Rainbow Motel (Site)
GPS Coordinates: 38.7256825, -77.1153995
Closest Address: 8558 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22309

These coordinates mark the exact spot where the motel once stood. Today, no visible remains exist.
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Here follows an excerpt from Chris Barbuschak's presentation, "The History of Motels on Route 1 in Fairfax County" on behalf of the Mount Vernon Regional Historical Society:
When the MVRHS first asked me to talk about motels, I thought there's probably 20 tops on Route 1. Boy was I wrong, there are 62! So, a little context about hotels and motels on Richmond Highway. Route 1 is over 2,400 miles long. It's known as America's first main street and it stretches from Maine to Florida and its chock full of mom and pop shacks and businesses, diners, fortune tellers, truck stops and motels. U.S. Route 1 between Washington and Fredericksburg more or less followed the Potomac Path, which was a Native American route along the Potomac River. And when the Europeans came and settled it, they chose the shortest route along the bank of the Potomac as well.
In 1918, the state designated State Route One, which is part of the old Jefferson Davis Highway, and it was called SR1 in 1923. It became State Route 30 in 1926. In less than a year by 1927, the entire stretch of roadway was paved and motels practically popped up overnight. From the 1920s and 1930s, there were tourist ports which were individual cabins that you could stay in. They were arranged in a horseshoe fashion, usually around an office or a picnic area or a restaurant. Then in the 1940s and 1950s, you get into the low slung ranch style motels. And then in the 1960s and 1970s we get a couple of chain motels that come in.
So, Route 1 was the main north and south artery for many years, almost 50 years until Interstate Highway 95 opened up. That connected to Fredericksburg in 1964 and almost overnight all the businesses in the Richmond Highway corridor went downhill and continued to do so. Route 1 kind of had this "no tell" motel vibe to it. Ever since the 1960s, the county tried to get those motels to close and one by one they did. As of today, only nine of those original motels still exist. A couple of them are already on the chopping block.
So buckle up, and lets look at them all:
RAINBOW MOTEL -- 8558 RICHMOND HIGHWAY
The Rainbow Tourist Court that opened in the 1940s by Mr. and Mrs. Elhaida. The motel had steam-heated cottages with private baths and good, old-fashioned southern cooking. It was later renamed the Rainbow Inn, and lastly the Rainbow Motel. It was finally torn down in the 1980s. However, the little rainbow sign could still be seen for many years after it was demolished. Today, it's now the subdivision of Towne Manor Court.
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Here follows an excerpt from the Fall 2013 edition of the "Franconia Legacies" newsletter published by the Franconia Museum:
Jac Walker preserved “Millie’s” story and other family history concerning the Facchinas in April, 2003, and published it in Franconia Remembers, Volume I. We have included several excerpts from the first book published by the museum.
MILDRED “Millie” COOPER FACCHINA’S STORY
Mildred’s parents, Fred C. Cooper, originally from Kentucky, and Annie E. Decator Cooper, originally from Joplin, VA moved from Brookland, MD to Franconia in 1928. They opened the Cooper Grocery Store on the corner of Beulah Road and Grovedale Drive and their living quarters were a part of the store building. The general store also had two Richfield gas pumps. Annie ran the store and Fred ran a sawmill for Frank Gillingham on the Triplett property. Mildred was the third born of four children. First was Oliver followed by Clarene (Belt), both deceased, Mildred, and Margaret (Reagan) who lives in Florida. The family eventually sold the store to the Theimer family, parents of Jeanette Theimer Schurtz (Mrs. Paul Schurtz.) The Coopers moved on to a new motel business they built and operated on Richmond Highway which they named the “Rainbow Inn.”