In 1925, Howard Johnson turned a small pharmacy in Quincy, Massachusetts, into such a popular soda stand that he franchised the idea, a radical innovation at the time. By 1954 he had licensed 400 restaurants in 22 states, a pioneering nationwide chain that was the largest in the world, employing 20,000 people, and decided to expand into motor lodges. The first of more than five hundred such motels built in North America by 1975, this pioneering example commands a 766-foot frontage on U.S. 17, with a two-story plantation house-styled office at the center of a massive court of 54 rooms surrounding an expansive lawn originally featuring a pool and play area. The restaurant, a Series 77 model designed to seat 80, sits just to the south of the court.