Exclusion of Jewish treavellers

Quiet Exclusion of Jewish Travelers in Mid-Century America

By Lawrence
8 Jan 2026

In the decades before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, discrimination in American lodging rarely announced itself openly. Instead, it relied on habit, shared understanding, and coded language. One of the most common of these codes was the word “Restricted.”

To a modern reader, the term may appear vague or even meaningless. In the mid-twentieth century, it was neither. “Restricted” was widely understood to signal exclusion, most often of Jewish travelers, and sometimes of other minorities as well.

This system did not depend on explicit signs or public declarations. Proprietors, guests, and travel agents all understood the meaning. Silence did the work.

How coded exclusion worked

The use of coded language allowed businesses to discriminate without confrontation. Terms such as “Restricted,” “Selected Guests,” or “Gentile Clientele” or "Prefer Christians" conveyed exclusion while preserving a veneer of respectability.

These practices were legal, socially accepted in many communities, and rarely challenged. Owners justified them as business sense, tradition, or conformity to local expectations.

Research catalog

In addition to these individual case studies, a growing catalog of restricted and exclusionary accommodations is being assembled as part of ongoing research. The spreadsheet records hotels, motels, cabin camps, and resorts that used coded language such as “Restricted” or similar terms, along with locations, dates, and documentary sources where available.

The catalog is a working document and continues to expand as new material is identified.

View the restricted lodging research spreadsheet

Traveling while Jewish

Jewish travelers adapted by relying on word of mouth and specialized travel guides listing accommodations known to accept Jewish guests. Inclusion in such guides mattered. Absence was itself a warning.

What remains

By the late 1960s, federal legislation and changing social norms made these practices increasingly untenable. The language faded first, followed more slowly by the attitudes behind it.

What remains today are fragments: postcards, advertisements, listings, and memory. Together, they document a system that once shaped where people could travel, stop, and rest.

Documented examples

• Restricted: Billy Boots Motel
• Gentile Clientele: Sagamore Rest Cabins