VALDOSTA — A longtime hotel beside Interstate 75 in Valdosta has fallen to the wrecking ball.

A pile of rubble now stands where the rooms of the Kinderlou Inn once stood at the I-75 / U.S. 84 interchange.

The property was owned by Langdale Industries.

“Kinderlou Inn was built in the sixties and had some functional issues which necessitated tearing down the buildings,” a statement from the company said.

Langdale Industries is “in the process of planning next steps to develop this property,” the statement said.

Before becoming Kinderlou Inn, the hotel had been part of the Sheraton chain up through 1991, when it became a Comfort Inn. In 2008, it switched brands to Clarion Inn before eventually becoming the independent Kinderlou Inn.

Listings on yellowpages.net and elsewhere show that the hotel building had played host to such luminaries as legendary actor/comedian Bob Hope and Bill Clinton during his first presidential election campaign in September 1992.

Austin’s Cattle Company, a steakhouse restaurant located on the same lot, is not being demolished and remains open for business.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.