Howard Johnson's Restaurant located at Afton Circle @ Blue Ridge Pkwy. in Afton,VA. The restaurant closed for business in 1998 after operating for 50 years. Remarkably the building was still standing in February 2019 despite being abandoned for over twenty years. I was successful gaining access into the building which surprisingly didn't have any "No Trespassing" signs posted anywhere. It was a daring task to get into the partially collapsed building and I was definitely risking my safety due to the obstacles of furniture, fixtures and trash scattered throughout the building but it was worth it. Once inside the building I was greeted with a mountain of furniture that was originally located at the "Inn at Afton" which like the HJ restaurant has been abandoned for years. After I passed through the furniture I was able to get into the main dining room where I saw a few HJ artifacts scattered across the floor. I was shocked to see that despite the poor condition of the aging building that there were still HJ related papers and menus in amazingly good condition!
© All Rights Reserved
Former Howard Johnson's Restaurant located at Afton Circle @ Blue Ridge Pkwy. in Afton,VA. The restaurant closed for business in 1998 after operating for 50 years. Remarkably the building was still standing in February 2019 despite being abandoned for over twenty years. I was successful gaining access into the building which surprisingly didn't have any "No Trespassing" signs posted anywhere. It was a daring task to get into the partially collapsed building and I was definitely risking my safety due to the obstacles of furniture, fixtures and trash scattered throughout the building but it was worth it. Once inside the building I was greeted with a mountain of furniture that was originally located at the "Inn at Afton" which like the HJ restaurant has been abandoned for years. After I passed through the furniture I was able to get into the main dining room where I saw a few HJ artifacts scattered across the floor. I was shocked to see that despite the poor condition of the aging building that there were still HJ related papers and menus in amazingly good condition!