I, too, am a fan of big, glorious hotel lobbies. There is something quite magical about these spaces. As cornwall4000 so correctly points out, a hotel lobby is emblematic of the experience to come. Reading this made me fondly remember my first lobby: Chicago's Palmer House hotel way back in the 1960s. I was just a tot and that grand old lobby was better than Disneyland. All the commotion! Other boys wanted to be an astronaut, I wanted to be a bellhop at the Palmer House.

Mr. Cornwall, your description and photos of this Avalon abomination were very entertaining. It was a great read and I especially appreciated your Ramada Inn reference. Decades ago, Ramadas were known for the massive and stupendously tacky chandeliers in their lobbies. Faux luxury at its 1970s best!

Loved the Firebird! What a beauty! By choice, I rarely drive these days. I much prefer walking or bicycling. However, I saw an ad for a restored 1971 Chrysler Imperial and I was tempted. It's a perfect example of something being so ugly that it transcends into magnificence. However, I passed as I could spend six nights at the Bristol in Paris for the money being asked for the Chrysler.