Famous rest/road stops

[Roadrunner75]

Around here we have an infamous (former) rest area on the Garden State Parkway near Forked River, where Robert Marshall had his wife killed in the mid 80s:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8059183,-74.228667,16z/data=!3m1!1e3?force=lite

Story here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_O._Marshall

Until the widening project in this area a couple of years ago, the rest area was more obvious with left accel/decel lanes (although if I recall correctly at least in more recent years, the left yellow was continuous across to discourage the use of the ramps) .  Now it looks like any other median cross-over.

[cl94]

I'm surprised we got this far without mentioning South Of The Border along I-95 in South Carolina immediately south of the border with NC

[1995hoo]

I'm surprised we got this far without mentioning South Of The Border along I-95 in South Carolina immediately south of the border with NC

You mean other than the original post? As an added bonus, the original post capitalized it properly ("of the" should not be capitalized). Multiple other posters also mentioned it and got the capitalization right, too.

[cl94]

I'm surprised we got this far without mentioning South Of The Border along I-95 in South Carolina immediately south of the border with NC

You mean other than the original post? As an added bonus, the original post capitalized it properly ("of the" should not be capitalized). Multiple other posters also mentioned it and got the capitalization right, too.

     

[D-Dey65]

I don't know which of them is the most well known, but the rest stops/service areas on the New Jersey Turnpike have to be pretty famous seeing as the road is an American icon.

The Chesapeake House and the Maryland House in Maryland both were packed when I went down there, so I'm not sure if they are famous or not. Their facilities are some of the most ultra-modern I've seen from a rest area though.

I still like the original versions of the Maryland and Chesapeake Houses, and I like the Maryland House better than the Chesapeake House. Even before they replaced the two-story colonial revival version with the new one, it was packed, and apparently quite popular. My mother and I loved it. My father, not so much. I'm not sure how my siblings feel about it, or even if they give it any thought.


As far as the New Jersey Turnpike is concerned, I haven't got any idea which ones are more famous than others. The only one I know of that could possibly get any resemblance of fame is the Vince Lombardi Service Area, which converted into a weird Dead Milkmen instrumental:

http://www.allmusic.com/song/vince-lombardi-service-center-mt0030182214

[thenetwork]

I can't for the life of me remember where exactly it was located, but it was in South Carolina between Columbia and Myrtle Beach:

Jimmy Carter's -- NO Relation to THE Jimmy Carter nor do I know if this J.C was up and running before Georgia's J.C. ran for president..   It was a truck stop / restaurant / gift shop / fireworks dealer that happened to be in the middle of a large median on some US highway in SC near Marion.  They had tons of billboards leading up to the place and was quite large.

It was here when a bunch of us from Ohio left one car and it's occupants to find their way back to Ohio after they wanted to eat there about a half hour after we stopped there (and everyone else grabbed some snacks and gas for the road).   They pulled this crap all through our Myrtle Beach trip.  So we said screw them and the other 3 carloads took off.  Needless to say, we kind of weren't on speaking terms anymore...

[cpzilliacus]

I still like the original versions of the Maryland and Chesapeake Houses, and I like the Maryland House better than the Chesapeake House. Even before they replaced the two-story colonial revival version with the new one, it was packed, and apparently quite popular. My mother and I loved it. My father, not so much. I'm not sure how my siblings feel about it, or even if they give it any thought.

Within the industry, Maryland House, by virtue of its location as the southernmost service plaza on I-95, was considered the busiest and most-profitable one in the United States.

Not sure that is still true (after it was closed for reconstruction and re-opened under new a new (AreasUSA) concession holder), but its geographic advantages have not changed.

[spooky]

A lot of people stop at the Charlton and Sturbridge service areas on the Mass Pike, but I don't think that makes them famous, it just makes them busy.

[roadman]

A lot of people stop at the Charlton and Sturbridge service areas on the Mass Pike, but I don't think that makes them famous, it just makes them busy.

Minor correction - both the eastbound and westbound plazas east of I-84 are named the Charlton Plaza.  During heavy traffic times, the roadway in the vicinity of the eastbound plaza is routinely the scene of backups (and often crashes).  I suspect the roadway geometry at the plaza (crest of a hill) has much to do with that.

During my trips along the Pike, I used to stop at the westbound Charlton Plaza if I was traveling early enough to beat the breakfast deadline at McD's.  However, I stopped going there after the third time in a row they gave me two Egg McMuffins when I ordered (and paid for) two sausage biscuits.

[SP Cook]

Three weeks in and nobody has mentioned the WV Turnpike's money pit, Scamarack. 

Not surprised.  More evidence that a padlock and a set of orange cones remain the solution.

[GCrites]

If it was the only travel plaza there I suppose it would get more action. I still miss the Glass House, though I only remember it as a HoJo.

[The Nature Boy]

This is at the side of the Maine Turnpike. Quite the "rest" area, no?

Okay seriously......

Would the Angola rest stop on the New York Thruway qualify? The pedestrian bridge is pretty cool.

[spooky]

A lot of people stop at the Charlton and Sturbridge service areas on the Mass Pike, but I don't think that makes them famous, it just makes them busy.

Minor correction - both the eastbound and westbound plazas east of I-84 are named the Charlton Plaza.  During heavy traffic times, the roadway in the vicinity of the eastbound plaza is routinely the scene of backups (and often crashes).  I suspect the roadway geometry at the plaza (crest of a hill) has much to do with that.

During my trips along the Pike, I used to stop at the westbound Charlton Plaza if I was traveling early enough to beat the breakfast deadline at McD's.  However, I stopped going there after the third time in a row they gave me two Egg McMuffins when I ordered (and paid for) two sausage biscuits.

Did it used to be named the Sturbridge Plaza? I'm thinking 25 or more years ago.

[roadman]

A lot of people stop at the Charlton and Sturbridge service areas on the Mass Pike, but I don't think that makes them famous, it just makes them busy.

Minor correction - both the eastbound and westbound plazas east of I-84 are named the Charlton Plaza.  During heavy traffic times, the roadway in the vicinity of the eastbound plaza is routinely the scene of backups (and often crashes).  I suspect the roadway geometry at the plaza (crest of a hill) has much to do with that.

During my trips along the Pike, I used to stop at the westbound Charlton Plaza if I was traveling early enough to beat the breakfast deadline at McD's.  However, I stopped going there after the third time in a row they gave me two Egg McMuffins when I ordered (and paid for) two sausage biscuits.

Did it used to be named the Sturbridge Plaza? I'm thinking 25 or more years ago.

I have a Mass Turnpike map from the mid-1980s that references both the eastbound and westbound service plazas as Charlton.  The updated 1992 Mass Turnpike map goes one step further and distinguishes between Charlton East and Charlton West.

Unlike the NJ Turnpike, the Mass Pike plaza names were not provided on highway signs until the 1996 sign update projects.

[KG909]

My city has the one of last Route 66 Orange Stands