By Sarah Lyall | New York Times | Sept. 20, 2005

Newmarket, England. Say what you like about the Little Chef roadside restaurants - their haphazard service, their eggs swimming in grease, the ceaseless sizzling of their kitchens' grills. For the British motorist, Little Chef holds a unique appeal.

As times and tastes change, Little Chef restaurants throughout Britain continue to offer breakfasts like the Early Starter. The company says its roadside restaurants draw about 15 million customers each year.

A recent customer at a Little Chef restaurant along the A14 road outside Newmarket called it "a necessary evil." "It's always there," explained June Sharkey, a customer at the Little Chef on the A14 road outside this city, about 50 miles northeast of London. "It's a place to stop. And if you think about it, if they close it, there wouldn't be anywhere to go to the toilet on the motorway."

STAMFORD -- Curley's Diner owner Maria Aposporos, who fought city hall and won when it tried to take her business, is running for public office.

The longtime Democrat switched her party affiliation Sept. 9 to run for the Board of Representatives on the Republican ticket.

Aposporos, 58, of 43 Sylvan Knoll Road is running to represent the Cove neighborhood where she has lived since 1962. She is replacing incumbent C. Stephen McDermott on the ballot in the 4th District.

She plans to announce her candidacy today at the West Park Place diner she has owned, along with her sister, since 1977.

"I think they are robbing the people in Stamford to bring in the big developers," she said. "I like Stamford the way it used to be -- not the greedy way it's turning."

She is still angry at the city for putting the Stamford Town Center in the center of Main Street.

"This is the only town in America where we don't have a Main Street," she said.

A landmark diner is closing its doors for good.

The Hollywood Diner has been a part of Dover (DE) for more than a half century. But Sunday is their last day in business.

Longtime customers say they will really miss the place.

"I'm gonna be lost, it's my family away from home," said Marsha Young.

Dave Hewes said, "I've been coming here since I was about 14, 15-years-old. It's always been a nice little home atmosphere."

No word yet on what the owner plans to do with the property or the old dining car.

Originally publishered online here: http://www.wboc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3830984&nav=MXEF

Baltimorean Howard "Chip" Silverman considers himself the "keeper of a legacy" - a tangible one located in Village of Cross Keys in North Baltimore. It is here, in his 1,300-square-foot residence in the high-rise Harper House condominiums, that he keeps an urban memory alive for himself and a very special group of friends.

"You are about to enter the 'Disco Condo,'" he remarked, turning the key deliberately in the lock. After the neutral decor of the unusually quiet 12th-floor hallway, the sights and sounds beyond the front door are a show-stopper.

An entrance hall of mirrored glass introduces an open living and dining area with walls painted bubble-gum pink. At the far end of the room, gold vertical window blinds are tightly closed. Instead of natural light, there's the liquid-like warmth of neon tubing affixed to the ceiling and north wall in circular shapes and geometric long arms. The neon glow ripples across the blinds and forms pastel puddles on the marble floor. Cool jazz emanates from the cloth-covered speakers of a corner, table-top record player.

WBOC-YV Online | Delaware | September 10, 2005

Dover - A landmark diner is closing its doors for good. The Hollywood Diner has been a part of Dover for more than a half century. But Sunday is their last day in business. Longtime customers say they will really miss the place.

"I'm gonna be lost, it's my family away from home," said Marsha Young.

Dave Hewes said, "I've been coming here since I was about 14, 15-years-old. It's always been a nice little home atmosphere."

No word yet on what the owner plans to do with the property or the old dining car.

Originally published online here: http://www.wboc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3830984&nav=MXEFeMLD

The Worcester Lunch Car Company built Mindy's Diner, serial #747, in 1939. The size of the diner is 32'6"'x 14'6" and seats approximately 44 customers, 20 stools and 24 booth seats.

This diner has porcelain enamel exterior panels in a green and yellow combination . The original oak booths and tables have been replaced or removed. Most of the equipment behind has been removed except for the original porcelain enamel workstation with drawers and the porcelain enamel frame of the refrigerator. The original grill hood is intact but covered over. The original metal windows have been replaced but still retain the original leaded green stain glass upper sash. The original pink Formica ceiling has been covered with a wood laminate.

With the recent opening, locally of the new Sunshine Mine Drive-In just west of Centerville, it brings back memories of years ago, when it was an economical way for people to have a night out enjoying a movie.

Ironically, the opening of this drive-in is not as unusual as you might think. Throughout the nation, drive-in movies are making a come back. Some old drive-ins are being re-opened and others like Centerville's completely new one, are being built. In Iowa here are now four drive-ins.

The appeal is nostalgia - enjoying a movie from a comfortable car in the cool evening air.

Portland public works employees are getting ready to remove the landmark Miss Portland Diner from its Marginal Way lot, possibly as soon as next week.

Preparation started Monday with demolition of the masonry kitchen and office addition to the rear of the 56-year-old diner, said Public Works Director Michael Bobinsky.

The diner will be shrink-wrapped, like a boat, and moved to the former F.W. Webb parking lot on Pearl Street. It will be stored there, behind a chain-link fence, until city officials find a permanent storage site.

Press Release | Roland A Wiley | LA Conservancy

As President of the Los Angeles Conservancy, I wanted to share with you my thoughts on the end of the Conservancy’s long effort to preserve Wilshire Boulevard’s Ambassador Hotel – one of Los Angeles’ defining historic sites.

I am very sad to report that we have fought the good fight, but have lost. Demolition of the Ambassador Hotel will likely begin within the coming months. But this effort has allowed us to create a breakthrough agreement with LAUSD that will help preserve dozens of other historic schools throughout Los Angeles.