In addition to shopping malls and fast food restaurants and sketchy looking bars, Route 1 was dotted with literal-minded storefront that earned its name, "phoney-baloney."
At the start, there was the hulking orange T-Rex perched on an overpass beside a miniature golf course. The golf course is now long gone, but the dino remains, watching over his domain.
There was the truly Leaning Tower of Pizza.
The Hilltop, a steak restaurant that marked its place with an enormous neon cactus and was surrounded by life-sized cattle "grazing" alongside the always-long line of hungry diners waiting to get in.
And the illustrious Chinese restaurant, The Kowloon, which I am sorry to report is about to undergo demolition to make way for something or another much less interesting. Their all-you-can eat was spectacular and it was surrounded by gardens.
All of these were dear to my heart, probably because I grew up in Southern California just over the canyon from the TailofthePup.
Do you have fond memories of establishments that would have been right at home on our Phoney Baloney Road?
I love these clever names . . . and the orange dinosaur is adorable! Sadly, I have no fond memories of a similarly-named place . . . .
ReplyDeleteNot that these would qualify, but memories of “landmark places” on CT Route 25 (now 202) The Gooseboro Diner and Grandpa Snazzy’s Antiques in Bantam and the Litchfield Jail. Good morning, All. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteElisabeth, I’ve been to Grandpa Snazzy’s Antiques! I bought my sturdy cheese grater there, like the one I grew up with, to replace my flimsy newer one, that wasn’t up to the task. That was many many years ago. Is it still around?
DeleteDebRo
I *want* togo to Grandpa Snazzy's Antiques!
DeleteGrowing up in the DC area, we used to love the Burma Shave signs as we drove to Cunningham Falls state park, next to Camp David.
ReplyDeleteSo clever those Burma Shave ads... and that we still remember them after all these years. Does that product even still exist?
DeleteI live north of Boston, and we knew all those same Route One landmarks. Up here we have Hafner's gas, and the logo is a donkey kicking its rear legs with a tag line of, "It kicks!" Not sure there's a real statue of it, though.
ReplyDeleteBob's Big Boy restaurants were in Southern California, with the rotund bigger than life boy out front in his red-and-white checked overalls and his pompadour.
Our local Big Boy chain was Frisch's, with stores all over the TriState area. A venture capitalist bought them, sold all the properties for big money, then leased every location. The stores couldn't pay the rent, and most of them went into default. All but a handful were closed last year, then some were renamed as Dolly's, managed by a bigger Big Boy franchise. They all just closed last week, but the Big Boy statues are all in a warehouse someplace. Our family has a long history of going to our local Frisch's, my father-in-law's go-to treat place whenever the out of towners were here.
DeleteAlso, the CITGO sign in Boston near Fenway Park. Hasn't been a Citgo station in decades, but I'm glad it remains.
DeleteWe had an Azar’s Big Boy in Valparaiso, Indiana. I had no idea it was a chain until moving to SoCal. I’ve been to the lovely retro Bob’s in Toluca Lake.
DeleteOh Karen, I might start crying over this. I grew up with Frisch's and Big Boy. My family ate there whenever we went out to eat, and my father met a couple of his friends there at night sometimes for coffee and talking. My mother was Mother of the Year at our Frisch's one year. My favorite meal in the whole world was the Big Boy platter, with the Big Boy double decker hamburger, fries, and cole slaw. This Frisch's was located right across the Ohio River from our home in Maysville, KY, sitting in Aberdeen, Ohio. But glories of all glories, Maysville got its own Frisch's after I had married and moved away. You can bet I stopped there more than once during my visits home. Then, all that nonsense about selling the restaurant chain and restaurants closing and then the attempt at the Dolly's comeback. Now, my beloved Frisch's is no more in my hometown to look forward to. I have several pictures of me standing in front of the Big Boy statue at home and elsewhere.
DeleteKathy, I misread the information I had seen! Apparently, some senior Frisch's management are still operating what looks like 19 of the stores. It was all the Dolly's that got closed, including the one in our community. My apologies.
DeleteWe should meet at one and have a Big Boy sometime.
There was a time when my goal in life was to eat at a Big Boy... their hamburgers were legendary. I think I ate there once.
DeleteIt was Shoney’s Big Boy for me.
DeleteFrom childhood I remember The Happy Chef restaurant that had the giant chef statue in the parking lot. You pushed a button and he talked to you. Sinclair gas stations with the big green dinosaur.
ReplyDeleteA&W Drive-ins had the Burger family statues…Papa Burger held a burger and a mug of root beer, Mama Burger, Teen Burger and Baby burger rounded out the statue family as well as the items on the menu.
Blue Earth, MN has the Jolly Green Giant statue. Bemidji has Paul Bunyan and Babe the Big Blue Ox. Rochester, MN has the Ear of Corn water tower which has been preserved even though the Libby’s canning plant closed down.
OMG: Bonanza! Where was this?
DeleteThe Happy Chef and A& W Drive-in were in Columbus, Nebraska. There was a Happy Chef in Ames, Iowa when I was a college student in the 1980s. I believe the only one left now is the original location in Mankato, MN.
DeleteMorning All Paula B here ~ On the road between Medford OR and the ocean side towns of Southern Oregon there was an old, even then, trailer alongside the road that offered the most heavenly soft ice cream and other ice creams. it was a quick stop and go type with a couple of tables outside. Ohhhh the memories of the ice cream. And, somewhere along one of the coast roads was an attraction of Dinosaurs. None as cute as the orange one up top, but they did their best to look ferocious.
ReplyDeleteI'd take a road trip for a taste of that ice cream. Sounds fabulous.
DeleteWhen I was little, my dad used to drive us to NYC to see my grandmother for school vacations. He'd take CT rte 16 to rte 66, through Middletown and eventually get on the Merritt Parkway. Somewhere between Middletown and the Merritt was a restaurant that had an enormous banana standing out front. I cannot recall the name of the restaurant, but I do remember the banana.
ReplyDeleteBanana stand?! How terrific is that? I'll bet it was yellw.
DeleteWhen we were very little, our folks would take us to Rocky Farm in Westford, Massachusetts, for burgers and ice cream It was located across the street from Polly's, a restaurant that had an airplane on the roof, which I thought was really cool. Also in Westford was Kimball's Ice Cream with a statue of a cow out front. Kimball's was very popular then and has grown to a very large venue now, but when it first started, Mr. Kimball would have empty cars parked out front to give the appearance it was more popular than it really was.
ReplyDeleteI've been to Kimball's! I used to work in that neck of the woods.
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ReplyDeleteThere are two main routes to the coast from Portland, the first is Hwy 26, aka the Sunset Hwy, which takes you to Seaside or Cannon Beach. It winds through the town of Elsie (which happens to be my mom's name) in the Coast Range. Elsie had a restaurant with a larger than life rendering of Paul Bunyan standing in front. We used to always stop there for a snack. Unfortunately the restaurant burned and is no more! Five miles or so west of Elsie, there's a restaurant called Camp 18 which features old farm and logging equipment outside and a big log house dining room.
ReplyDeleteThe other route to the coast takes Hwy 99, and Hwy 18 and passes through Newberg, McMinnville, Sheridan (where the federal prison is) before arriving in Lincoln City. As you approach Lincoln City, there was a place called the Pixie Kitchen, which was really popular with young kids. It closed in 1985, but there's a website dedicated to its memory: "This restaurant was a popular stop for families when visiting the Oregon Coast. A truly wonderful experience for children; fun house mirrors at the entrance, the picture box tables, the gift shop, and the little coin tokens (given to kids when the bill came) that could be exchanged for salt water taffy. The dining room had large windows looking out to the Pixie Grotto - a fantasy land of mechanical pixies! I don’t remember if the food was any good, but as a kid it didn’t matter."
I did the Hwy 26 drive many times with my (now ex-) husband and children, but we never stopped - we just wanted to get to Cannon and the family beach house in Tolovana Park.
DeleteThis is reminding me of the restaurant with a gazillion teddy bears in it... near New London, I think. And the pizza place in Boston's North End with ginormous stuffed sports fish on the walls that freaked my daughter ut.
DeleteI love those landmarks! I used to laugh and laughed when I saw them. Classic. When I first moved to Atlanta, as a reporter, someone had to give me directions to someplace, I forget where, but they told me to turn left at the big chicken. I remember saying: what chicken? What if I don’t see the chicken? And they said: you’ll see the chicken.
ReplyDeleteAnd they were right! It was a restaurant that was in the shape – – it seemed – – of a huge huge huge chicken.
Oh, also! I was just on book tour, and had a stop in Myrtle Beach. And from the highway I spotted a tall building that looked like a skyscraper, and on it was a massive King Kong. It is completely hilarious, and from the highway, it is completely visible and I did a double take when I saw it, it was so realistic!
I can understand how confusing it would be to be told look for and turn when you see the big chicken. Haha. My first thought would be what if the chicken crossed the road. It also reminds me of how the Brits would give us directions when we would get lost. "Go up the hill, turn right at the red barn, then go to the giant oak tree and merge to the right at the creek...."
DeleteKing Kong! How great is that?!?
DeleteThe only one I remember from childhood is "the waver" or "the greeter" as we drove from San Diego north on the Coast Highway (1 or 101?). He would stand on the corner in front of a large open yard - store that sold lots of large pottery and wave to everyone that drove past. I believe he was in or near the town of Oceanside north of San Diego along the coast. We'd wait in anticipation for, hopefully, getting stuck at the light so we could wildly wave back to him.
ReplyDeleteYes! In Laguna Beach! I remember him, too.
DeleteHow did I miss the greeter?!?
DeleteI looked him up on Google and he was called the City of Laguna Beach's official greeter from the 1940's to the 1970's. Late the city made a larger than life statue of him - his name was Eiler Larson and he came to So Cal from Denmark
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU!
DeleteThe first that comes to mind is Randy’s huge donut in Inglewood , right off the 405. I saw it five days a week on my way to work. And all the Big Boys of course.
ReplyDeleteBest of all is London Bridge in Lake Havasu City. You can see the strafe marks left over from the Blitzkrieg. And numbers on each stone, painted on before it was disassembled in London and rebuilt in Arizona. It’s heartbreaking.
Havasu city, definitely on my bucket list.
DeleteThis probably borders on "blasphemy" aligning this landmark with those dotting Rt. 1...or as Hallie likes to call that highway "the phony baloney road"... but the iconic Citgo sign comes to mind that has been a landmark in Kenmore Square for decades. The history of that sign, its occasional controversies and the stories associated with it are fascinating. Whether one finds its colorful lights garish or not does not matter as there's no disputing Bostonians love this sign, its connection to Fenway Park and its welcoming gateway to the City of Boston. It certainly has had its lifespan challenged here and there with it being unlit, damaged by fire and finding its place among the ongoing renovation of Kenmore Square and Beacon Street but it has always been rescued in the end. And hopefully continues to be a part of that area for generations to come.
ReplyDeleteLove the Citgo sign. Losing it would be like losing the sunset.
DeleteHmm, reminds me of an Oval Office redo. Kitsch, and plenty of it.
ReplyDeleteThe Cincinnati area has had some pretty spectacular landmarks, now gone, or replaced. As long as I can remember there has been an enormous painted silhouette (can't call it a statue) of a Native American pointing to the used cars at his feet. The commercials said you could find them "Where Paddock meets Vine at the Big Indian sign", and you could (can? I think it's still there) see it from I-75.
South of that exit, and on the other side of the highway, there was a motorized sign affixed to a building with an articulated oilcan man striding along endlessly.
North of the city, also on I-75, a local mega church (not the most mega one) used to have a massive statue of Jesus rising out of a pool between the church and the highway. He was up to his waist in water, and his arms were outstretched in a "goal!" position. Famously known as "Touchdown Jesus", many Ohio State and Ohio University fans stopped to take photos of groups forming the word Ohio, with the statue providing the H. There are many photos online if you search.
Touchdown Jesus suffered a fatal lightning strike one night and burned for days. Ironic, since the Hustler sex shop is within eyesight, up the hill and much more susceptible, one would think, to a lightning strike, but who am I to judge. Now there is a much more normal, but a lot less iconic, Jesus statue in its place.
I will look up Touchdown Jesus!
DeleteI looked up Touchdown Jesus. It appears that there are two TJ's. One at Notre Dame and one at The Ohio State. The Ohio State one is quite impressive!!
DeleteAnon, it isn't at Ohio State, it was way south in Monroe, Ohio, midway between Cincinnati and Dayton.
DeleteThanks for clarifying, I realize now it was college fans who went there for pictures. Still it's pretty cool.
DeleteTouchdown Jesus - LOL! That would make a great book title. Or maybe a short story.
DeleteFor any Atlantan it is the Big Chicken which is north of the city and marks the entrance to the city of Marietta. For years everyone gave directions in Marietta to "turn left at the Big Chicken". It is now a KFC but at least it still stands.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteWe don't have anything like that here - not that jumps to mind - but if you go to the Strip District in Pittsburgh all the buildings still have the original painted signs on them advertising things like tobacco. Vestiges of businesses long gone.
ReplyDeleteOld painted advertising signage on the sides of buildings feel like buried treasure.
DeleteThe Space Ship Diner in Gilda Bend AZ. All the signs about rattle snakes, monsters and such on Rt. 66 and the teepees at the souvenir tourist traps. Occasionally my parents would pull into one of these places to let us buy junk. Never saw a rattle snake.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the ghost town in AZ - Jerome
DeleteWhat fun, Hallie! Does Big Tex (55 foot tall talking cowboy) at the Texas State Fair in Dallas count? He's certainly iconic!
ReplyDeleteOh my, Big Tex! Of course he qualifies.
DeleteAnd that cattle drive in bigger than life bronze , close to Dealey Plaza
And the mustangs in Los Colinas.
Of course BIG TEX counts!!
DeleteHallie, we would take that stretch of Route One when going to Boston or to Logan Airport, and my kids LOVED the weird and wonderful buildings along there. We ate at the Hill Top once - after passing it so many time, my father-in-law insisted on trying it out. All I can recall is that my "petit filet" was HUGE.
ReplyDeleteIn Maine, going up Route One, you can see the giant lobster atop the Taste O Maine restaurant, the giant indian outside of Freeport, and Eartha, the world's largest rotating globe, at the former headquarters of map company DeLorme. If you go ALL the way north, in Aroostook county, you can see the Maine Solar System Model, the largest at-scale model of the sun and planets in the western hemisphere. It runs 100 miles, from the sun, located inside UMaine Presque Isle, (a two story curved surface representing part of our star) all the way to dwarf planet Eris (a steel ball bearing) in Topsfield, ME.
The steaks at the Hilltop were fantatic and a bargain. Ive never taken Route One up through Maine though I'm right there a lot. Putting it on my todo list.
DeleteOur childhood drives to visit relatives in Ohio did not have such landmarks. Our two big excitements were the round barn and the highway lined with apple trees (allegedly from Johnny Appleseed).
ReplyDeleteOh I do love apple orchards. ANd a round barn?! Wondering why? It's got to be harder to build that one with corners.
DeleteHas anyone driven the Enchanted Highway in southwest South Dakota? A 32-mile stretch with fantastic scrap metal sculptures.
ReplyDeleteThere used to be a great scrap metal sculpture and a gigantic cockroach on a roof, side by side, on the way south out of Providence ... I think the roach is still there.
DeleteOh, yes! Two are in Maine. Taste of Maine Restaurant in Woolwich, ME - home of the giant lobstah on the roof, and Len Libby Candies in Scarborough, ME - home of the lifesize Chocolate Moose. The heck with Scarborough Fair, I'm heading to Len Libby with my Swiss Army Knife. They won't miss a little bit. Then there is Rain Barrel in Islamorada, FL home of the giant Florida lobster. Is there a theme here?
ReplyDeleteReminding me of the giant milk bottle slash information kiosk outside theChildren's Museum in Boston.
DeleteIf you ever get the chance to visit Muncie, Indiana, you are in for a treat. So many phoney baloney things—at least there used to be, and they still have, at least, a big ol’ Paul Bunyan for no reason at all.
ReplyDeleteI read about that Paul Bunyan gigantic hulking figure! Muncie! I did not know that's where it is. A future destination for sure
DeleteGaido's Seafood Restaurant on Galveston Island still has a giant crab on its roof. And who can resist walking into the mouth of a megalodon to enter a beach souvenir shop? And there's always a junk shop/army surplus store with a plane crashed through the roof.
ReplyDeleteHow perfect. Going to look for them now. Love the crashed plane.
DeleteI'm going to copy what I wrote in response to Edith's and Karen's mention of Big Boy, the statue of the big boy in its large, towering form with red and white overalls and holding a Big Boy sandwich, my favorite sandwich ever. So, here's the repeat of my response above. Oh Karen, I might start crying over this. I grew up with Frisch's and Big Boy. My family ate there whenever we went out to eat, and my father met a couple of his friends there at night sometimes for coffee and talking. My mother was Mother of the Year at our Frisch's one year. My favorite meal in the whole world was the Big Boy platter, with the Big Boy double decker hamburger, fries, and cole slaw. This Frisch's was located right across the Ohio River from our home in Maysville, KY, sitting in Aberdeen, Ohio. But glories of all glories, Maysville got its own Frisch's after I had married and moved away. You can bet I stopped there more than once during my visits home. Then, all that nonsense about selling the restaurant chain and restaurants closing and then the attempt at the Dolly's comeback. Now, my beloved Frisch's is no more in my hometown to look forward to. I have several pictures of me standing in front of the Big Boy statue at home and elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very sad story ... Next we need to talk about drive-in restaurants, also relics of the past.
DeleteHahaha! It really is sad because if I ever did something bad enough to have a last meal in prison, the Big Boy platter was going to be it.
DeleteI love this, Hallie! I remember driving to FL with my aunt and we had to stop at that South of the Border tourist town and every single Shoney's or was it Stucky's that we passed. Good times.
ReplyDeleteStuckeys! (Did it have an "e"?) Every road trip we had to stop at Stuckey's! And we had Kip's Big Boy here in Texas, too.
Delete