to the hotel, but my spirits were hardly dampened.  "I get to stay in a former Signature Inn!" was pretty much my thought the entire way there.  That, and "I hope no one hits me."  But, I digress...

Upon my arrival at the hotel, I was so thankful that things had aligned to make this visit possible.  I had stopped by here in December 2014 for some exterior photos, but this was great.  I got to go in as a legal, paying guest!

I think what may have been my favorite feature of the hotels, besides their exterior design, is the lobby.  The curved staircase that sits front and center, as well as the glass wall that lines the staircase and balcony definitely add a touch of class to the hotel.  Even though they were designed as a mid-priced hotel, the atmosphere (at least for its time, back in the mid-1980s) was a little more upscale.

the hotel's lobby and staircase

The hotel's front desk had been updated, but it still retains its general layout.

The lobby's upper level included (and still does include) a computer for business use and a sitting area.  Of course, the front windows let in plenty of natural light during the daytime.

The hallways are pretty nondescript:

A photo of one of the guest rooms:

The room was clean, comfortable, and about what one would expect for a mid-range hotel.  One of the neater features about the room was something I like to think was original to the building -- the room's lockset:

This hotel retains its S-shaped pool, a typical feature of Signature Inns.  Most of them, like this one, were outdoor pools.

Newspaper goodies...

newspaper photo showing the hotel's construction progress 

A May 31, 1989 photo of the hotel's manager on the spiral staircase

I took the photo from the newspaper advertisement above and tried to get one of my own photos from about the same vantage point.  LEFT: 5/31/1989   RIGHT: 6/8/2016

7/26/1993 advertisement for the sale of this particular hotel, along with the one in Cleveland.

Even though this hotel wasn't the first Signature Inn I stayed at (in fact, it wasn't a Signature Inn when I DID stay here), seeing this hotel perched atop its hill on my many trips to the Canton area does warrant this hotel a special place in my heart as well.