Ohio House Motel

In December 1960, a tiny notice in the Chicago Tribune announced the opening of the Ohio House Motel in western downtown Chicago, at LaSalle and Ohio Street. Fifty years later, this tiny independent motel is still going strong. Distinguished by its funky diamond motif, the Ohio House is a vintage slice of roadside Americana plopped down right in the middle of downtown Chicago. Apart from the diamond roofline, other points of interest include the matching suspended sign, held up by a geometric metal grid which is itself reflected in the pattern block fence that runs along Ohio Street. Rough-faced stone walls and a large stainless steel sign on the east facade add to it’s distinctly Chicago Mid-Century design.