Posts Tagged ‘Diner’

Picking top 5 Lincoln Highway sites not so easy

August 29, 2008

In response to our story about PBS producer Rick Sebak filming at the Shoe House, good friend Jess asked what were the top 5 Lincoln Highway sites in PA mentioned by LHA director Mindy Crawford? Glad you asked!

1. Grandview Point, site of Ship Hotel, between Bedford and Ligonier
2. The Shoe House, York
3. Dunkle’s Gulf, Bedford
4. Lincoln Motor Court, Mann’s Choice
5. Poquessing Creek Bridge, near Langhorne
6. Dutch Haven, Lancaster

Yep, six! Mindy said couldn’t bear to leave out any of them.

If I had to cut one, it would be Grandview Point, even though I’m writing a book about it and the Ship Hotel there (due out Spring 2010). But if I could replace it, I’d go for Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum between Chambersburg and Gettysburg — Rick is not as enthusiastic about it, but for me it’s a rare throwback to  old-time museum and candy shops. And I’d plead to group two in Bedford and add the Coffee Pot to Dunkle’s since it’s just down West Pitt Street.

When Rick filmed me in Pittsburgh, he asked me about my top 5 around the city. Hmm, I think they were:
1. Lincoln bronze statue, Wilkinsburg
2. Peppi’s Diner, Wilkinsburg/Pittsburgh line
3. Gulf building, art deco skyscraper, downtown
4. Manchester Bridge abutment, North Side, next to Heinz Field
5. Yellow brick road, Glenfield

OK Jess, you have two weeks — can you see them all? Maybe we’d better just make a lunch run to Peppi’s!

How about the top 5 must-see LH sites in the US? Dunkle’s must be one, and maybe the nearby Lincoln Motor Court too. It’s tough but I can pick three more (two of them also very close to each other in the Midwest). Send your top 5 and we’ll gather them into a post next week.

Filming around town from the producer's view

August 12, 2008

As I wrote yesterday, PBS producer Rick Sebak and crew spent Friday driving the Lincoln Highway in Pittsburgh in preparation for a special to air this October. Rick also wrote about his adventures that day – click his web screen shot or the link below it to read about it out on his blog.
www.wqed.org/tv/sebak/lincoln_hwy/blog

Here’s another photo I took Friday outside Peppi’s Diner in Wilkinsburg:

Filming the Lincoln Highway special around town

August 11, 2008

Friday found me with PBS producer Rick Sebak as he filmed around Pittsburgh for his upcoming special, A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway. First up was Peppi’s Diner (known to locals as Scotty’s or Charlie’s) where we talked about the highway and places to see around town.

Then it was on the road to find those places, from the Mullins-made Lincoln statue just down the road in WIlkinsburg …

… to the yellow-brick section of old road in Glenfield.

Camera and sound were handled by Bob Lubomski and Glenn Syska. They do tons of work trying to get the best angle and sound and lots of other things that, when done right, nobody notices. (Same for the crew that will edit the video and sound in a couple months.) Bob and Glenn even climbed up on that overpass to get aerial shots of the road.

Read more of their adventures on Sebak’s blog and tune in two days before Halloween to see the show on your local PBS station.

Another Lincoln Highway diner in PA reopens

May 22, 2008

Lancaster Online reported last week on the reopening of a popular Lincoln Highway eatery. The Prospect Diner is along the Lincoln Highway (Columbia Ave/Rt 462) between Mountville and Columbia in the east-central part of the state. It had previously been known as Benji’s, the 3-D, and Keri’s, its name as it sat closed for the past year. New owners Michael and April Conroy have completely renovated the kitchen and and revivied seating area with lots of red vinyl along the counter, stools, and booths. The 1955 Kullman-brand diner, with a classic overhanging “outer space style” eave, features homestyle food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Open 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon–Sat; 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sun.

Here it is on my trip last week – CLICK for a larger view.

Retro diner to be less retro

May 21, 2008

I’ve just returned from a trip along the Lincoln Highway in mid-Pennsylvania, bringing back hundreds of photos and some updates. Here’s one from just outside York.

The Starlite Diner is only 8 years old yet is already being redone inside. What was a cutting-edge retro diner in 2000 looks a bit old as the revival has faded. New owners are changing everything from the name to menu. Work is underway on what will become the Nautilus Diner, according to Steve C. Efstathiou, who just purchased the eatery. He already owns three diners in New York and Maryland.

Indications are that the new owner is trying for a “step above a diner” with new booths, tables, floor, and wall coverings; Efstathiou said, “The diner is only 8 years old…. The diner doesn’t have to be changed. I just want people to know that its under new ownership.”

The 215-seat diner is in West Manchester Twp. at Kenneth Road along US 30, a Lincoln Highway bypass. It was previously known for its crab cakes and made-to-order sautés; it will remain open 24/7. Check the 4/13 York Daily Record for a report on the sale and a slight delay in the work.

Tunnel Diner in Jersey City slated for demolition

March 26, 2008

The Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor folks received word that the Tunnel Diner in Jersey City, New Jersey, is slated for demolition. This classic factory-built diner (1950s interior, 1960s redo outside) at 184 14th Street is along the later Lincoln Highway, once it was rerouted between New York City and New Jersey due to the opening of the Holland Tunnel in November 1927. It had closed in 2007. The cover of the album Tunnel Diner (by Steve Mackay and the Radon Ensemble on Qbico Records) shows one of the diner’s most memorable features, a vertical neon sign. The diner reportedly appeared in the 1996 film City Hall about the accidental shooting of a boy in New York City, with a cast headed by Al Pacino, John Cusack, Bridget Fonda, and Danny Aiello.

NJ_Tun-Diner.jpg

Anyone know more about the closing and scheduled demolition?

Will the Crosser Diner ever reopen in Lisbon, OH?

March 11, 2008

A bit of warm weather has me thinking “road trip,” through cold weather admittedly has the same effect. Looking through last summer’s photos, one of the best treats along the Lincoln Highway is traveling eastward across Ohio in the evening and arriving in Lisbon after dark. No matter the hour, the corner entrance of the Steel Trolley Diner beckons with neon, stainless, and a warm glow inside — not to mention pies, home fries, coffee, and milk shakes. But for at least 6 years, the other side of town had brought a frown when I pass the abandoned Crosser Diner. It’s a c. 1944 Sterling diner made by J.B. Judkins of Merrimac, Mass., best known for their streamliner models featuring one or both ends rounded. This is a Dinette model, one of only 4 survivors.

OH_Crosser D
Above: Waiting for customers, and a buyer, is the rare Crosser Diner in Lisbon, Ohio.

The diner (127 W. Lincoln Way) and adjacent service station were founded by Jimmy Hanna and later run by John Howard “Wimpy” Crosser and his wife Lorena Arter. It changed hands and struggled in recent decades due to its tiny size and having the main storage and kitchen downstairs, but it still featured solid diner fare and classic decor. One site reports a rumor of it moving but I’ve not seen confirmation or an update. It’s a treasure worth saving and reopening, with a cool little neon sign to match. Any diner fans or Ohio LH roadies know its status?

Postcard 4: Red Top Diner & Shell, Fort Wayne

January 13, 2008

The front of this postcard says it all – Red Top Diner and Shell Station, Highways 24 & 30 East — City Limits, Fort Wayne, Ind.

IN_RedTop, Fort Wayne

Three train tracks can be seen behind, and the diner looks to be a converted railcar. The automobile is a mid-’30s coupe. Can’t imagine this part of the Lincoln Highway being quite so rural now. Could that be Maumee Avenue right behind the station, and E Washington Blvd in the foreground? The setting looks right and a couple business as seen in this Google aerial view at bottom center and right seem to fit the layout

IN_FW_aerial

Anyone know more about Red Top? The picture was taken some 70 years ago, so it’s critical to ask those who might remember before all traces and memories of such places disappear forever.

163 MPH winds and other winter woes hit LH

January 5, 2008

Three large winter storms have combined to cause what is being called by the National Weather Service “easily the strongest systems to impact the West Coast this winter season and quite possibly the last few years.” The affected area stretches from San Francisco, where 1.5 million lost power, to Fernley, Nevada, east of Reno, where a half-foot of snow caused a 30-foot break in a levee wall of the Truckee Canal, releasing water 3 feet deep into town, flooding homes and stranding 3,500. US 50 has been closed at times for avalanches, and those wanting to drive it must use tire chains. Ten feet of snow is expected in the Sierra Nevadas by Sunday.

UM_snow in Sierras
LHA president Henry Joy takes a break for fun in the high snows of the Sierras.

According to CNN:

As the storm moved eastward Saturday, it sent whipping winds and heavy snow into parts of Utah and Colorado, prompting authorities to close major highways — including Interstate 80 east — as the National Weather Service warned that traveling in the area “will put your life at risk.”

“Do not attempt to travel in the Sierra (region) today,” the meteorological agency said in a special weather statement….

One gust near Donner Peak measured 163 miles per hour.

The New York Times reports that I-80 was closed overnight, then reopened Saturday but tire chains were mandatory on a 60-mile stretch. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was even in touch with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

 Here’s a short news video about Truackee followed by one on Donner Summit.

Storms also spread across Wyoming on Thursday, causing, among other damage, the roof and walls to collapse at the Moondance Diner near Green River. The 1930s factory-built diner was moved in 2007 on a trip closely paralleling the Lincoln Highway: from near the Holland Tunnel entrance in lower Manhattan, New York City, to the small town of LeBarge, Wyoming. Read more here.

Cindy's Diner, Fort Wayne, in Travel Feature

November 26, 2007

IN Cindy’s signA lengthy article on Cindy’s Diner (830 S Harrison St, Fort Wayne) was published Sunday in the Toledo Blade. Anyone traveling the Lincoln Highway in eastern Indiana will want to visit the diner for excellent food and a fun, friendly experience—and a Lincoln Highway logo near the door. Owner John Scheele (below) can always be found cooking for 15 patrons and handing the take-out orders.

IN John Scheele

After recounting the diner’s history (a 1952 Valentine), the article discusses its clientele:

A large number of the diner’s patrons are regulars – “Probably 85 percent of them we know by their first names,” Cindy said – and they include students, businessmen, cops, lawyers, construction workers, and researchers using the nearby library’s world-class genealogical collection.

Plenty of out-of-towners find their way to Cindy’s, too. A dog-eared guest book has been signed by patrons from every state, as well as foreign countries from China to Iran to South Africa to Russia.