Tag Archives: 1949

Little Tavern- Washington No. 27

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This former Little Tavern is located at the corner of 6th and Morse St., NE Washington, DC. It is now a Subway. Despite having lost its distinctive color scheme and signage, the exterior still looks as though it is fairly in tact. Washington #24 appears to have been built c.1948. It stands to reason that No. 27 dates from the late 1940s or early 1950s. I will try to find more documentation regarding the exact date of construction.

For pictures from 1988, taken while it was still operating as a Little Tavern, please click here.

For a in the process list of all Little Tavern locations, click here.

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Little Tavern Design

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The first Washington DC Little Tavern, located at 814 E Street, NW, opened its doors in 1928. It appears the site is now the home of a twelve story apartment building and a Bank of Georgetown.

Early Little Taverns seem to have had a design similar to that of 1920s White Castles and White Towers.
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By 1931, the Tudor Cottage Design had been adopted
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In 1937, it was updated with a bit more of a moderne syle
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Typical Plans and detail
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A design from 1949
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And a later, simplified design. What I’ve found on this one points to a date of construction in 1974
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This one was found in Silver Spring, Maryland until relatively recently. When it was torn down, it had been painted yellow and was operating as a Chinese restaurant.

Miss Portland Diner- Portland, Maine

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The last time we’d visited the Miss Portland, they had closed up shop. The diner was looking sad, the rooftop sign was partially off and with its future looked dim. Since then, the diner has been moved, but only a few doors down, restored, and a new, complimentary addition has been added off the left side.

The diner is Worcester Lunch Car Number 818, and was built in 1949. According to their website, the diner was originally located on forest Avenue, from 1949 to 1964. It was then moved to 49 Marginal way, where it stayed until it closed in 2004. It is currently owned by Tom Manning, who re-opened it late 2008.
Larry Cultrera’s November visit.

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I had a short-stack of platter sized blueberry pancakes, with thick cut bacon and a cup of coffee. So often I find pancakes that sit like lead. Not so at the Miss portland, these were light, fluffy, and chock full of blueberries. The coffee was brewed fresh.

Their Website is http://www.missportlanddiner.com/

Gatto Cycle Diner – Tarentum, PA

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I visited this one the same day as Peppi’s, on a diner run up to Pittsburgh.  We hit it a little before the chili, which they are famous for, was ready, unfortunately, but the same day that it got a large spread in the local newspaper.

The Gatto Cycle Diner was built in 1949 by the Jerry O’Mahony Company. It is the same model as the Tastee Diner in Silver Spring, and like the Tastee, the original, matching factory kitchen, visible in the pictures of it as Digger’s, is no longer in existence. It is now attached to a Harley Davidson dealership, and is really secondary to the motorcycle shop.

It was abandoned for some time, and was in fairly poor shape by the time it was moved to Tarentum. Though it is obvious, at least to experienced eyes, that a good deal of the diner has been remodeled, it isn’t overblown, and looks essentially the part.

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Here is the diner as it was in its original location, in Butler, PA as Digger’s Diner.

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Photo Courtesy of TheAmericanRoadside

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Photo courtesy of TheAmericanRoadside

And as it was between locations.
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