1950s Diner and Cars

[TerryB]

Postcards were made from photographs and then an artist made a drawing or painting of the photo.  This diner is in Edgewood Maryland. Can you name the cars out front?

 

[Curti]

From right to left:

53 Plymouth

50 Plymouth

47-48 Chevy

55 Ford

55 Plymouth ??

[Ozstatman]

Reminds me of The Blue Moon Diner at the Gilmore Museum, which is an original 1941 diner moved over 700 miles from Meriden, CT in 2004 and refurbished.

[TerryB]

3 hours ago, Curti said:

From right to left:

53 Plymouth

50 Plymouth

47-48 Chevy

55 Ford

55 Plymouth ??

Ok, you win!  You even beat Kaiser on that one.  I thought the postcard was a bit of a social statement of the day with all the typical everyman cars out front.  No Packard, Cadillacs or upscale cars to be seen.  Special of the day was probably meatloaf and gravy with mashed potatoes on the side!  Certainly a good portrayal of life in America at that time.

[dei]

While not a authentic old time Diner, it is a re-creation of the Hi Ho Restaurant serving our area for many years. The owner spent quite a bit to make this resemble the past including the menu.

 

Naturally I just had to go back for that nostalgic shot. (would have been better without the modern cars)

[skyler]

i have a framed picture of my car in front of the diner in Cutchogue,ny,long island. it is in black and white. these old diners make for great photo's, but not always the best food. nice experience in spite of that and always nice people.    dennis

[8E45E]

58 minutes ago, skyler said:

These old diners make for great photo's, but not always the best food.

 

Not many of those old diners had a reputation for 'great' food.  They can be classed like a truck stop restaurant today.  Like the odd truck stop kitchen, some did have excellent cooks who took pride in their work and gained a good reputation among the locals, but for the most part, they were an inexpensive place to eat before the era of fast food chains.

 

Craig

[1950panhead]

[Paul Dobbin]

Here is the Pelican Diner formerly of St. Pete Beach FL.  Awaiting a permanent home.

[Uncle_Buck]

Franks Diner, Kenosha, WI

 

B&W picture circa 1926 - color picture 2019.

 

Come hungry for breakfast and be sure and order the ‘Garbage Plate’.

[sebastienbuick]

Beautiful   

[Terry Bond]

Here is one I hope gets saved. It's located in Newport News Va, right on the edge of historic Hilton Village.  It closed years ago and was once destined for demolition.  It was purchased by a company that owns several diners and there have been plans to renovate it and reopen, however little work seems to be taking place.  A news story in 2017 indicated that some permits were obtained to do the work but I've driven by it many times as my daughter lived just around the corner.  But, aside from seeing some lights on inside, there isn't much sign of activity that would suggest reopening.  Fingers are crossed though that this historic property will once again be a great spot to park my GTO and grab a burger.

Terry

Edited February 5, 2019 by Terry Bond (see edit history)

[Curti]

Mickeys Diner in downtown St. Paul Minnesota is still alive and well.

[CHuDWah]

The Chuck Wagon Diner in Champaign, Illinois:

 

 

When I was University of Illinois undergrad in the late-60s,  I often ended a night on the town there. It had the first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in Illinois - Colonel Sanders himself installed the fryer and taught the staff how to use it.  The diner has a well-traveled history.  To make way for a courthouse expansion, it was sold and moved to Villa Grove, IL, then returned to Urbana, IL as the Elite diner:

 

 

I ate there a few times.  When the Elite closed, the diner was moved to Homer, IL, then to Detroit, MI.  It sat there unused until a couple (they're car folks) purchased it and moved it to Duanesburg, New York.  They also found the original sign and foyer that had been separated from the diner the first time it was sold.  Here it is restored and operating in its NY location:

 

 

And to make this post auto related, Consumers Gas shown across the street in the first pic also is gone but I filled my car's tank there after filling mine at the Chuck Wagon.  Consumers still sold oil like this:

 

 

More Chuck Wagon info:

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2009-08-09/c-us-chuck-wagon-diner-its-sign-reunited-restored.html

 

https://dailygazette.com/article/2010/05/16/0516_chuckwagon

 

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2010-05-30/iconic-chuck-wagon-diner-relocated-rejuvenated-new-york.html

 

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2014-01-26/whatever-happened-chuck-wagon-diner.html

Edited February 6, 2019 by CHuDWah (see edit history)

[D Yaros]

The Chuck Wagon Diner; interesting.  We had one on Gary, IN back in the day.  Had no idea they were a franchise.

 

 

[TerryB]

Another MD diner, the Park College Diner five miles north of Washington DC on US Rt 1 home of the University of Maryland.  On the back of the postcard it says “A modern diner serving the best foods to discriminating people”.  Again note the cars at the diner. No expensive cars or convertibles.  The bumper on the car leaving the diner is missing it’s fair share of chrome.  This one is a real picture post card in postcard collector lingo.

 

 

[Mssr. Bwatoe]

Ted's Hamburger Shop

[TerryB]

That Ted’s burger place gets the prize for being compact!  Would love to see a pic of the inside.

[CHuDWah]

23 hours ago, D Yaros said:

The Chuck Wagon Diner; interesting.  We had one on Gary, IN back in the day.  Had no idea they were a franchise.

 

 

Don't think they were.  In the articles I linked, Bob Dye, the original owner of the Champaign Chuck Wagon, said he copied the sign from the Gary one.  They had the first KFC franchise in Indiana - that's where Dye first tasted it, which led him to get the first Illinois franchise.  All this was when the Colonel was still traveling around doing the franchising, before he sold the company.  The chicken recipe was franchised but the diner wasn't.

 

Do you have the placard you posted?  The current owners of the Chuck Wagon probably would be interested in memorabilia like that.

Edited February 10, 2019 by CHuDWah (see edit history)

[D Yaros]

No, I do not have the menu pictured in my post.  I got it off the net, from who knows where?

[greenie]

Here is one you can still visit. The Boyertown Museum of Transportation, near Allentown, PA, has the original Reading Diner preserved as an exhibit. It’s a great museum and a must see for anyone who loves old trucks.