As a surge of traveling motorists teemed across the U.S. in the decade after World War II, roadside motels sprouted up along the east end of Coeur dAlenes Sherman Avenue, which then carried U.S. 10, a main east-west artery.


In 1964, work began on Interstate 90, constructed through Coeur dAlene over a period of 24 years, and the federal highway system and its flood of traffic left east Sherman behind in its rear-view mirror.


Some of Shermans 50s era motels, including the Flamingo, the State, and the Bates, still survive, while others have gone the way of the chrome-laden gas guzzler.


I think were in a good place, but this end of town hasnt done a lot of growing yet, says Dusty Van Iderstine, who co-owns the Bates Motel, at 2018 Sherman, with business partner Phil Henry. The Bates Motel has been here a long time and may be here a long time yet.


The Flamingo, built near the southeast corner of Sherman and Seventh in 1954, in more ways than one sits in the shadow of two modern high rises, the towering 15-story McEuen Terrace and the 20-story Parkside mixed-use condominium buildings, that have gone up practically next door to the west. Yet, the Flamingo, which is at 718 Sherman, has been owned for the last four years by Art and Shelley Williams, who are hardly against progress.


Art Williams says that Hagadone Hospitality Co.s big Coeur dAlene Resort, its shopping plaza downtown, and its celebrated golf course on the east side of town have attracted more tourists to the Lake City, and that has contributed to increased business at the Flamingo.


Were full 90 percent of the (weekends) past January and February, he says.


The Flamingos patrons usually reserve their rooms over the Internet, and many are repeat customers, Williams says.


Were within walking distance of shopping, restaurants, the lake, and a park, Williams says.


Like many motels of its time, the Flamingos architectural designa long single-story building right near the road with a parking space outside each of its 13 roomscalls to mind the heyday of the auto-travel era. The word motel, a blend of the words motor and hotel, was coined to describe establishments in which rooms are accessible from an outdoor parking area. The word dates back to 1925, and part of the appeal of the early motels, which were highly visible from busy routes, was that they offered a place for both car and driver to rest.


The Williamses strive to make the Flamingo fun by celebrating their period lodging establishments old-style design, in part by giving each room a theme.


The Cowboy room, for instance, has a Western, rustic motif. The Gone Fishing room has a variety of trout-themed decorations. The Flamingo Nest has a tropical theme, including parrot wall hangings, colorful fabrics, and a large ceiling fan.


Theres even a Route 66 room, which commemorates the federal highway that once was a celebrated auto route across the heart of America. Nat King Coles 1946 song Route 66 included the memorable refrain Get your kicks, on Route 66, and a popular 1960s TV show named after the highway was based on events encountered by two young men who drove a flashy Corvette. More recently, the 2006 Disney/Pixar animated movie Cars is based to a large degree on the diversion of the highways money-laden tourists to other routes.


While the mattresses at the Flamingo are new, all of the beds still are equipped with vintage Magic Fingers vibrating systems, and Williams says, The grandson of the man who invented it still comes around and services them.


The Flamingo targets mid-budget tourists, doesnt offer weekly rates, and caters to travelers, but isnt the cheapest place in town. Room prices are $70 to $130 from December through March, and $100 to $160 from April through November.


The Williamses have added televisions, DVD players, cable TV, refrigerators, and Internet access to the rooms.


We have to keep up with the big boys, says Art Williams, who adds that the establishment has two other employees in the off-season and another employee in the peak season.


When the Flamingo is full, the Williamses refer room inquiries to the State Motel, about six blocks east.


Norman Paul, owner of the 13-unit State, at 1315 Sherman, says hes seen a modest increase in customers there over the past two years.


Events like the Coeur dAlene Ironman triathlon and the Car dLane classic car cruise, both of which are held in June, kick off the summer tourist season, Paul says.


June through September, we have a lot of people traveling through, says Paul, who adds that the motel is managed by another couple who are its only employees.


Paul says hed entertain the idea of selling the motel, and he thinks it will be replaced by some other use eventually.


The motel business, the way it was built in the 1950s, isnt the highest and most-productive use of the property today, he says. At a certain point, it will be better to tear the buildings down and build something else.


He describes the east Sherman district as an area in transition that hasnt seen the infusions of money developers have pumped into the downtown area and the Riverstone development to the northwest. Still, there is some new business activity in Shermans east end.


Beehive Homes, an assisted living-center, was built in 2002 at 2100 Sherman on the former site of the Talk of the Town motel after it was razed. More recently, the Cove Bowl Recreation Center, a former bowling alley, was demolished and replaced by a car wash and self-storage facility at 2315 Sherman.


In the winter, the State Motel survives on low-budget weekly rentals.


People stay here for months at a time who have temporary jobs or who are looking for permanent places, he says.


The El Rancho Motel, a 14-room motel at 1915 Sherman, also survives the winter by offering weekly rates of $175 per week.


The Bates Motels Van Iderstine says business there is steady.


We dont make a huge profit, but were staying open, and thats all you can ask for these days, Van Iderstine says. Were one of the lower-priced establishments, where theres always a niche.


He says the name of the motel, which is the same as that of the motel in Psycho, the 1960s thriller, has become one of the motels greatest assets.


A lot of people are Hitchcock nuts, he says, referring to Alfred Hitchcock, the master of 50s suspense movies and the director of Psycho. Though the name draws guests, the single-story motel already had its name before the movie was made, and it doesnt resemble the motel in the movie.


He, too, envisions the day when the Bates Motel, which has 300 feet of frontage on the south side of Sherman, makes way for the right development at the right time.


St. Vincent De Paul of Coeur dAlene, a nonprofit that provides shelter and services for the homeless, has bought two of the former post-war motels, the Sandman and the Star, to use as transitional housing.


Were trying to take people from homeless to permanent housing, says Lynn Peterson, the agencys executive director. The motels are perfect for that.


St. Vincent bought the Sandman Motel, which is located at 1620 Sherman and has 11 units and a house, in December for $720,000 thanks to a state grant. The agency bought the Star Motel, at 1516 Sherman, which also has 11 units and a house, with a state grant for $178,000 in 2002.


She says shes been contacted by other motels along Sherman. Several have called trying to sell to us, but unless a grant comes up, theres nothing we can afford, Peterson says.


One of the old motels that literally has risen from the ashes is the Budget Saver Motel, at 1519 Sherman. The motel burned down in 2002 and reopened two years later with 52 units. It originally was built in the 1950s with a small number of rooms, similar to the other 50s-era motels on Sherman, and was expanded over time to about 40 rooms before the fire.


Construction of motels on Sherman didnt stop in the 1950s. Three newer lodging establishments have opened in the last 12 years on the far east end of Sherman, close to the Interstate 90 interchange. They are the La Quinta Inn & Suites, Sandalwood Business Center, and Japan House Suites. The 22-room Japan House, at 2113 Sherman, was built at the site of the Siesta Motel, one of the casualties from the 1950s.


The Resort City Inn, an 18-room, two-level motel at 621 Sherman closer to downtown, was built in 1993. Phil Provost, owner and manager of the motel, says its an ideal location within walking distance of many of Coeur dAlenes amenities.


Considering its proximity to bigger downtown developments, however, perhaps that property someday will become too valuable to be the site of a small motel, he says.


When the next boom cycle comes around, there could be a better use for the property, he says.


While there are fewer of the old motels on Sherman, citywide competition for business only has increased in recent years, says the Flamingos Art Williams.


The Holiday Inn Express, on Seltice Way, and the Hampton Inn, in Riverstone, both near the northwest entrance to the Lake City, have added about 400 rooms in the Coeur dAlene market, he says.


Contact Mike McLean at (509) 344-1266 or via e-mail at mikem@spokanejournal.com.