Imperial 400

Last updated
Imperial 400
IndustryHotels
Founded Los Angeles, California 1959 (1959)
Defunct1987 (1987)
Area served
United States
Key people
Bernard Whitney (founder)
ServicesLodging

Imperial 400 was an American motel chain. It was founded in 1959 by Bernard Whitney in Los Angeles, California. Its properties were typically two-story buildings with "gull wing" shaped roofs over the lobby. It was a limited-service hotel chain, competing mainly with Travelodge. [1]

In 1965, Imperial 400 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [2] Its headquarters were moved to Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and again to Arlington, Virginia. By the 1980s, the chain was sold to Interpart S.A., a Luxembourg-based company, and was later dissolved. [1] Imperial 400 structures still exist but usually rundown motels, with exception of a few. In Richland, WA a former Imperial is boarded and set to be demolished for new apartments.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Jakle, John A.; Sculle, Keith A.; Rogers, Jefferson S. (1996). The Motel in America. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 160–162. ISBN   0-8018-5383-4.
  2. "Imperial '400' National Files Under Chapter 11 Of the Bankruptcy Act". The Wall Street Journal . 11 June 1965. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2013.