The Parliament House Motor Inn chain was started by Kansas City, Missouri investors Ned Eddy and his sons Ned, Jr. and James. They started in the food and beverages business running the successful Eddy’s Restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri. They gave the Parliament House properties an English royalty theme with the slogan, "Built for the House of Lords... priced for the House of Commons." Their goal was a nine city chain by 1964. They never made their goal and filed for bankruptcy on June 8, 1965 when they claimed to operate 8 properties. They listed liabilities of $5 million in the court filings.
Locations
Orlando, Florida
The 120 room lakeside motor inn in Orlando, Florida was the first motor inn in the chain and was located at 410 North Orange Blossom Trail. Parliament House opened on Sunday February 11, 1962. The opening was televised by local station WLOF Channel 9, now WFTV. It was built on Orlando’s Rock Lake by Hodes and Cumming Construction, the same company that built the iconic Kanes furniture store on West Colonial Drive. The architect was Alan Berman. The Baron of Beef Restaurant and adjacent conference center opened a few months later on June 12, 1962. Ned Eddy, Jr acted as manager and his brother James (Jimmy) Eddy was manager of the cocktail lounge.
The Parliament House Motor Inn was popular spot for meetings and weddings. It was used by nearby Tupperware World Headquarters for meetings, was the site of numerous Florida Voters League meetings, and the NAACP legislative conference. In 1972, Jim Ritter, the assistant manager, was quoted as saying “May’s always been dead around here and 1972 is no different, but we expect to be booked full two weeks ahead all summer” referring to the recent opening of Walt Disney World and the expected influx of visitors. The influx of visitors never happened as thousands of competing hotel and motel rooms were built on International Drive and along Kissimmee’s Highway 192.
References
- Remembering the Parliament House Motor Hotel^
- St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search^
- The New York Times November 18, 1962^