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Paulsen's Court

380 S Old 66, Dwight, IL
Phone:

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Martin and Mehta Paulsen started their business here in the mid 1930's with a gas station and later added a 5 or 6 unit motor court with carports separating the rooms. The gas station was in the smaller part of the building shown here. An old photo shows the house/office as being a Cities Service gas station.

In the early 1952 the Strufe family bought the station and motel and in 1959 remodeled the motel converting the carports to additional guest rooms and refaced the building with brick. They also stopped selling gas and converted the station building into a motel office and added the larger section seen here which served as their home. Along with the remodeling came a new name, the Arrow Motel. The Strufe's died in 1968 and their son Fredrick continued to operate the motel for several years.

In 1991 the motel was still open and operating as the Carefree motel. When this photo was taken in 2016 the office/residence was just a residence and the motel had been converted into apartments.

There is a "Mom and Pop Motels: The Paulsen-Strufe Motel" Wayside Exhibit on the corner that tells the story of the motel.

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Vintage Advertising Highlights

Arrow (Strufe) Motel
After spending the night here, with its restful surroundings and its homelike atmosphere, hot water heat and cross ventilation, these sound proof units will be on your list as a motel to which you'll want to return.
TEN MODERN UNITS
Phone: Dwight 79

NOTE: This postcard shows the motel after it was remodeled and the carports were converted to guest rooms.

Photo(s): 2016