An Eyewitness At The Fountainhead Inn?
Nearly two weeks after the Wonderland murders, John and Dawn fled east, and eventually they made it all the way to the Fountainhead Inn in North Miami Beach, Florida. During the 1960s, this area was booming economically and up sprang a lot of nice, yet inexpensive motels. Families could afford a nice beach vacation and still stay at a decent place. As these postcards show, it was pretty sweet. However, during the mid to late 1970s the motels became run down, the clientele changed, and the beach in this area suffered a lot of erosion. It was simply not as great as before, and business died off as tourists preferred to stay at newer digs elsewhere in Miami.
Fabulous Motel Row! 1960s.
The Fountainhead Motel. 1960s.
If you walked out of the front office of the Fountainhead and looked to your left, you would have seen the Aztec Motel next door, just across the parking lot:
The Aztec Motel
Let’s move on to the alleged eyewitness who posted this on a true crime discussion forum. He says that he met John while at the Fountainhead and while the two were in hiding. This is from 2012:
John Holmes fled to the Fountainhead Hotel in North Miami Beach where he was going to be arrested. He left Miami shortly after they busted him in his hotel. I lived one block away at the time … we met him at a small party at the Fountainhead and he was asked about it at the party. He said no comment and snickered about it. Everyone there knew he had a hand in it for sure, if I or anyone there was asked we would have said he did it under oath. He was kind of a prick, nice, but still that I’m better than you attitude and the I got away with something b.s. made him look like an ass ……. p.s. a lot of the younger ones like myself at the time worried a wee bit about it, after all, in the same room with someone you know murdered people.
The girl he was with was woof woof, beat up looking like a street urchin……cant believe its been that many years already. He did smoke weed and was doing blow when we left the party. Two other people were left in the room, it had 2 queen beds and the room was on the second floor facing Haulover Beach South.
For what it’s worth.
kdimmick, 
kdimmick 9:43 am on October 21, 2013 Permalink |
Here is a picture of the building itself. It is no longer a “Holiday Inn” though but is now “The Renaissance” Hotel .
http://www.you-are-here.com/hollywood/holiday_inn.html
That circular part at the upper left hand side of the building at the time was a rotating restaurant that had one of the best views of the surrounding area in all of Hollywood. I’m not sure but I think that they have built a section of rotating rooms in that part of the building now.
LOL…..had some good times there and all over Hollywood itself back in 80-81. Would love to be able to get in a time machine with my buddies from back then and go do it all again just one more time!
LikeLike
kdimmick 6:07 pm on October 20, 2013 Permalink |
LOL! I had my own POSSIBLE close encounter with John and Dawn in Hollywood in November 1980. At the time I was an 18 year old Marine stationed at Camp Pendelton about 60 miles down the coast from LA and many a weekend was spent by us in the LA/Hollywood area getting into stuff and partying.
Ok…….. In her book “The Road Through Wonderland” Dawn relates an incident that took place at the then Holiday Inn” hotel where she and Holmes were staying sometime during “Thanksgiving Week” 1980. It’s been awhile since I read the book but as well as I recall she and Holmes had some sort of big argument in their room and Hotel security showed up and kicked them out.
The Hollywood Holiday Inn Hotel was a large,multi-story building about 1/4 block up Highland street from Hollywood blvd and for myself and my buddies was always the hotel of choice to stay at as it was right in the middle of everything. Anyway……….The night of Thanksgiving Day 1980 myself and 3 friends were in that hotel having a very raucous party that long about 1 am hotel Security came and broke up in our room. We had been yelling at people down on the street from out 7th floor window inviting them to “come on up” LOL! and there was probably about 6 others from the street who were there. There were 4 secuity people and they were pretty cool though. They made all the street people leave and despite the fact there was only supposed to be two of us drunken Jarheads in the room they let the other two stay so long as we quieted down. One of them said he was a former Marine so that probably had a lot to do with it.
Well, I know it is not much of a *POSSIBLE* close encounter with John and Dawn but I bet nobody else here has got a better one though! LOL!
BTW: John,you got an OUTSTANDING blog here and you really seem to know how to root out the old information on all the WONDERLAND participants…….
ALSO……..A big hello to Critic and Jill,some of the old timers from the old IMDB WONDERLAND board
LikeLike
John 7:39 am on October 21, 2013 Permalink |
That is great. I need to look up that Holiday Inn and get a picture.
LikeLike
Jill C. Nelson 8:06 am on October 22, 2013 Permalink |
I don’t recall that story from before, kdimmick, it’s a good one. Hello to you! 😉
LikeLike
criticextraordinaire 9:38 am on October 18, 2013 Permalink |
That story sounds like BS, somebody who wanted to make a snarky comment about Dawn. I wonder if Big Rosie or Joe from the snack shop are still around. They’d probably give the straight scoop.
LikeLike
John W 3:09 pm on October 18, 2013 Permalink |
They were by no means exclusive as a couple. It may have been some other woman. There’s still a lot of gray areas for their time in Florida because Dawn states in Legs O’Neil’s book a bunch of conflicting stuff as opposed to what is in her official Road to Wonderland book, in which she sugar coats her stripping job and omits things.
LikeLike
localarts 9:53 pm on October 18, 2013 Permalink |
Yes, the story seems somewhat embellished.
LikeLike
Beth 3:11 pm on October 19, 2013 Permalink |
I think it’s funny that everyone seems to claim they lived “right around the corner” from where a lot of this stuff happened! Must have been pretty crowded!
LikeLike
criticextraordinaire 6:35 am on October 20, 2013 Permalink
Well I did have this one buddy in college in the 70’s who claimed to know a porn actress who knew John C. Holmes. At the time he told us that Johnny was married and managed an apartment complex as his “day job”. We thought my buddy was totally full of baloney. Then years later I saw “Wadd” and what do you know, my buddy had it right all along.
LikeLike