Across Route 1 from the Ducketts Lane intersection are the remnants of an iconic sign. It clearly says “Motel” but you can no longer make out the name of the motel. The following photo was taken on February 11, 2026 by Tina Barton.

We cannot find any early pictures of the motel or the sign. If you have any, please share with us at [email protected] ! Word of mouth is that this was a black-run motel. There were not many black-owned motels in the area. During segregation, the Green Book was a resource to tell travelers where to stay. This motel is not in it. The only one in the area that is in it is the Bass Motel, which became the Boulevard. It was on Cemetery Lane, near Meadowridge Rd. We’d really like to know more about this!

This photo appeared in the Baltimore Sun in 1999, talking about re-envisioing Route 1, which topic comes up every decade or so:

The sign was clearly old in 1999!

We found this ad in the Baltimore Afro-American in 1988, which gives the address.

The motel office was robbed in 1993, and there was a fire in one of the rooms in 1994. That is the extent of the news for Halls Motel. We found nothing in the Viaduct newspaper.

The area of 6775 Washington Blvd was known as Dead Man’s Curve when Route 1 became heavily traveled by automobiles. Here is a photo from 1920. The road was straightened out in 1946.

Here is an aerial map from 1943 that shows Dead Mans Curve. There does not appear to be any structure in the curve, but that could be a resolution issue.

Here is the same area fromm 1952 after the realignment:

James Edward and Tricia Roberts bought the land in 1989 from Alice Furrow. She and her husband Clarence got it in 1949 from Jennie Hall (Deed 210/504). James and Jennie Hall got the property in 1927 from Ella and William Dean, deed 131/144. It would make sense that sometime between 1927 and 1949, Halls Motel was born. In 1940, James Hall was listed as a stone cutter from Tennessee. James and Jennie had several lodgers in the 1930 and 1940 census. But in 1930, the census says they were in Baltimore. In 1940, they were in Elkridge. Perhaps the boarding house turned into a motel. We are trying to learn more about the Furrows. Here’s Clarence’s obituary:

According to the 1950 Census, they lived in Elkridge and Clarence was a newspaper carrier, and Alice was a proprietor cook at an inn. Clarence and Alice are listed as white but their stepsons, the Norris brothers, are black. The boys are students.