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Updated: April 25, 2024 @ 11:37 pm
The hollowed lobby of the historic Diamond Inn Motel is pictured June 5.
The Diamond Inn Motel is shown in the foreground of this vintage postcard, with the Diamonds Restaurant in the background.
The shuttered Diamond Inn Motel, once a bustling landmark along Interstate 44 in Gray Summit, will be razed in a couple of months — a fate that has already befallen the historic Gardenway Motel a short distance away on the storied Route 66.
Both properties, which are owned by members of the Eckelkamp family, are slated for redevelopment.
“It’s hard to see it coming down,” L.B. Eckelkamp Jr. said Monday of the Diamond Inn Motel, which he said had fallen into disrepair. “But it’s definitely time.”
Eckelkamp said asbestos contamination has delayed the demolition of the Diamond Inn. “I think they (the demolition crew) would be finished by now if they hadn’t found more asbestos,” Eckelkamp said.
The 161-room Diamond Inn Motel was constructed in 1971 next to the fabled Diamonds Restaurant, which had relocated to Gray Summit in 1969 from its original location in Villa Ridge.
The Diamonds Restaurant closed in September 1995 and the Diamond Inn shut down in November 2016.
The Diamond Inn, Diamonds Restaurant and the Gardenway Motel figure prominently in Route 66 history.
The 24-room Gardenway Motel was torn down in May, according to Eckelkamp. The motel, built in 1945 by Eckelkamp’s father, Louis Eckelkamp, once boasted over 40 rooms and was named for the Henry Shaw Gardenway. It ceased operations in 2014.
Eckelkamp said he is considering redevelopment opportunities for both properties.
“At this point, we don’t know what we are going to do with either property. We are just cleaning up the sites and reviewing our options,” he added.
(1) comment
Let's be honest it does not matter who owns it, in reference to the name dropping of a has been family in Franklin county. Most people haven't heard of them the area has grown so much. Strange this article doesn't mention all the drug overdoses and fatalities that have occurred here at these locations. Problem won't post this but God knows the truth.
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