Monthly Archives: September 2008

Peppi’s Diner- Pittsburgh, PA

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Peppi’s is a “National” diner built in the 1940s. It was originally Scotty’s Diner. It is currently operating as a location of Peppi’s Old Tyme Sandwich Shop, but it is still very much a diner in setup and feel. Most importantly, the food is still cooked behind the counter. When I was there, I had one of the best cheesesteaks I had ever eaten. The food is truly delicious. The diner itself is a little rough around the edges, as you can see, especially the outside panels, but it has character. Photobucket

The interior is a beauty of design, with the geometric patterns in the formica, the stainless work, seen here, photo by Brian Butko, or the winged clock, seen here. It’s interesting that the door frames are still very old style dark stained wood with molding. The diner has original tiny bathrooms to the right, as you can see in the exterior shot from the window delete.

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The diner is located at 7619 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA

Main Diner – Westfield, NY

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The main diner is an old one, a mid ’20s model, very small, more a stationary lunch wagon than anything else. Inside, the wheelwells are still visible. It’s all stools inside the diner, but seating has been supplemented with an addition, at an angle to the diner, off to the right. There’s a great neon sign out front.
This 1926 Ward and Dickinson located at 40 E. Main St.
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And then there’s this building, also in Westfield, NY. It’s very reminiscent of a small lunch wagon, both in size, and in the barrel roof. Closson was based out of Westfield from 1912-1917, but it doesn’t have the monitor roof that they did. Whatever it is, it’s an interesting building.
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Crossroads Dinor – Edinboro, PA

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I visited the Crossroads Dinor back in March of 2007. The Dinor (a regional spelling of diner) was originally a trolley, built in 1913, decommissioned some time later, and hauled to this site and converted in 1929. Outside, many of its distinctive trolley features still remain, like the curved front and rear and the bumpers. Inside, the trolley section is not used much anymore, the main focus of the restaurant is the spacious, yet homey dining room attached on the back. And its no wonder. Though the trolley is very interesting architecturally, with its curved ceiling, woodwork, and green windows, it’s really very small, especially since they have bumped the kitchen out into it, making an already narrow structure even more narrow.
The diner is located at 101 W Plum St, Edinboro, PA, on the corner of Rt. 6 and Erie.
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Bob and Edith’s Diner – Arlington, Virginia

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There are two Bob and Edith’s Diners, a very short distance apart. This one is the original, founded in the late 1960s. It’s the real deal, small, cramped, with good food and a real, friendly diner atmosphere. It’s right down the road from an old Ollie’s Trolley

Here they both are, shot during Winter, 2006.
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The old short stools in cheerful alternating blue and yellow.
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Then there’s the other one, obviously converted fairly recently from something else. Much flashier. More trendy. Bigger. I love the cantilevered structure on the left, sheltering the picnic tables. It’s complete with a large, round neon sign, oddly, inside the building

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DELUXE DINER – Arlington, Virginia

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Here’s a diner, a newer on site construction, with a great modern style. It’s nice and flashy without being too terribly over the top, probably because of it’s small scale. The blue glass adds a little bit of color to the otherwise entirely stainless exterior. The slatted windows are a nice touch, and the angle of the roof and facade give it a bit of a googie flavor.

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539 23rd St S
Arlington, VA 22202
deluxedinerva.com

Bridge Diner- Havre De Grace, Maryland

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Here’s another one of the Maryland Diners. It’s changed a bit since it was built.  Take a look at the postcard and take a look at what it looks like now.

Here’s how it looked when it was new, probably late 1930s. The tag is gone, it was probably removed or covered over when renovations were done in the 1950s. It was called the New bridge diner then. I like the awnings. A nice touch of class.
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Here is is now. The original lettering reading, “Bridge Diner” is still present, though not visible in this shot because of the cars. There are holes drilled in the enamel on the left hand side, where the lettering reading “new” was originally bolted on. As you can see, the windows were redone at some point, removing the top part. A vestibule and roof were added as well, completely changing the look of the place
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Inside the old Silk City
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A shot showing the old mural painted on the ceiling. There is one on both end, both with similar scenes. This also shows the ’50s renovation, with boomerang formica replacing the dark wood window surrounds, a stainless bump out for lighting fixtures, and the end door delete.
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The bridge diner is located at 801 Pulaski Hwy, Havre De Grace, MD

Olympic Confectionary – Halifax, Nova Scotia

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My first lunch counter experience from my new home, and a great one at that. It’s located on Barrington St. , across the street from the train station. The two gentlemen in before us had been going to the Olympic every day for fifty years. It has been in the same family since the 1970s.

The breakfast was excellent, cooked on the small grill behind the counter, and was extremely inexpensive. The coffee was great, and was served in classic green and white diner mugs.
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March 1, 2010

The American City Diner – Washington DC

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I have a couple more posts of these old slide scans to go.

The American City diner was built by Kullman in 1989, and was one of the first old style diners to be built. And it really nailed the look. Just take a look at the photos. With the exception of larger dimensions, the detailing and proportions were kept essentially the same as a ’40s model. It’s beauty was in its simplicity, the design was clean and beautiful. Based on pictures of them from when they were built, this one and the Silver Diner in Rockville are my two favorites from this era of diners.

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Photo is copyright Michael G. Stewart

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Photo is copyright Michael G. Stewart

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Photo is copyright Michael G. Stewart

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Photo is copyright Michael G. Stewart

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Photo is copyright Michael G. Stewart

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Photo is copyright Michael G. Stewart

And here’s how it looks now. An awning has been added, obscuring the roof stainless work. The roof has been painted blue and red, a signboard has been added to the vestibule. A googie-esque addition has been added to the left hand side, as has a now closed in patio seating area, entirely covering the diner to the left of the vestibule. Everything about the diner has so much added onto it that the diner that was installed in 1989 is hardly recognizable.

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