Category Archives: Silk City

1927-1964
27th St & 19th Ave, Paterson, NJ

Capital City Diner, Washington DC

Posted on by
Reply

I visited the Capital City diner on May 24th, 2009, shortly after it arrived from Avoca New York to the Trinidad neighborhood of NE Washington. Since then I’ve been eagerly awaiting its opening.

Since I am currently at school in Halifax and could not make it myself, my father visited the Capital City diner this morning for breakfast along with a couple of his friends, fellow diner enthusiasts. The new owners, Matt Ashburn and Patrick Carl, have done an incredible job with the place, as you can see from the photos.

From Michael G. Stewart:
The breakfast was pretty good-Tasty & well prepared. The service was a bit spotty, but I guess to be expected this early on. The physical diner is pretty original, no silly updates or “Happy Days” isms. Despite being in a transitional part of town, there was a really good mix of young urban hipsters, some w/ families, professionals, & neighborhood locals. Good vibe, felt safe, fun & comfortable. So far, so good!

From SallyAnn Rogers:
We had a grand time at the Capital City Diner. My waffle was brown and crisp and not a bit mushy. The place is a little cramped, more like hobbit size, but it was filled to the brim and was a very nice experience. You are going to love it.

Red painted trimwork and roof really make the diner pop.

Blue and black


Silk City Diner manufactured by the Patterson Vehicle company of Patterson, NJ. Note that the background of the tag matches the tilework of the diner. I’m not sure if this is original, but it is a very nice touch.

The diner is located at 1050 Bladensburg Rd. NE washington DC
Become a fan of the diner on facebook.

Advertisement

Silk City Diner- near Carney’s Point/Deepwater, NJ

Posted on by
3

We saw this one in New Jersey, near Carney’s Point. It’s a Silk City. It’s hard to tell precisely what it is, I don’t recall there being any signage on it. A large porch has been added, as has a handicapped ramp, which in conjunction with the roof addition, obscures the majority of the diner. There’s an open/closed sign in the front door and tables on the porch, so I can only assume its still a restaurant of some sort.

Photobucket

A view from the side. It looks like the roof addition does not actually cover the roof or protect the diner, it’s just for the porch. The diner may have been painted that red color at one point.
Photobucket

A different day, in the pouring rain

Photobucket

Photobucket

Stops from May 26, 2009 Diner Trip

Posted on by
Reply

Airport Diner – 15110 Kutztown Rd. – Kutztown, PA.
The Airport diner is a 1960 Silk City, serial number 6027, with zig-zag stainless

Photobucket

Philco sign – Pauley’s Electric Shop
Photobucket

222 Dutch Lanes Bowling
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket

Emmaus Bowling Center – 16 Lanes – AMF – Emmaus, PA
Photobucket

Plaza 2331. Dig that plaid.
Photobucket

Trivet Family Restaurant – Breinigsville, PA – 1970s DeRaffele
Photobucket

Trucking Sign- Emmaus, PA
Photobucket

5th Street Diner – Temple, PA. Kullman replacing a Silk City
Photobucket

Giant Penguin
Photobucket

Backside of the Prospect Diner- Columbia, PA, a 1955 Kullman, as seen from the highway
Photobucket

DC / MD diner trip – May 24, 2009

Posted on by
1

This was my first real diner trip in a while. I met up today with Mike Engle, author of Diners of New York; the man behind NYdiners.com, and roadside buff and frequent Zippy the Pinhead contributor Ed Engel at the American City Diner, and headed out from there.

The first stop of the day was the American City Diner of 5532 Connecticut Ave NW Washington, DC. It’s a late ’80s Kullman, one of the early retro-styled diners, and one of the ones that did it right. For some photos as it appeared when new, click here. Since then, it’s been added on to, with a large side addition, and a front porch which obscures everything to the left of the vestibule.
Photobucket

The Left side of the diner- 2009
Photobucket
The left side of the diner – 1989
Photobucket

The former Howard Theater. Great rusty marquis on this one.
Photobucket

Photobucket

The now abandoned Wonderbread / Hostess Factory

Photobucket

Photobucket

Ran into a little excitement along the way between these two stops, but all’s well that ends well.

Northeast Academy of Dance Neon sign. Look at the detail at the left hand corner of the sign.
Photobucket

We hit up the Capital City Diner, which was moved here on the 20th. Watch the video of it being moved. This Silk City, formerly of Avoca New York, has made its way to the Trinidad neighborhood of Northeast DC.
Photos at its original location and some backstory can be found at :A Real Historic Diner Coming to DC!

Photobucket

Photobucket

This next leg of the trip had some neat neon and signage

A&R Auto Parts
Photobucket

Syd’s Drive In / Liquor
Photobucket

Cross Roads
Photobucket

Tesst theater
Photobucket

Hyattsville Hardware / Franklin’s
Photobucket

Calvert House
Photobucket

Silver Spring’s old Canada Dry bottling plant
Photobucket

A quick stop at the Silver Spring Tastee was made.

Now
Photobucket

Then
Photobucket
More old photos can be found here.

Then a side trip to Forest Glen, parts of which have deteriorated greatly since my last visit.
Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Dinner at the Tastee Diner in Bethesda
Photobucket

Then
Photobucket

And the trip’s final stop at Bethesda’s former Little Tavern. A 1990 photo of it, when it was still a Little Tavern, can be found on the Diner Hotline.

Photobucket

Photobucket

Coventry Diner

Posted on by
1

Here’s a photo taken several years ago of Pennsylvania’s Coventry Diner, a later Silk City which has undergone remodeling.

Photobucket
The four windows on the right are part of an addition. From that part left is the original diner.

Photobucket

Additional West Shore Diner photos

Posted on by
2

More photos of the West Shore Diner of Lemoyne Pennsylvania from another trip.

Photobucket

Inside the West Shore- Notice how the backbar has been bumped out into the kitchen area, with the front of the back counter being flush with the back wall of the actual diner. Narrow deuce booths on the right.

Photobucket

The backbar setup, with drink machine and passthrough to kitchen. Old woodwork trim. Support our Troops.

Photobucket

The entire length of the diner. Blue, creme and black tilework. Worn salmon formica.

Photobucket

exterior, with air conditioning unit.

Photobucket

It’s a very narrow diner.

Photobucket

The West Shore Diner. They saved my life.

Photobucket
empty

Photobucket

Diner corner with air conditioner cut-out

Paterson, New Jersey

Posted on by
16

Here are some of the diners which I took pictures of in Paterson, New Jersey, once home of the Paterson Vehicle Company, builder of Silk City Diners.

Erfed Remodel.  If you have a copy of Dick Gutman’s The American Diner then and now, you will have seen pictures of this diner from when it was an on site, from when it was diner-ized, and from when the addition was put on .  This is how it looks now, a bit faded.

Photobucket

Only a few doors down, to the left of the Nicholas diner is a 1950s Silk City, once Chappy’s, but I can’t seem to find my pictures of it.

The Egg Platter Diner, a Master
Photobucket

State Diner – Baltimore, Maryland

Posted on by
2

It’s not much to look at on the outside.
Photobucket

But sure enough, inside is a classic diner, a barrel roof model. Any guesses as to the manufacturer? Unfortunately, this is the best picture I could get when we were there. My initial gut reaction would be that it’s a silk city, because of the curve at the ends, but I can’t remember seeing silk cities with that kind of vent hood or tile pattern.
Photobucket