Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: diners

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of this was the [you name the decade] (please explain why the photo represents the period) . "Midway Diner, where we ate our dinner. On our trip to Atlantic City. Thursday, July 13, 1950." This was the 1950s -- just barely -- but diners like this have played a significant role in fifties nostalgia. As Wikipedia observes, "In television and cinema (e.g. The Blob , Happy Days , Grease , and Diner ), diners and soda fountains have come to symbolize the period of prosperity and optimism in America in the 1950s. They are shown as the place where teenagers meet after school and as an essential part of a date." Based on other photos I purchased along with this one, I believe that the family members who ate their dinner here on July 13 were traveling to Atlantic City, New Jersey, from their home in or near Allentown, Pennsylvania. This suggests that the Midway Diner was located somewhere in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, but I haven't been able to determine exactly where. As I was getting ready to post this picture, I discovered that I used a different diner photo for a previous 1950s theme for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. See Good Food Federal Diner, Brookline Avenue, Boston, Mass., 1956 .

"Kendall Tourist Camp - 1½ miles west of Silver Creek, N.Y. Motor route U.S. 20 - phone Silver Creek 40-J. 4A-H572." For additional information and images, see the Kendall Tourist Camp page on the Chautauqua County, New York, web site.

"Cloister Diner, Route 322, 1 block off Route 222 (at Ephrata Cloisters), Ephrata, Penna." Still in business as the Cloister Restaurant , this 1950 Silk City diner has been remodeled and is now enclosed in a brick exterior. It's situated across the road from the entrance to the Ephrata Cloister , a state historic site that was formerly a religious community founded by Johann Conrad Beissel in 1732.

For more information, see the full version of this photo:

A 1950s photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This 1956 photo shows a diner on "Brookline Avenue," as indicated by the pole-mounted street sign that's visible in the center of the photo (mouse over the image above for a close-up view of the diner and the sign). The letters on top of the diner's roof spell out the words "GOOD FOOD," and the name "Federal Diner" is barely legible on a circular sign situated above the entrance at the middle of the building. Four or five men are standing around the cars near the front door of the diner, and they appear to be looking in the direction of the photographer, perhaps waiting for him while he takes the photo. Or maybe they're watching the woman wearing a dress and high heels who's walking past on the sidewalk. This eatery was the "Good Food Federal Diner," formerly located at 410 Brookline Avenue in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. For another 1950s view of this diner, see Good Food Back in the Day on Boston's Universal Hub site.

"The Columbia Diner, Route 30, Columbia, Pa. Open 24 hours. Private parties. Home made cheesecake. Take out." The Columbia Diner was located along the Lincoln Highway (Route 462 today but formerly Route 30) in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Printed on the back of this linen postcard: "Lesher's Diner, Routes 11 & 15, 28 miles north of Harrisburg, 28 miles south of Sunbury, Liverpool, Penna. Breakfast, luncheon, dinner. Specializing in steaks, chops, sea-food. Home-made pastries baked in our kitchen, Have your car serviced at adjoining AMOCO Station while dining in our delightful diner. 24 hour service. Photography by James E. Hess. Pub. by Mellinger Studios, Lancaster, Penna."

The New Ideal Diner in Aberdeen, Md., August 22, 2006.

The New Ideal Diner in Aberdeen, Md., August 22, 2006.