Although tours have been continually offered over the last three months, and a “virtual tour” posted on the Museum’s web site, we are working to put the final touches on the original 4800 sq. ft. space. The addition of another 1700 sq. ft. in early January has expanded the museum to more than 6500 sq. ft. This newly acquired space will increase the lobby area and enable an indoor garden for displaying more of the collection’s larger signs.

LAMAR, Mo. — Betty Kuhn remembers watching all the Elvis movies, along with the old westerns and even “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing” at the Plaza Theater.

When she was a teenager, she went on her first date with her future husband to the summer vacation movies at the Plaza.

“It was the place to be when you were a kid my age, but you have to understand that was a long time ago — back in the ’50s and ’60s,” said Kuhn, who spearheaded the job of restoring the 70-year old theater.

The Plaza is an artifact from a different time.

Owners polish up diner in preparation for 25th anniversary

For almost a quarter of a century, the Palace Diner on Washington Street has been a popular gathering spot in the City of Poughkeepsie.

The local eatery has a reputation for providing an uninterrupted atmosphere with noshables for business meetings, a meeting place for families, a site for friends to catch up, a late-night spot for Marist students to grab a plate of French fries with melted cheese and gravy, and a quiet place to read the paper while drinking a cup of coffee.

An early morning two-alarm blaze destroyed a vacant local diner on old route 17 in Damascas. Forty-five fire fighters from five departments were on scene. Investigators attribute the case to an over-head furnace internally combusted setting fire to Damascas diner. The Windsor fire investigator notified owner Joseph Lombardo of Pennsylvania. According to neighbors, he does not visit the diner often.

The Hawthorne address where Beach Boys Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson grew up has won recognition as a state historical landmark and will be honored with a small monument May 20.

The Beach Boys were a uniquely Southern California story — and so is their monument.

It will sit in front of a Century Freeway sound wall, which is where their since-demolished home, at 3701 W. 119th St., once stood.

The sound wall, of course, is supposed to help prevent residents from feeling bad vibrations.

orginally published online here: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-only11mar11,1,1742956.column?ctrack=1&cset=true

A soon-to-be-released plan for the redevelopment of Coney Island that is intended to restore the former seaside resort area to its place as the borough’s main attraction has sparked a real estate boom, say real estate agents and land owners.

A slew of undeveloped lots that have languished for much of the last three decades and structures that have long sat dormant have seen their values nearly double just in the last year.

A prototype Big Boy diner might go up at Fulton Street and Bowes Road, if the city of Lowell approves an additional driveway.

The Planning Commission tabled developer Jim Karrip's site plan for a 5,400-square-foot diner on a township-owned 11-acre parcel facing Bowes until the city decides on the driveway. The city has to approve access onto Bowes because it is a city road.

"We're considering and reviewing it at this point," said City Manager David M. Pasquale.

Township Deputy Treasurer Paula Blumm said the township wants to work with the city so the developer can get the access to Bowes.

"It will be great to have a Big Boy," she said.

The developer may hook up either into the township or city utilities. The construction could start in April or May, with completion slated for summer.

© 2005 Grand Rapids Press.

Bundles of pre-cooked bacon, ham and hash browns line the perimeter of the sizzling, stainless steel grill. On the counter is a mountain of eggs cradled in protective layers of cardboard. The cook deftly picks several eggs up, cracks them open onto the hot grill, and throws the shells away with one swift arc of her wrist.

The grill faces the counter, open to the restaurant, and the cook carries on commentary with customers at the counter watching the presidential inauguration on the television in the corner.

"What do we need another inauguration for? He's already in office," she says.

Two men with graying hair and mustaches, sitting separately at the counter, grunt in agreement. Their round bellies tell of their affinity for the burgers and BLTs turning out before them. The scene at the Honey Bee Diner in Glen Burnie is typical of the ubiquitous American icon known as the roadside diner. Home-style food at reasonable prices - usually any hour of the day - coupled with a come-as-you-are dress code and a good chance for lively discussion on anything from political affairs to the state of the weather, help define this uniquely American entity.

City attorneys have gone to court in an attempt to collect more than $28,000 in back taxes that are owed on a former diner that made headlines last week when it was moved back to Willimantic.

The lawyers filed documents Wednesday in Waterbury Superior Court seeking to secure the city's claim, which includes the delinquent taxes, interest and fees.