Archive for the ‘roadside’ Category
November 19, 2007
Two new online resources will ease your search for classic diners along the Lincoln Highway or anywhere.
Above: Earle Hersman at the grill at Jacki and Earle’s Steel Trolley Diner in Lisbon, Ohio, a 1955 O’Mahony-brand diner. Traveling all day across Ohio, there is no bigger thrill than pulling into town, seeing the lights on 24 hours a day, and knowing you can get breakfast, dinner, dessert, or just some coffee for the miles ahead.
Since starting Roadside magazine in the early 1990s, Randy Garbin has published maps to locate and identify diners, those factory-made restaurants with a counter that so many of us love. Then he compiled the info into a bound volume organized by state. Now that amazing database is available on the web at no charge: Diner Finder Online. Visitors to roadsideonline.com will find the feature in the tabs to the right and need just do a simple free registration to gain access. Once there, you click on a US state, and go to a list alphabetized by name, with city identified and an occasional picture. (Once you’re registered, you can access the site directly at http://www.dinerfinderonline.com) Fellow researchers and food lovers have already contributed dozens of updates and corrections, making it the premiere guide to some 1875 diners. The print version is still available too.
Randy told me, “You could say that this project started back in 1986 when I first became ‘diner-aware.’ I vowed then to find and eat in every diner in the country, and this is part of that effort. It remains a work in progress and I continue to receive dozens of updates and photos from readers every week.” Here’s an example of what happens when you click the entry for the Steel Trolley Diner, 140 E Lincoln Way, Lisbon, Ohio:
Another new source for diner info is Larry Cultrera’s Diner Hotline blog, which I’m proud to say was inspired by my move to blogging. Larry has written the Diner Hotline column for the Society for Commercial Archeology’s magazine (which I design) since 1988. He took his first diner photo in November 1980, then the following July started a Diner Log. He’s up to 806 diners but seems to know every diner’s story and owners, past and present. Check it out at http://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/. The heartbreaking image at his page top shows the former Rosedale Diner of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, which appeared in 1973 on Daryl Hall and John Oates’ album Abandoned Luncheonette.
Tags:blog, diners, food, guidebook, Lisbon, Ohio, Road trip, travel, vacation
Posted in food, highways, history, Road trip, roadside, transportation, travel | 1 Comment »
November 18, 2007
Our friend RoadDog alerts us to a possible threat to the Lincoln Highway in western Wyoming. An article in the Casper Star-Tribune says there’s a good chance the undrivable Lincoln Highway remnant from Green River east to Rock Springs could be revamped into a connector road. Though the two cities are just 12 miles apart, I-80 is the only paved road connecting them, forcing commuters and other locals to compete with a rising tide of trucks brought on by the region’s oil and gas boom.
According to the article, “Two of the three proposed routes would begin at Green River’s east I-80 interchange and then follow the remnants of the old Lincoln Highway—which used to run between the two cities—north of I-80. A third route would start on the city’s south side and run south of the interstate, hooking up with U.S. Highway 191…. [U]nofficial cost projections to build an approximately 12-mile-long road have been estimated at about $2 million per mile, or around $24 million total. Officials expect the project to take a decade or longer to complete.”
Most dismaying for those concerned about preserving the LH’s roadscape, local leaders hope the new road will bring housing, business, and industry. Green River officials especially say the city has been hemmed in by Castle Rock and I-80 to the north, and steep undevelopable land to the south.
UPDATE 12/31/07: “Locals will help choose route” in the Caspar Star-Tribune.
Tags:development, growth, highway, I-80, Road trip, threat, travel, Wyoming
Posted in highways, history, Road trip, roadside, transportation, travel | 2 Comments »
November 16, 2007
Next time you’re in Austin, Nevada, Jan Morrison will scoop you an ice cream cone or rent you a room for the night. The desserts come from her Main Street Shops, located in an 1881 merchantile, where she offers everything from Victoriana to local art to souvenirs from Nevada and the Lincoln Highway. It’s at her coffee shop there that you can get ice cream or fresh-baked biscotti.
Her rooms are at the c. 1950 Lincoln Motel, which has 17 units, three of them studios with kitchens. Just look for the reproduction LHA concrete post out front. Jan says it was put there last summer by the Nevada Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association, which has worked hard placing the posts and other signs along the route through Nevada.
Since she took over the motel about a year-and-a-half ago, Jan has been making improvements such as paving the entire parking lot, updating the plumbing and electrical, replacing carpet and painting nearly every room, and adding wi-fi. She encourages reservations (775) 964-2698 because “we and the other motels easily fill up by 8 pm. Sometimes touring groups reserve the entire motel. If you head west, Fallon (1.75 hrs) usually has rooms, but if you are heading east, Eureka fills up just as we do.” It’s also the only motel in Austin that accepts pets.
Of course, the history here stretches before car travel: “It is built on the site of the first silver mine in 1862, the year that the “Rush to the Reese River’ started. There were over 20,000 mining claims around Austin and its population went from a few miners to nearly 10,000 people just a few years after the silver discovery.” Here’s a photo or click here for an extra-large wide-angle view.
Jan has more info about her businesses and interests here but she is a big booster for the entire area: “We have hundreds of miles of biking and hiking trails, beginning to expert. The bike trails include ‘one track’ and ‘two track’ routes and go through forest, meadows, desert, and some very challenging climbs and drops. Several of the trails start right in town at the park or the east end of town where a bike shop used to be. (Unfortunately, the business moved to a larger market area in Elko, so there is no place to rent bikes anymore.) We have free bike trail guides at most merchants and in the courthouse (not open on weekends). The Chamber of Commerce will mail them out in advance, call (775) 964-2200. We are also a central place for day trips to ghost towns, fishing, hot springs, hiking, and off-road exploring. We have 13 buildings and sites on the National Register and are working hard on restoring them.”
Tags:Austin, biking, hiking, mine, motel, Nevada, trails
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November 15, 2007
The famous Haines Shoe House in south-central Pennsylvania got a fresh look through the efforts of Hampton Hotels’ Save-A-Landmark program. Built in 1948, the 3-story stucco shoe and its fence were painted at no charge of materials or labor. Carleen and Ronald Farabaugh have owned the house since 2003, giving tours and selling ice cream, and occasionally staying overnight. Carleen told me there’s always work to be done but they are thrilled with what the company’s 15 volunteers accomplished: “The Shoe House was desperately in need of a facelift. Hampton’s generosity should help to preserve the Shoe House for years to come so everyone can enjoy it.” She adds that all revenue is put into its restoration.
The house was built as a promotional gimmick for Mahlon Haines to advertise his chain of shoe stores—he’d loan the shoe (actually, a work boot) free to honeymooners and retirees who lived in a town that had a Haines Shoe Store. The house was set back a bit from the Lincoln Highway, but a Route 30 bypass now runs just outside its windows.
Chris Epting, author of numerous books on roadside landmarks, was there as spokesman for the Save-A-Landmark program doing TV and radio spots: “This was another wonderful opportunity to be a part of helping to restore a vital roadside landmark. This program continues to succeed on levels that are unprecedented for these kinds of efforts, and I’m very proud to be working with Hampton Inn as we move forward to the next landmark.” Also attending was Kyle Weaver of Stackpole Books, editor of my books and working with Epting on a forthcoming Stackpole title, The Birthplace Book. The photos seen here were graciously loaned by Kyle.
Hampton donated $20,000 in supplies for the Shoe redo, and organized a collecting effort for Soles4Souls, a nonprofit organization that collects and distributes shoes for people affected by natural disasters.
Hampton Hotels’ Save-A-Landmark program has helped preserve more than 30 American architectural oddities since 2000. The Shoe has it’s own Hampton page, and an article about the event ran in the York Daily Record.
Tags:attraction, Hallam, Hellam, house, PA, restoration, Road trip, roadside, shoe, travel
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November 14, 2007
A historical marker was unveiled October 6 at the Elk Grove Hotel & Stage Stop Museum, adjacent to Elk Grove Heritage Park, 9941 East Stockton Blvd. The LHA, the Elk Grove Historical Society, and the city’s Historic Preservation Committee joined efforts, and funding was provided by the Elk Grove Auto Mall. Elk Grove Historical Society President Anita Peters and Generations Director Jeanette Lawson unveiled the historical plaque, seen below. Overlooking the ceremony from behind is Milt Webb’s Model T. See a closeup of the marker here:
LH logo signs (with a brown “historic” tag on top) were presented to the historical society and the city by CA State Director Bob Dieterich and CA Chapter President Norm Root, seen here with Elk Grove Historical Society president Anita Peters:
Visit the Elk Grove Historical Society’s Lincoln Highway page for more information and photos.
Tags:California, highway, historical, marker, Model T
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November 13, 2007
I’ve been adding to the links column to the right, listing libraries to check your email or learn about local history; non-chain motels; and restaurants with local flavor. I have lots more to add, though admittedly very few ideas for lodging or restaurants along the Lincoln Highway in New Jersey. Anyone have recommendations?
Above: Tourist cabin along the Lincoln Highway, 3 miles east of Lisbon, Ohio, now an apartment.
Tags:highway, libraries, lodging, New Jersey, restaurants, roadtrip, travel, updates
Posted in highways, history, roadside, travel | 1 Comment »
November 12, 2007
Randy Garbin recently reported on his Roadside Online about an amazing collection of roadtrip photos titled Lighting Out for the Territory. They’re on Square America, named for the common shape of old candid photos, and “dedicated to preserving and displaying vintage snapshots from the first 3/4s of the 20th Century” Collector/curator Nicholas Osborn says, “For the last eight years or so I’ve spent countless hours digging through boxes of old snapshots at flea markets (mostly here in Chicago and in NYC) and too much money buying photos on eBay. The site is my attempt to create some kind of organizational framework, however idiosyncratic, for the sprawling mess my collecting has created.” Here are two from “Lighting Out,” with his permission:
Above: Looking west on the Lincoln Highway east of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, early 1970s.
And here’s his description:
“From the late 1950s through the early 1970s, Martin C. Johnson took a number of road trips criss-crossing the country from his home in Suburban Chicago to both coasts and all points in between. For each trip he put together a slide show to document his travels. Judging from these shows, he (and his wife who must be responsible for at least some of the photographs) was far more interested in the road itself than wherever his final destination might have been. For every photograph of Mount Rushmore or The Grand Canyon there were three or four shots of the empty (or not so empty) road taken through the windshield of the car. For every shot of friends and relatives visited, there were two of the motels he stayed in on the way. In doing so Johnson has left behind an invaluable record of the golden age of auto travel – an era when the new interstate highway system had opened up the country but before the development it brought had homogenized it.”
Osborn’s site is filled with countless images from about 1910-1970, grouped into categories. You might also enjoy shots from The Road:
The images are both amazing and invaluable to roadside fans, but also a reminder that the past was not nearly as tidy as we like to remember, or recreate, it.
Tags:gas pump, Gettysburg, highway, history, Iowa, photos, roadtrip, snapshots, travel, vintage
Posted in highways, history, roadside, travel | 1 Comment »
November 12, 2007
Tags:animal rescue, bear, bridge, CA, Donner Summit, rescue, Truckee
Posted in highways, history, roadside, travel | 1 Comment »
November 11, 2007
I was asked by MasterCard to be part of their online Priceless Picks campaign. There are lots of interesting places in people’s picks; I chose roadside attractions and of course included some Lincoln Highway sites. Here’s a link to mine, where you’ll find LH mentions of the fun Shoe House in Hallam, Pennsylvania, and souvenir-filled Fort Cody Trading Post in Nebraska. There’s also a photo to click of Peppi’s Diner on the LH in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. Other picks include Wigwam Village motel on Route 66 in Holbrook, Arizona; the crazy Mexican restaurant Casa Bonita in Denver; dinos battling Civil War soldiers at Dinosaur Kingdom in Natural Bridge, Virginia; and the 1950s-era Eddie’s Grill in little Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio.
Tags:Eddie's Grill, Fort Cody, Geneva-on-the-Lake, kitsch, oddities, roadside, roadside attractions, roadtrip, Route 66, Shoe House, travel, vacation
Posted in highways, history, roadside, travel | 2 Comments »
Lincoln Highway News 