Afton Mountain: Victim of Progress
- Part 2 -
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The back side of the main lodge contains the entrances to the second floor rooms, as well as an exterior door on what could be described as a third-floor level, which most likely serves as an access to the attic. In front of these second-floor rooms, weeds grow tall, evidence that the Skyline Parkway Motel is closed and abandoned, and has been that way for some time.
 
The third room from the right (as seen from the front) appears to have experienced a fire in it at some point, and the damage was never repaired. This particular room shows smoke damage around the back side window, and in front, this room has no curtains on the windows, and a high number of broken windows.
And now, on to the cabins!
 
There are two guest rooms in each cabin, and each cabin has a single entrance, which both rooms share. The entrances face the hill that The Inn at Afton sits on. The cabins appear even more run down than the main building.
 
Between two cabins, a set of stairs leads to the bottom of the loop driveway, which goes around the main building, past the cabin entrances, around the other side of the cabins, and then back to the main building. The stairs, however, are in the process of being reclaimed by nature, as plants are growing over much of one side.
 
As is the case with the main lodge, weeds grow full and tall out of almost any place they can find.
 
Also just like in the main lodge, there is broken glass everywhere...
 
 
As you can see, these buildings don't look like they'll be housing anyone any time soon. According to some people working near the buildings, they said that these cabins are currently being used for storage, and that the owner eventually wants to tear them down.
The Skyline Parkway Motor Court, the gate lodge for which is seen above, sits in front of the cabins of the Skyline Parkway Motel. This motel appears to have undergone a number of modifications since it first opened, as the front section (glassed in) of the gate lodge does not appear in postcards, and a number of the buildings are considerably different looking than in postcards. Regardless, it all sits abandoned now.
These buildings appear to not be part of the original construction, looking newer than other parts of the Skyline Parkway Motor Court complex.
 
However, original or not, it's still decayed considerably, due in this case to the roof being in poor shape, causing considerable damage. Additionally, the sidewalk in front of these rooms has settled to the point where it is noticeable that the sidewalk is slanted.
 
These buildings appear original, though they appear to have been painted over since their original construction.
 
Nowadays, the buildings all sit in ruin, with old machinery as well as the Chevron signs from the Afton Mountain Convenience Store sitting in storage. These buildings experienced a fire in 2002, causing a major roof cave-in. The fire was determined to be arson, with a pair of former Dooms firefighters pleading guilty to setting it, according to The News-Virginian.
Lastly, these motel rooms also sit abandoned, though appear in much better condition, due to the fact that this building is still in use, with the Tourist Information Center downstairs...
UPDATE: Since this photo set was taken on September 10, 2003, the main building of the Skyline Parkway Motel was destroyed by a fire in the early morning hours of July 9, 2004. This fire completely destroyed the roof and front portico, and caused extensive damage to the center section of the building. All of the Skyline Parkway Motel's buildings were demolished in April 2007.
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