COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The sign at the Cadet Motor Inn which greeted motorists with a smiling and saluting soldier for years was taken down on Monday.
A web site dedicated to roadside architecture called www.roadarch.com says the Cadet opened in 1967.
The sign was restored in 1997 and repainted again in 2005. The soldier’s arm was animated in two phases to make him salute.
George Bassett was the original owner of the motel and he got the idea for the Cadet because he attended Howe Military Academy in Indiana.
But the sign has fallen into disrepair in recent years. The det lights in Cadet were burned out a few years ago so it said at the time the CA Motor Inn.
Coldwater City Planner Dean Walrack says the City has cited the sign for such basic maintenance issues as peeling paint and burned-out letters previously. Walrack believes that the owner has decided that rather than continue to paint or replace bulbs.
A new and smaller sign with no light bulbs was up on Tuesday night.
