Another addition to the collection, a print from 1951 of a trolley diner former located near 901 Pulaski Highway, Joppa, MD.
Trolley Diner, Joppa, MD
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Category Archives: Diners/ restaurants
New Drawing – Tastee Diner, Laurel, MD
The Tastee Diner, Laurel, Maryland. Based on a c.1983 slide by Michael G. Stewart.
Central Lunch – Staten Island, NY
I got an original print of this one in today, and into the scanner it went.
The Central Lunch was located at 155 Bay Street (corner of Central Ave.) in Tompkinsville, Staten Island, NY. It looks like instead of the usual porcelain enamel, that the facade is done in mosaic tile. The tilework continues onto the shed roofed kitchen bump out.
Mahony Diners
Mahony Diners was founded in 1956 by the former plant and sales managers of Jerry O’Mahony, after that company went out of business. In addition to their own advertising, they re-used promotional materials from O’Mahony with the “O” blacked out. They exhibited their two-unit Diner/Motel design at the first annual Hotel Exposition in New York, which included an 86 seat diner, and a two room motel which measured 40’x12′. This unit apparently sold at the show for $76,000. Period press releases talk about orders for this diner/motel setup flooding in, but this may have been the company stretching the truth. They only built four diners, and lasted in business less than two years. Richard Gutman’s book, “American Diner Then & Now” identifies the first as the LauraLyn Diner of Rahway, NJ. The Vermont Royal Diner, of Springfield, Vermont, is the only surviving example.
Diner/Motel setup as exhibited. Crossover matchbook advertising Mahony Diners, Fountain Luncheonette & Diner Magazine, and Diamond matches
Tag design used by Mahony Diners.
Joseph Montano – President, Plant Manager, Sales
Started in the diner business c. 1944
Formerly plant manager at Jerry O’Mahony
John L. Cronk – Vice President and General Sales Manager
Started in the diner business c. 1950
Formerly sales manager at Jerry O’Mahony
Joseph Cavallo – Secretary/ Treasurer
Started in the diner business c. 1951
John Mayers – Carpenter / Foreman
Started in the diner business c. 1927
Anthony Damiano – Sheet Metal Foreman
Started in the diner business c. 1945
Ray Anisko – Design Draftsman
Started in the diner business c. 1944
Pete Nalio – Carpenter
Started in the diner business c. 1951
George Gibbons – Machine Operator
Started in the diner business c. 1926
Frank Bonifanti – Structural Steel Foreman
Started in the diner business c. 1945
John Hospodar – Sheet Metal Man
Started in the diner business c. 1941
George Campbell – Sheet Metal Man
Started in the diner business c. 1944
Ward and Dickinson
I got this photo in the mail earlier today. It was taken in 1947, but other than that, I don’t have much to go on as far as identifying the location goes. The photographer just missed name of the diner on the sign, and there is just too much film grain to be able to read any of the menu board inside. A nearby barbershop must have been moving or have been evicted, with all of its equipment sitting on the street in front of the diner at night. The vestibule is a crude affair, and the flowerboxes are gone. The sign is showing clear signs of age.
The Camden Diner, Baltimore, MD
I just got in the negative for this photo- the Camden Diner. The diner was located at the corner of Howard and Pratt, by Camden Station. Nothing in the photo still stands, having been redeveloped for the convention center and for Camden Yards. The photo was taken on June 19, 1948. The diner doesn’t seem to have lasted long under this name, I can only find records of it as such from the late 1940s through early 1950s.
The Mt. Penn Diner – Reading, PA
The Mt. Penn Glass Front Diner was located at the east end of the Lindbergh Viaduct in Reading, PA. It looks like it was located roughly at 2101 Howard Blvd, where Arner’s Family Restaurant is now. (A real estate listing for that restaurant can be found here). The diner is certainly an unusual one. The extreme width (for the pre-war period) is reminiscent of diners built by General and by Bixler, however the roof curvature and detailing is wrong. More than likely it was built on-site by a local contractor. I will give them credit, though, this is a well executed job if that’s what it is.
This photo is from a menu I have in my collection dating from 1941. Some fun facts about the diner from that menu:
Do you know? That we employ 24 people in the diner, 24 hours.
Do you know? That we average over 25,000 patrons monthly.
Do you know? That this is America’s only Vitrolux Glass front diner and Pennsylvania’s Finest.
Do you know? That you have only a five (5) minute drive from the diner to the Chinese pagoda on the Sky Line Boulevard. (Dinerhunter note: It’s worth noting that they’re referring to it as a “Chinese” pagoda. Possibly to do with the Anti-Japanese sentiment of the war-time years.)
Quality food at the lowest possible price is our first consideration
We select all our employees, and instruct them to be civil, kind and thoughtful, even under the most trying circumstances.
We think you have a right to know the quality of food we are serving.
It may interest you to know: That we only use Idaho Potatoes – the world’s finest and that we served more than 60,000 pounds in 1940.
That all our french fried and julienne potatoes are cooked to order in our modern electric fryers.
That we use only the highest grade vegetable shortening for all our cooking and baking.
That in 1940 we used more than 100,000 Berks County fresh eggs, supplied by a reliable farmer. All our eggs are fried in pure dairy butter.
Do you know? That we used 6,000 pounds of creamery butter in 1940
That we served 215,000 cups of coffee the same year.
That we served 5,650 quarts of pure cream for coffee in 1940.
That we served 15,500 quarts of milk during the year 1940.
Do you know? That we grind our own hamburger fresh daily, from choice young beef rounds, and that we served more than 18 tons during 1940.
That we use Swift’s special bacon and choice beef.
That we use Heinz ketchup and tomato juice exclusively.
That we use Spanish onions- the sweetest in America.
We Do Know
That our success depends upon your satisfaction and your recommendation. . . If your food is not as you expect it to be, please oblige the management by having your waitress return same. We do appreciate your patronage.
The White Star Diner – Winnipeg, Manitoba
I visited the White Star Diner on a trip to visit my girlfriend and her family this past February out in Manitoba. If you want to know what it is to truly be cold, I suggest this area in the winter.
It was the morning of Valentines day and we were out tromping through the snow filled streets, seeing the sights. Winnipeg is a very interesting city and has a ton of sights, even in conditions that would bring other cities to a screeching halt. What better meal for a romantic Valentines breakfast than a stop in at the White Star? None, I would say. I had a pulled pork sandwich topped with bacon, and a side of Poutine. Anna had a grilled cheese and a chocolate milkshake. Walking around all day outside in that kind of weather, it’s just the thing that hits the spot.
It’s a great old fashioned type of place, in an infill site, with ghost signs behind. Inside, it has a window counter and an open kitchen.
The White Star Diner is located at:
58 Albert St Winnipeg, MB R3B 1N6, Canada
The Happy Day Diner
I last visited the Happy Day diner in 2004, and wasn’t too impressed. It’s a very pretty ’59 DeRaffele built diner that got the retro treatment. Fortunately, most of it is cosmetic, stickers, paint and bolt-ons. Almost nothing which couldn’t be un-done at a later date. Smiley face on the roof, and Elvis on the vestibule. The smiley face up there has actually been toned sometime in the intervening decade, see the original here.
Nine years later, we decided it was time to give this diner a second chance. It is, after all, just down the road. The waitresses were friendly and attentive, the coffee was good, and the interior still looks pretty good. I had the cream chipped beef, my dad had his usual eggs, bacon, homefries and toast. Maybe we’ll give it another chance in another decade.
The Happy Day Diner
8302 Pulaski Hwy Baltimore, MD
The retro remodeling of the Happy Day Diner harks back to the time of 45s and of Elvis. Here it is in those days, with freedom riders being arrested after trying to be served.
The Medport Diner – Medford, NJ
We had dinner at the Medport Diner. It’s a L-shaped DeRaffele- built diner, with a stainless steel A-frame style vestibule.
122 New Jersey 70 Medford, NJ. While it’s a big diner, its floor plan, with the L shape, and a row of booths between the counter and the row of booths at the window, keep it cozy. I feel that from the ’60s onward, as diners grew ever larger, they lost the intimacy of earlier ones which harbors interaction. Despite its capacity, this DeRaffele design manages to keep the local vibe of earlier models. The interior got a facelift early last year (photos), but it’s fairly complementary, and I much prefer it to the “retro” look so many are revamping their diners with.
The food was good and plentiful, and while the menu was extensive, enough of the options were variations on basic ingredients. Those typically NJ diner menus with 15 pages of everything-under-the-sun always overwhelm me and make me a bit nervous. I settled on the Texas burger, a cheeseburger with barbecue sauce, and a side of Disco Fries. From my years living in Canada, I became a bit of a poutine junkie, and having moved back to the US, I’ve been jonesing for my next fix. Disco fries are mozza and gravy on fries. They’re not curds, but the idea and flavor’s there. The cheese on the burger was particularly melty and the burger was juicy and flavorful. A great diner and a great way to round out the day.
The Medport Diner is located at:
122 New Jersey 70 Medford, NJ
Diner Hunter 