Several years ago I accepted an invitation to attend the wedding of some good friends way up north in the Penobscot Bay region of Maine. On the way up I drove straight through in 8 hours to attend the rehearsal dinner. That was a real challenge! On the way home, I decided to make it a two day trip and I stayed in the fabulous and funky town of Old Orchard Beach, Maine. (I have some great shots of old [...]

This is the greatest news! A fabulous roadside attraction died and is reborn again! Al’s Chickenette lives on: From The Hays Daily News, published on 3/6/2011 New owner plans to reopen Al’s Chickenette By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN dobrien@dailynews.net It might have a new owner. But Al’s Chickenette will feature the same menu, said Trisha St. Peter. In January, former Hays resident St. Peter bought the longtime restaurant known around the country for its fried chicken and nostalgic atmosphere, with plans to [...]

This beloved family run business met the fate of so many other small roadside attractions last fall when it closed. Here is the article from the local paper detailing their demise. Until yesterday, this special place was going into the “graveyard” division of my vanishing roadside project – when I received the news that uplifted my spirits! Stay tuned for that tomorrow: From The Hays Daily News, published on 10/31/2010 Al’s Chickenette to close its doors today By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN [...]

This enduring theme of vanishing roadside America has captured the attention of many people I know, as I’m always inviting friends to share their pictures with me. Good friend and artist, Loel Barr gave me a snapshot of one of her favorite diners in her home town and voila! it’s now a big juicy painting! I asked Loel if she would share some of her memories of the place, as part of my goal with this blog is telling “the [...]

This is the first of my blogs devoted to telling the stories of the signs and the roadside attractions that are either vanishing or being restored. The diving girls neon sign at The Starlight Motel is a story that fits into both of those categories! For 50 years this 78 foot masterpiece of sign making has graced the parking lot of this motel located along the old “Apache Trail” (or “Main Street”, US 60) which runs through Mesa, Arizona. I [...]

I’m thrilled to have finally found the perfect vehicle for telling the stories of our vanishing roadside culture – bit by bit – small piece by piece – as I discover them. This all began many years ago (in the 1980′s) when I was a graphic artist in New York City and one of my clients (People Express Airlines) asked if they could pay me in plane tickets instead of cash. Of course the idea was exciting, as one of [...]