Abandoned Flamingo Motel in Wisconsin Dells

The Flamingo Motel sits along the Wisconsin Dells strip, a stretch of Highway 12 once lined with mid-century motor courts built to serve the tourist boom that followed the rise of the Dells as a vacation destination in the 1950s and '60s. Its low-slung guest room wings, pink-and-gray trim, and rooftop flamingo sculpture reflect the theme-driven roadside architecture that defined the area's early motel row. Many of these independent motels closed or were demolished as larger waterpark resorts came to dominate Dells tourism starting in the 1980s and '90s. The cracked, empty parking lot points to the property's closure, one of several vintage motor lodges left standing but vacant along the corridor.

Photo taken in July 2024.