Motor courts were small hotels built along the nation’s highways as the popularity of automobile travel increased. They were typically one story and rooms had easy access to the parking lot. In 1949 when this photo was taken at the Seminal Motor Court, its location at 7200 Florida Ave was fairly rural (yet still within Tampa city limits). Look at those beautiful pine trees. The building featured 18 units, five with kitchenettes, and a four-room apartment and office for the owners. It was at the gateway to the then-popular Sulfur Springs Park and pool.

In the late 1960s it was renamed the Seminole Motel. Since that time the neighborhood has become blighted. In 2004, in an attempt to reduce prostitution, the owner of the hotel was arrested along with several other innkeepers for renting rooms to prostitutes. The motel remains in business.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved