Highway Diner (Closed)
Winslow, AZ Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
That classic red-and-white paint scheme sitting across from the old train depot is an instant eye-catcher for anyone rolling into Winslow.
The Highway Diner is a genuine prefabricated Valentine "Nifty-Nine" modular diner shipped out from Wichita, Kansas, back around 1947. Placed right along Route 66 at 2nd Street, the tiny nine-stool steel eatery served cross-country motorists and railroad crews for decades under names like Monday's Cafe, Irene's, and Davis' Highway Diner. Back in its heyday, the counter stayed busy around the clock dishing out chili, burgers, and chicken in a basket. Though it received a Route 66 preservation grant in 2008 to help stabilize the structure, the little diner remained shuttered during a run through town in 2010. 09-08
UPDATE: Ok, this diner looks no where like this these days. After watching the paint of this diner change over the past couple of decades, the diner stopped serving food a long time ago. Will plan to have a Lost Treasures feature on this old Valentine diner sometime soon. 05-20
UPDATE: The vintage diner was repainted and repurposed into a local commercial office space, and the original Highway Diner signage has been removed. 08-26
5 & Diner side view (98) (Demolished)
Tucson, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Cruising down Broadway Boulevard just past Craycroft, the gleaming stainless steel panels and bright neon trim looked like something straight out of the 1950s. 06-23
The 5 & Diner opened on Tucson's east side back in June 1997, built from the ground up to capture the look and feel of an authentic East Coast streamlined railcar diner. It was part of that huge retro boom sweeping the highway strips in the late nineties, an era when even corporate giant Denny's was busy remodeling locations into shiny, chrome-heavy diners to chase that same nostalgic look.
5 & Diner from the front (98)
Tucson, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Pulling into the parking lot, the curved glass brick entryway and shiny metal skin practically demanded a second look from the road. Inside, it was a full-on throwback with red vinyl booths, spinning chrome counter stools, tabletop coin-operated jukeboxes, and a soda fountain serving up dozens of milkshake flavors to hungry travelers.
UPDATE: The diner closed down and the building was completely demolished in 2013, with the sign and chrome shell removed. 08-26
Highway Diner (Closed)
5 & Diner side view (98) (Demolished)
