Parliament House Motor Inn
Parliament House Motor Inn was a short-lived American chain of English-themed motor inns and hotels launched by Kansas City restaurant operators in the early 1960s.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Parliament House Motor Inn was an American lodging chain created by Kansas City, Missouri investors Ned Eddy and his sons, Ned Eddy Jr. and James Eddy. The family had established itself in food and beverage operations through Eddy’s Restaurant in Kansas City before moving into hotels and motor inns. The new properties were given an English-royalty theme, reflected in names such as the Baron of Beef Restaurant, the Cork Room, Once a Knight Lounge, and the slogan “Built for the House of Lords... priced for the House of Commons.” The concept combined mid-century roadside accommodation with full-service dining, lounges, banquet facilities, and conference space. The first Parliament House property opened in Orlando, Florida, on February 11, 1962. The 120-room lakeside motor inn stood on Rock Lake at 410 North Orange Blossom Trail. Its opening was televised locally, and a restaurant and conference center followed several months later. The Orlando property became a venue for meetings, weddings, political gatherings, and civic events, including activities connected with Tupperware’s nearby headquarters, the Florida Voters League, and the NAACP. The company hoped to create a nine-city chain by 1964, but expansion and operations proved difficult. Additional properties or planned properties appeared in several Southern markets. These included a 237-room, 11-story hotel in Birmingham, Alabama; a 120-room beachfront property in Clearwater Beach, Florida; the 321-room Parliament House Lake Shore in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; a planned or constructed property in Augusta, Georgia; an Atlanta property that later operated under other names; and a 100-room Parliament Inn at Sunnyside Beach near Panama City, Florida. The hotels generally emphasized restaurants, lounges, swimming pools, banquet rooms, and convention-oriented facilities. The Birmingham hotel was notable for early guest-room telephones that supported direct room-to-room calling and flashing message indicators. The chain did not reach its stated nine-city objective. On June 8, 1965, the company filed for bankruptcy and reported approximately eight operating properties and liabilities of about $5 million in court filings. Individual properties subsequently entered receivership, changed names, adopted franchise affiliations, or continued under unrelated ownership. Clearwater became a Hilton franchise in 1965, while other locations later operated as establishments including the Inn on the Lake, Safari Inn, Lakeside Motor Inn, Ramada Inn, and other hotel brands. The Orlando property survived longer than the other locations under the original Parliament House identity. As the Orange Blossom Trail area changed and competing hotel capacity expanded around International Drive and Kissimmee’s Highway 192 after the opening of Walt Disney World, the motor inn faced declining performance. By the 1970s it was increasingly associated with adult and sex-work activity rather than its original family-oriented resort positioning. In 1975, Bill Miller and Michael Hodge purchased the property for $648,000 and converted it into a gay and lesbian resort, later known as Parliament House Resort. That successor operation preserved the Parliament House name in a substantially different hospitality and entertainment format. The Orlando property closed on November 2, 2020, and was demolished beginning January 4, 2021. The City of Orlando preserved its distinctive sign for display in a local history museum.
History
The Parliament House Motor Inn chain emerged from the Eddy family’s restaurant business in Kansas City, Missouri. Ned Eddy and his sons, Ned Eddy Jr. and James Eddy, had operated Eddy’s Restaurant before pursuing a hotel concept built around roadside travel, food service, and entertainment. Their properties adopted an English court and aristocracy theme, using names such as Parliament House, Baron of Beef, Cork Room, and Once a Knight. The slogan presented the chain as an affordable version of aristocratic hospitality: “Built for the House of Lords... priced for the House of Commons.” The first property opened in Orlando on February 11, 1962. Located beside Rock Lake on North Orange Blossom Trail, it contained 120 rooms and was designed as a lakeside motor inn. Its opening received local television coverage. The Baron of Beef Restaurant and an adjacent conference center opened on June 12, 1962. Ned Eddy Jr. managed the inn, while James Eddy managed the cocktail lounge. The site became a venue for weddings, business meetings, political meetings, and civic conferences. During the following two years, the group expanded or planned locations across the American South. The Birmingham, Alabama, hotel opened to guests on January 2, 1964, as an 11-story, 237-room property. It included several themed food and beverage outlets and was developed as the chain’s largest or principal urban hotel. Clearwater Beach, Florida, received a 120-room beachfront Parliament House in 1963. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had a 321-room Parliament House Lake Shore with the Arcadia dining room. Construction also began on a 120-room Augusta, Georgia, property, while other identified locations included Atlanta and Panama City, Florida. The chain’s growth was not sustained. The founders had aimed for a nine-city network by 1964, but the business encountered financial problems and failed to achieve that plan. Bankruptcy proceedings began on June 8, 1965. Court filings identified eight properties and liabilities of approximately $5 million. The locations then followed separate paths. Clearwater entered receivership and became a Hilton franchise in December 1965. Properties in Baton Rouge and Atlanta changed names and operators repeatedly, and the Birmingham hotel remained in use for decades before its 2008 demolition. The Orlando site continued under the Parliament House name longer than the other known locations. Its original market weakened as the Orange Blossom Trail corridor changed and large numbers of competing hotel rooms were developed along International Drive and Highway 192 near Kissimmee after Walt Disney World opened. By the mid-1970s, the property was financially troubled and had acquired a reputation for serving a more disreputable clientele, including prostitutes associated with the declining corridor. Bill Miller and Michael Hodge purchased it on March 27, 1975, for $648,000 and repositioned it as a gay and lesbian resort. This created the later Parliament House Resort, a successor operation rather than a continuation of the original chain’s business model. The Orlando resort eventually closed on November 2, 2020. Its buildings were demolished beginning January 4, 2021, but the city of Orlando saved the prominent roadside sign for historical display. The surviving sign and the documented histories of the separate properties preserve the memory of a regional hotel experiment that combined themed hospitality, motor-inn development, restaurants, nightlife, and conference business during the early 1960s.
- 2021
Orlando buildings demolished and sign preserved
[1]Demolition began in January, while the City of Orlando retained the iconic sign for historical display.
- 2020
Orlando property closes
[1]The Orlando property closed on November 2, ending the last known operation under the original name.
- 2008
Birmingham hotel demolished
[1]The Birmingham Parliament House was demolished by implosion on February 17.
- 1975
Orlando property is repositioned as a gay and lesbian resort
[1]Bill Miller and Michael Hodge acquired the Orlando site for $648,000 and transformed it into the Parliament House Resort.
- 1965
Chain enters bankruptcy
[1]The company filed for bankruptcy on June 8 after failing to achieve its intended nine-city expansion.
- 1964
Birmingham hotel opens
[1]The 11-story, 237-room Birmingham Parliament House began receiving guests on January 2.
- 1963
Expansion into Clearwater Beach and Baton Rouge
[1]Parliament House properties opened or operated in Clearwater Beach, Florida, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- 1962
First Parliament House opens in Orlando
[1]The first 120-room Parliament House Motor Inn opened on February 11 beside Rock Lake in Orlando, Florida.
- 1962
Baron of Beef restaurant and conference center open
[1]The Orlando property added its themed restaurant and adjacent conference facilities on June 12.
Products and positioning
A themed, full-service Southern motor-inn chain offering moderately priced lodging with English-aristocratic styling, restaurants, lounges, banquet facilities, and meeting space.
Motor inn · 1962
Parliament House Motor Inn Orlando
The chain’s first property was a 120-room lakeside motor inn on Rock Lake at 410 North Orange Blossom Trail. It combined lodging with a restaurant, cocktail lounge, conference center, pool-oriented resort amenities, and space for weddings, business meetings, and civic gatherings. The property later became the Parliament House Resort after a 1975 change in ownership and positioning.
Urban hotel · 1964
Parliament House Hotel Birmingham
The Birmingham location was an 11-story, 237-room hotel at 420 South 20th Street. It included the Baron of Beef Restaurant, Sidewalk Cafe, Cork Room, and Once a Knight Lounge. Its guest rooms reportedly featured early direct room-to-room telephone calling and flashing message lights. The building was imploded in 2008.
Beachfront hotel · 1963
Parliament House Clearwater Beach
The Clearwater Beach property contained 120 rooms and stood near the Clearwater Pass toll bridge. It offered the Baron of Beef Restaurant, Kansas City-style steaks, and the Cork Room lounge with nightly entertainment. The property entered receivership, became a Hilton franchise in 1965, and was later replaced after further hotel operations and redevelopment.
Lakeside hotel · 1963
Parliament House Lake Shore Baton Rouge
The Baton Rouge property contained 321 rooms and the Arcadia dining room. After the Parliament House period, it was associated with several other names, including Inn on the Lake, Safari Inn, and Lakeside Motor Inn. The exact historical site identification remains uncertain in available documentation.
Beach hotel
Parliament Inn Panama City
The 100-room Parliament Inn at Sunnyside Beach near Panama City, Florida, included the M’Lord restaurant and Gaucho lounge. Available reference material does not establish its later ownership or final operating date.
Brand decisions
1975
Orlando property changes market positioningStrategyBackground
The Orlando motor inn faced a declining local corridor, increased competition from newer tourist districts, and financial difficulties.
Action taken
New owners Bill Miller and Michael Hodge bought the property for $648,000 and converted it into a gay and lesbian resort known as Parliament House Resort.
Aftermath
The Parliament House name continued in Orlando in a new hospitality and entertainment format until the property closed in 2020.
Purchase price. $648,000 (March 27, 1975)
1965
Bankruptcy filingOtherBackground
The founders’ planned nine-city chain failed to reach its target and faced financial distress while operating or developing multiple Southern properties.
Action taken
The company filed for bankruptcy on June 8, reporting eight properties and approximately $5 million in liabilities.
Aftermath
Properties separated into different ownership and operating arrangements. Some were franchised, renamed, placed in receivership, or later demolished.
Reported liabilities. $5 million (Bankruptcy court filing, June 8, 1965)
Sources1 sources
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