The 5th Street Diner, Temple PA. Replaced a Silk City
Night Neon
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Tag Archives: food
Airline Motors Restaurant
The Airline Motors Restaurant opened in 1939 in LaPlace, LA. These photos were taken by my father, Michael G. Stewart, in the late ’70s/early ’80s timeframe.
Bob’s Diner – Bainbridge, New York
Bob’s in Bainbridge, NY was a homebuilt dating to 1935, following the design and proportions of factory build models but wider. It’s been remodeled several times and the original barrel roof shape is no longer recognizable.
Diner Finds- NYC
Randall Diner – 1201 Randall Ave. Bronx. Now Allen’s Restaurant. This one is in the Diners of NY book, but as a ’70s diner. Looks like it may be a remodel of the much older diner.
154 Flushing Ave, Brooklyn NYC. Now El Cibao Dinner (yes- Dinner not Diner). These diner/ gas station combinations were popular in the early days. A lot of the gas stations survived in one way or another. A lot of the diners did not.
2020-2024 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NYC
The Amherst Diner – Winchester, Virginia
Some photos from when I first visited the Amherst Diner, six years ago. Purely by chance, my father and I hit it on the day of their grand re-opening. I was interviewed for the Winchester Star. An excerpt from the story appears below.
A Maryland teen with the day off from school dug into some sausage gravy on Wednesday during his first visit to the Amherst.
Spencer Stewart, 15, of Olney, didn’t know he had appeared on the first day of Ashby’s tenure.
His father Michael, an architectural photographer, took photos and served as the driver for their Winchester excursion, which was slated to include the Piccadilly Grill, Snow White Grill, and perhaps the Triangle Diner.
He likes the food, and said he is interested in them because they’re disappearing.
He and his father often take day trips to eateries within two or three hours of their home, and they’ve also taken longer excursions along the East Coast.
Spencer is now filling his third journal’s worth of notes on diners.
And while Spencer may revisit the Amherst in the future, patrons such as Swartz and Heishman plan on appearing at the counter every morning.
“As long as they stay open, we’ll be here,” Heishman said.
The Amherst diner is an old on-site family restaurant. I wouldn’t count it as a on-site built diner, because it does not conform to the aesthetic of factory built diners.
West Shore Diner- Lemoyne, PA
The West Shore Diner was built in the 1930s by the Patterson Vehicle Company of Patterson, New Jersey. It may be the only surviving Silk City diner with this narrow floor plan. It appears it may have originally been all stools, but that at some point, the back wall was bumped out. This moved the backbar out the back a bit, allowing the counter to be moved further back, freeing up space for some deuce booths on the outside wall. The ceiling is similar to other silk city diners, but as it is so much narrower, it is steeper on the sides, and does not have the elegant curve of later models. Dark woodwork, tile and formica make up most of the interior, while the exterior has been repainted time and time again. The West Shore shows its 70+ years of age, but is a unique example of early New Jersey diner manufacture. his is my go-to diner in the Harrisburg area, and one of the best I’ve been to. It is one of the friendliest around. The food is excellent, and comes in enormous portions at bargain prices. They have great t-shirts, too, which is always a plus. You can’t go wrong with a stop at the West Shore.
A more recent, more drab paint scheme.
Reader photos
I was sent these photos of Steffen’s Diner by its owner, Steffen Waber of Switzerland.
http://www.steffens-diningcar.com/
It’s a converted bus, similar to a lunch wagon in concept. From the photos, it looks to be popular to the biker crowd.
Frazer Diner- Frazer, PA
I was sent these pictures by my old man, who visited on Friday.
The Frazer diner is a 1935 O’Mahony, originally located in and named the Paoli diner. (Paoli is also the home of the Philadelphia curling club, where I’ve spent a lot of time). It was moved in 1957 to its current location, just down the road, in Frazer. It was renovated/restored in 2002.
A photo of it before the work was done, showing the old awnings, can be found at:
http://www.agilitynut.com/p/frazer.jpg
A photo of the old neon sign can be found at: The American Roadside
The Charcoal Pit- original location – North Wilmington
The Charcoal Pit Tradition dates back to September 1956 when it first opened its doors. The “Pit” – referred to by loyal customers, became such an instant success that only after three months from the grand opening, it was decided to build more room for its long line of hungry customers. The “Pit” went from a small four table and a counter burger joint to a 115 customer-seating establishment.
Bishop’s 4th Street Diner
Newport, RI, 2007
It appears it used to be red.
Daddypop’s Diner – Hatboro, PA
Some shots from when I visted the diner in 2007.
Diner Hunter 
