Built in 1947 along the Lincoln Highway in Kearney, Nebraska, The Hammer Motel was famous for its sign topped by a giant hammer and three supporting poles made to look like big nails.
It was sold in 1987 to Kearney State College (now University of Nebraska - Kearney) and was reopened as a residence hall. The university decided to demolish it in 1995 to make way for a parking lot, known as lot 27.
There is now a replica Hammer Motel sign outside of the Great Platte River Road Archway, honoring the old motel.
