Many Vancouverites have likely passed by this iconic city landmark without batting an eye.
Yet, the 2400 Motel has lived many lives in Vancouver, from a car culture hub to being a popular location for numerous film and TV sets.
Vancouver's last postwar motor inn
Car culture brought the motel to life in 1946 at 2400 Kingsway; the street was an initial primary route into Vancouver.
The artery was a perfect hotbed for car culture. It had many highway-oriented facilities, food, and accommodation, including the 2400 Motel, initially named 2400 Court, which has a vehicular-only entrance, neon signage, and lets drivers park right outside their door.
The motel remains one of the few intact motor inns of postwar Kingsway in Vancouver.
2400 Court: redevelopment, Al Qaeda explosives, and housing
In 2011 the motel was listed in Heritage Vancouver's Top 10 Watch List which tracks endangered buildings around the city.
Despite the City of Vancouver planning to redevelop the historic motel into a centre for shops, services, and community spaces, the motel has survived.
It also survived the famous case of Al Qaeda member Ahmed Ressam preparing explosives in one of the motel rooms before heading south in an attempt to detonate a bomb at the Los Angeles airport.
In 2016, 2400 Court was turned into temporary housing for Syrian refugees and in 2020 it was proposed as emergency housing or shelter.
Iconic movie landmark
The iconic city landmark also doubled as an iconic Hollywood North landmark, seeing many, many film sets over the years.
2400 Motel has retained its retro 1940's auto-oriented style and historic neon signage, making it an outstanding filming location.
Along with popular Halloween movies, the motel also saw sets for these movies and shows:
- Halloween: Resurrection
- Psych
- Supernatural
- Smallville
- Stargate SG-1
- The X-Files
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
- The Exorcist
- John Doe
- 3000 Miles to Graceland
- Little Brother of War
- The Burial Society
- Dye Hard
- Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
- The Commish
- Bates Motel
- Motive
- The Romeo Section
- Wild Nothing
With files from Mike Howell
