Preservationists rally to save historic Como Motel
RICHARDSON (CBSNewsTexas.com) - It has a seedy past. To some, it's an eyesore. But thousands of people are rallying to save a Richardson motel that they fear could be demolished.
As traffic and time pass quickly on North Central Expressway, it's stood there for decades as if it's frozen from another time.
"I always have hope when I look at it," said Lindsey Sherritt, the Save the Como organizer.
Sherritt has been looking at the Como Motel for 14 years and has never really understood why.
"I honestly don't know," Sheritt said. "So I've kind of just accepted that I just love it and I know I'm not alone."
Maybe it's the hip mid-century modern architecture or the romantic nostalgia of roadside motels or perhaps its infamous role as a love nest for Candy Montgomery and the husband of a Wylie woman she killed with an axe in 1980.
That story is now the subject of two docudramas.
"There were some good and bad things that happened at the Como, but Sully Sullenberger stayed there as a child obviously, Candy Montgomery thing happened," said Reid Robinson, who owns Beyond the Bar. "But a lot of people who grew up in Richardson have told me some amazing stories about staying there in their childhood."
Robinson made a special drink and designed a room dedicated to the Como inside his nonalcoholic liquor store nearby in Downtown Richardson.
"It's been a big part of the gateway driving into Richardson," Robinson said.
But a "for sale" sign out front and word that the 67-year-old motel could soon be demolished has led to a petition drive with more than 4000 signatures from people asking that the new owners preserve it.
"Renovate it, bring it back to its former glory."
There are T-shirts, stickers, and even memes promoting the Save the Como campaign. But it's unclear who the new owners are or what the plans for the property will be.
"Terrible to see it as a parking lot. I think that would be a huge blow to our city."
To avoid that, Sherritt is working full time to protect a place she's only been inside briefly to take photos of the front desk and a room.
If the old motel is destined to become just a memory, she says will be very disappointed.
"That said, I'd be more disappointed if I didn't try," Sherritt added.
The preservationists say they expect an announcement in September about the Como's future.
So you still have a few weeks to get a room here but most people agree it's adored a lot more for its exterior than interior.