Diners #126-130

  Getting back into action...

Our first diner is the long closed former Royal Diner in Wurtsboro, NY.  This Silk City diner sits on former NY Rt 17 and was one of two diners in Wurtsboro.  The other was closer to the intersection of US Rt 209 and was a barrel roof affair.  This diner was remodeled by Erfed and had a famously known zig-zag roof line that was taken off for some odd reason.  The interior is classic late 1940s Silk City as Erfed only remodeled the exterior, similar to another diner in Rhode Island.

Our second diner sits in Leesport, Pennsylvania a little bit north of Reading on PA Rt 61. When I visited the diner it was Lee's Family Restaurant.   Now how did I get a photo of the place with on people you might add, but not have a meal at the place?  When I stopped in, the temperature was insanely hot, so no one felt like eating on this day it would seem, but also, no one felt like working.  The lights were on, but no one was home.  So I snapped a few photos and left.  This diner is also a Silk City diner, but it is a later model.

Our next diner is Lou's Diner in Clinton, Massachusetts.  This seemed to be a defacto male only place.  So ladies get out and change things!  The place is an older Worcester dining car that was "updated" by the company.  The diner is a good mix of the older and new styles due to the remodeling.  The exterior sports flat red panels. The diner is small and is a counter with a few booths for two people.  These are some of my favorite diners.  All the food is cooked behind the counter on the griddle, and you get to watch the cook prepare your food! 

The Bel-Aire Diner in Peabody, Massachusetts is no longer with us.  This is another diner I never got the chance to eat in.  This O'Mahony diner was put up for sale, and then was available to anyone who could move it off this land.   Land that was being reused on busy US Rt 1. Unfortunately, it did not fit into anybody's plans.  up to its final days, the diner was very original which makes it even more of a shame. 
  So I have only eaten in one of the four mentioned diners, so lets keep that trend going and pick another diner that I have not eaten in.

The Hiway Diner-Restaurant just outside of Bridgeport, Connecticut on US Rt 1.  The highway is full of diners and restaurants and anything and everything commercial.  As far as I know, this place is still open.  I have never been inside, so I don't know how original the itnerior is, but the exterior looks to be your typical 1970s environmental diner, though the mansard roof is not cedar and the under-hang of this roof looks to be larger than is typical.  Also note the two windows on each side that are butted out.  Hopefully I will eventually get inside.

Disclaimer for all photos posted here: ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. These are copyrighted photos, and I own that copyright. My photos may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way, in any format, in any media without my written permission. Any other use will constitute an agreement to pay me (Michael Engle) $50.00 (US) per day/per image, plus a $200.00 (US) administrative fee per photo, plus any other money generated through the use of my images. I will bill you for this amount when I find my photos being used without my written permission. When you are billed, you will also be instructed to immediately return all physical image copies, delete all digital images, and delete all links to my photos. Even after you have returned and deleted the images, you must still pay me for the previous unauthorized use. Any bills unpaid after 60 days will be referred to a collection agency. (thank you to Bob Marville)

Diners #121-125

Two things for news

Forbes Diner has moved from storage in New Haven, CT to Salisbury, CT, a very small bedroom community which seems to become a weekend jaunt for the metro NYC crowd.  Located in Northwest Connecticut.
Cindy's Diner in Fort Wayne, Indiana moves in early June, and closed up on May 30.  I just realized I do not have a digital photo of the place.

But lets start with the Forbes Diner.  The first picture is from recent.  This is the first half of the diner to arrive in Salisbury, CT.  Two gentlemen were right to work on the diner.  Lets hope the progress moves forward.  I hope the owner has permits to get the diner on a location and open.

The second photo is from a couple of years ago, and shows the diner in New Haven.  Supposedly, the diner sat at this location for a total of six years.

Philipsburg's Key City Diner in New Jersey sits on heavily traveled US Rt 22 a few miles from the Pennsylvania Border near heavily traveled I-80.  The diner is an iconic place, and fortunately has not been altered too much, which is rare air for New Jersey.  The diner does has an addition built on to it in retro style, but this side shows the original diner.

The Jolly Donut in Sandusky, Ohio is one of my favorite or regular stops on the way out west.  Only open breakfast and lunch, the place usually works out perfectly for an early breakfast in either direction most of the time.  The exterior is bricked over, but much of the original Mountain View, including the tag, are still left to enjoy.  The prices are also very reasonable.

Darby, Connecticut is home to the newest style of diner.  I don't know what you call it, but it looks like any ole chain store, tacked on to a diner shell.  I am not sure how old the actual diner is, but I think this was a remodel.

A very non-descript environmental diner with some slight updating on the mansard roof can be viewed in Whippany, New Jersey.   Not much to see here, move along.









Disclaimer for all photos posted here: ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. These are copyrighted photos, and I own that copyright. My photos may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way, in any format, in any media without my written permission. Any other use will constitute an agreement to pay me (Michael Engle) $50.00 (US) per day/per image, plus a $200.00 (US) administrative fee per photo, plus any other money generated through the use of my images. I will bill you for this amount when I find my photos being used without my written permission. When you are billed, you will also be instructed to immediately return all physical image copies, delete all digital images, and delete all links to my photos. Even after you have returned and deleted the images, you must still pay me for the previous unauthorized use. Any bills unpaid after 60 days will be referred to a collection agency. (thank you to Bob Marville)

Diners #116-120

The Pelican Diner in Florida was in storage about four years ago.   I have not heard that it has come out of storage unfortunately.   The Pelican spent a good fifty plus years on St. Pete Beach on the main drag.  The main drag became too popular with new buildings, and the diner went.  Mountain View sent many diners to places like Indiana and Florida, and this is just one of many that ended up down in the southern confines on the Tampa-St. Pete region.  There is a glimmer of hope, but it is going to take someone special to rescue this diner.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma has at least five Valentines left, and not one looks similar to the other, either due to remodelings or due to the design by the manufacturer themselves.  This diner is on South Walker, south of downtown and the main drag out of town in a neighborhood that has seen better days. It is that in between neighborhood.  not quite the suburbs, not quite downtown.  Plus, I don't think this diner has any off street parking.   Plus, the door just doesn't fit too well.

The Hi-Lite is another diner that is no longer with us today.  Out on Long Island, the diner sat on Nesconset Hwy in Port Jefferson Station.  The road, like most on Long Island, is well traveled.  The diner sported some environmental features, but it was also muddled in appearance.  I did hear that the diner was demolished, but I never followed up to see what was built on the site.  A view on google maps seems to show a TD Bank on site where they place the diner.  Six years is too long for me to remember the precise location of the diner, especially with a regraded landscape.

Fortune Gardens in Babylon was another diner I visited on the same trip that I stopped at the Hi-Lite.  On Long Island you can practically hit a diner every five minutes, minus traffic.At least the diner is still alive, even if it does not serve diner food.   It is located in what seems to be downtown Babylon on West Main Street, also known as the Montauk highway and NY Rt 27A.  Much of the through traffic is found the Sunrise Highway a little north, but there is still enough traffic on every road on Long Island.

This diner is open, and serves diner food, but I have yet to eat here, even though I have been by this place about three times, if not more.  Joe's Diner, a Sterling in Taunton, Massachusetts is located just outside of the downtown.  The diner has its own parking lot, but it has no fancy foundation or landscaping.  They are a breakfast and lunch place, and I am usually headed elsewhere, with Joe's not my intended destination.  Eventually, I will get to this Sterling diner.

Disclaimer for all photos posted here: ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. These are copyrighted photos, and I own that copyright. My photos may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way, in any format, in any media without my written permission. Any other use will constitute an agreement to pay me (Michael Engle) $50.00 (US) per day/per image, plus a $200.00 (US) administrative fee per photo, plus any other money generated through the use of my images. I will bill you for this amount when I find my photos being used without my written permission. When you are billed, you will also be instructed to immediately return all physical image copies, delete all digital images, and delete all links to my photos. Even after you have returned and deleted the images, you must still pay me for the previous unauthorized use. Any bills unpaid after 60 days will be referred to a collection agency. (thank you to Bob Marville)

Diners #111-115

Five more diners.

Occasionally, chains take over diners.  Often the diner is totally buggered up.  Fortunately, the franchise owner of this Subway has fought the corporate honchos and requested this former diner to stay as original as possible.  The inside has been changed; no counter, but the ceiling is original, and one day, who knows, maybe someone will rebuild a counter and bring back the diner days.  The only bad news is that the diner isn't in the best of neighborhoods, which usually isn't good for independent businesses.  This is a Mountain View diner, as they were aggressive in Indiana in the 1950s

A Worcester diner in Portland, Maine.  The Miss Portland was recently moved and an addition dining room and kitchen etc was added to the diner.  The diner is also surrounded by some new development.  Fortunately, the interior and exterior of this diner is in good shape.  I was only here once.  The diner was at its first location from 1949 to 1964. The diner stayed at its next location until 2004 when it was donated to the city of Portland, which ensured its safety.  The diner was sold in 2007 and moved to its current location in 2008.

Mel's Diner in Fremont sits right off of a four land limited assess highway which is known as US Rt 30.  Mel's is actually the second Starlite diner in Fremont as there is another one off of a different exit.  This diner started out in Jacksonville, Illinois as the Rocket Diner and then moved to Carter Lake, Iowa, a suburb of Omaha, Nebraska before moving to Fremont.

The Landmark Diner in Ossining, New York was remodeled by DeRaffele in a post modern style.  I do not know any of the diner's history, so I can not tell you how old this diner is, but it does seem to have a 1970's environmental diner footprint.  Ossining was home to a Bixler diner in the 1930s.  This diner sits on busy US Rt 9 between Peekskill and the Tappan Zee Bridge.  DeRaffele remodeled a handful of diners in their typical retro style with plenty of right angles.

There are two trolley diners in Chatham, Virginia, a little village on US RT 29 almost into North Carolina.  This streetcar from Reidsville, North Carolina was brought to Chatham in 1937 and operated by the same owner until the 1970s.  It operated for a short time in the 1980s, but has sat idle since that time.  Fortunately it is historically recognized for its significance to the community.  Today, the diner is registered on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.  It would be nice to see the diner working once again, but hopefully at the very least, it will be preserved.


Disclaimer for all photos posted here: ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. These are copyrighted photos, and I own that copyright. My photos may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way, in any format, in any media without my written permission. Any other use will constitute an agreement to pay me (Michael Engle) $50.00 (US) per day/per image, plus a $200.00 (US) administrative fee per photo, plus any other money generated through the use of my images. I will bill you for this amount when I find my photos being used without my written permission. When you are billed, you will also be instructed to immediately return all physical image copies, delete all digital images, and delete all links to my photos. Even after you have returned and deleted the images, you must still pay me for the previous unauthorized use. Any bills unpaid after 60 days will be referred to a collection agency. (thank you to Bob Marville)

Diners #106-110

Wow, a new post and it's not too long since the last.  Lets keep this up!  No trips in the immediate future planned, but I do want to some time get down to northern New Jersey and get to the Miss America Diner.   God willing, in a month or so, I am headed to Minnesota, and will get to visit some great diners along the way.  A restored Suzie Q's in Mason City, Iowa.  and the famed Spud Boy Lunch in Lanesboro, Minnesota.  Plus a new diner for me in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin which will have me once again completing all the diners of Wisconsin!

This diner, the Miss Wakefield Diner in eastern New Hampshire originally lived just outside of Rensselaer, New York on US Rt 9.  The diner was owned by the Carpinello family before they sold the diner and it was trucked to New Hampshire.  I have not eaten here yet, as I have been distracted by too many other diners along the way.   This O'Mahony started out in 1949 and moved shortly after closing up in 1981.  They are not open for dinner, which does complicate things for me.

The Aero Diner in Willimantic, Connecticut has also moved around.  Their website tells about the two other locations in Connecticut, and how the diner needed a lot of restoration, which seems to be a similar story.  The diner was only one of two diners built by Bramson Engineering of Long Island, New York.  Mario Monti believes the other stayed on the island.  This diner sits by the Windham Airport on the famous US Rt 6, a popular coast to coast highway.  So far, the Aero is a popular place.

A rare Valentine diner on the east coast, it is one of four still left standing in Virginia.  Stone's Downtown diner sits in Hopewell, Virginia.  At the time of my one visit, the diner was open, and I was able to eat here.  I did hear that currently the diner is closed and the owners are just doing catering.  This Valentine diner is in very good condition and does seem to sit in a safe location, as it is off of main street.  I do not know any of the history of this diner, but Valentines are one of the easiest diners to move.

My first diner in Maryland that I have posted to this blog.  A rare Comac sits in Laurel, Maryland on US Rt 1, across the street from a former Little Tavern restaurant.  The Tastee diners are a chain of three diners in the northern suburbs of Washington D.C.  This diner is the youngest of the three.  I think I have only been here once, back in 2008, but somehow I feel like I have been there twice.  Comac made diners from roughly 1947 to 1951, so this was a short lived company.  The diner is in fair shape and sports a weathered Comac tag.

Clayton, North Carolina is where we will end this trip.  The diner sits on the Business route of US Rt 70 in front of a shopping center.  The diner is built by Diner Mite diners, and seeing some of the other diners, this is one of their better diners. The foyer does add something to the view, even if it does not add any color to the facade of the diner.  There are a few Diner mites in North Carolina as a few restaurant owners have tried to take advantage of the diner fad of the 1990s in the mid-Atlantic. This photo was from my only visit.


Disclaimer for all photos posted here: ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. These are copyrighted photos, and I own that copyright. My photos may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way, in any format, in any media without my written permission. Any other use will constitute an agreement to pay me (Michael Engle) $50.00 (US) per day/per image, plus a $200.00 (US) administrative fee per photo, plus any other money generated through the use of my images. I will bill you for this amount when I find my photos being used without my written permission. When you are billed, you will also be instructed to immediately return all physical image copies, delete all digital images, and delete all links to my photos. Even after you have returned and deleted the images, you must still pay me for the previous unauthorized use. Any bills unpaid after 60 days will be referred to a collection agency. (thank you to Bob Marville)

Diners #101-105

It's been a long long long time.  No new diners have been visited.  Both chances to get up to the New Hampshire/Maine area were failures due to weather and health related issues.

So where have I been lately, diner wise.   Here is the last diner I have visited in recent times.

Johnny B's Diner in Glenmont, just south of Albany on US Rt 9W is a late model Silk City Diner that is a replacement for an older diner which burnt down.  Johnny B's will be celebrating 10 years this year.   The owner has done some consistently good stuff with the diner, and it is a must visit for a nice diner breakfast.  The interior is pristine, but does sport a lot of knick knacks.  Some diner purists are not fond of them, but for many others, they add to the flair and the image of each diner being individualized.  When in Albany, there are far too many good choices for diners to visit, and here is one of them.

The Pleasantville Colonial Diner sits in Pleasantville, home of Readers Digest.  The diner sits on a corner in the downtown square and has been the site of a diner since the early 1930s.  The first diner here was a Bixler, which was followed by an O'Mahony diner around 1950.  That O'Mahony was replaced by the current DeRaffele.  There is not much stainless steel, and really there is not much colonial architecture.  Inside is classic postmodern DeRaffele from the late 1990s.A few touches of stainless and formica to make note of the place being a diner.

Skip's Blue Moon Diner in Gardiner, Massachusetts is your typical barrel roof Worcester Diner.  It's just in good condition.  Fortunately many of them are, but just as many are not.  Skips serves breakfast and lunch, like most New England diners are relegated to by the stomachs of New Englanders.  You can't go wrong at Skips. and you can't go wrong in a Worcester diner.  Nothing fancy, just a simple diner with simple diner food.

The Kennett Square Diner is a 1920s O'Mahony Diner.  The diner sits in front of a creek on old US Rt 30 in Pennsylvania.  The diner was closed both times I have passed it so I have yet to eat at the place.  Even though it is on the old highway, it still can be quite busy as it is not too far outside of Philadelphia.

I have less to add about the Ragin Cajun Diner on the north side of Hartford, Connecticut.  I have not eaten here yet, though I have been by the area far too many times to have not eaten here.  Hopefully this upcoming winter I will make time to partake in a meal at the Ragin.  The diner is a classic Paramount diner from the 1940s, but I am not too sure how original the interior of the place is looking these days.  Though, the outside does still look nice, so you never know.


Disclaimer for all photos posted here: ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. These are copyrighted photos, and I own that copyright. My photos may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way, in any format, in any media without my written permission. Any other use will constitute an agreement to pay me (Michael Engle) $50.00 (US) per day/per image, plus a $200.00 (US) administrative fee per photo, plus any other money generated through the use of my images. I will bill you for this amount when I find my photos being used without my written permission. When you are billed, you will also be instructed to immediately return all physical image copies, delete all digital images, and delete all links to my photos. Even after you have returned and deleted the images, you must still pay me for the previous unauthorized use. Any bills unpaid after 60 days will be referred to a collection agency. (thank you to Bob Marville)

#96-100

I am a terrible slacker.   To get these out of the way, I will look at five diners which have either been demolished or probably do not have much time left.

The Prospect Mountain Diner in Lake George was a double wide Silk City diner.    Originally located a little up the road with the name of the Point Diner, it was located in front of a Bowling Alley on the main drag in Lake George for many years.  As you can see, the diner suffered a terrible fire, and was sadly replaced by a Diner-Mite diner.  This Silk City was in top notch shape up until the fire.  The diner burnt down about six months after Rose, the night hostess passed away, unexpectedly.  She was a fixture at the diner.

Tops Diner once stood in Rotterdam.  The diner was built by Paramount, as was the addition placed on the right side of the diner, as it became more popular.  The diner replaced the Sodium Diner(believed to have been a Paramount) from 1939.  The original diner received its name from the sodium lights used on Route 7 from downtown Schenectady, westward.  This diner was demolished in favor of an on site restaurant called Tops, an American grill.

The next demolished diner spent the good part of its life in Oneonta, where the current Neptune Diner is now located.  That is because this was the original Neptune Diner.  The original diner had a cedar covered mansard roof, but otherwise this is what the Neptune looked like when it was in Oneonta.  When Kullman built a new diner around 2000, the old diner was trucked down the road to Otego where many people attempted to make a god of it with this diner.  After too many failed attempted, the diner was just demolished.

The Thruway Diner in New Rochelle was obviously built by DeRaffele, who are also located in the same town.  DeRaffele was also hired to remodel the diner.  See, originally the diner was one of the neatest googie/space age looking diners in the country, before it was post-modernized as you see here.  The flared windows and chrome and mirror finished glass on top.  Many diners went for this style in the 1990s in the metropolitan areas.  Unfortunately, the land was sold to a drug store chain and that was it for the diner.

This is Ruthie and Moe's Diner from Cleveland, Ohio in its better days.  when I went by the diner two years ago, it was boarded up and had most of its panels missing.  Sadly, what seemed to be a thriving diner could not make a go of it just outside of downtown Cleveland.  There was a second diner attached, but that had a fire and had to be replaced by an on-site building.  This diner may follow soon, from the way it looked.



Disclaimer for all photos posted here: ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. These are copyrighted photos, and I own that copyright. My photos may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way, in any format, in any media without my written permission. Any other use will constitute an agreement to pay me (Michael Engle) $50.00 (US) per day/per image, plus a $200.00 (US) administrative fee per photo, plus any other money generated through the use of my images. I will bill you for this amount when I find my photos being used without my written permission. When you are billed, you will also be instructed to immediately return all physical image copies, delete all digital images, and delete all links to my photos. Even after you have returned and deleted the images, you must still pay me for the previous unauthorized use. Any bills unpaid after 60 days will be referred to a collection agency. (thank you to Bob Marville)