Diners - a bit of roadside Americana
I always had a fascination with the design and look of the classic diner and when possible I would stop to capture some images of these nostalgic dinning establishments. But now I am taking the time to document more of these classic slices of Americana. This is a new project I'm working on that will contain photos taken from recent and previous travels. My main reasons for this project include, as mentioned above, my fascination with these classic road side eateries as well as my continual desire to embrace new film photography projects. I'm always searching for new inspiration and not that this idea is something so new or original, but for me capturing and sharing these images is still something special.
 
The Village Diner - Milford Pa. |
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| The Berlin Diner - Berlin - NJ |
Diners are a piece of Americana but unfortunately in the 1960's when fast food restaurants started to take hold the number of these roadside dining establishments began to slowly fade into the sunset. So, are the days of the classic diner now possibly numbered? Just the last few years alone in many areas of New Jersey we have seen quite a few of these classic family owned establishments disappear one by one. Only time will tell, but unfortunately this trend provides me yet, with another reason to get out there and document what may be left of a different time period.
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| The now defunct Cherry Hill Diner in NJ. Soon to be a car wash. |
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| The Marlton Diner in NJ did not survive COVID. Now a cannabis dispensary. |
Who knows though, maybe not so much gloom and doom after all, for there are quite a few diners that still remain and with very few exceptions the majority of these nostalgic roadside stops are famous for offering tasty food in large portions at reasonable prices. That has been the attraction of the diner since their beginnings. For me though, it's not only the food and without a doubt it's pretty tough to beat a good diner club sandwich. But also from a photographers point of view, these old diners are just pretty damn cool looking and make a great subject to photograph. Especially those smaller, dining car styles that have been around for generations. Hopefully some will still remain and that there will still be a place for these special dining destinations.
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| The Roadside Diner - Wall Township - NJ. |
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| The Halfway Diner - Red Hook - NY |
It makes me happy when I observe a revival of a certain genre, and to see in this day and age that there are diners still staying in business or being saved and restored. It just nice to see the nostalgia and tradition of the diner continue in one way or another. Hopefully when restored they will still keep the charm of what made them so special in the first place. So as I travel from place to place and see one of these special roadside eateries, I will do my best to stop for a bite and document another piece of Americana.
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| The West Taghkanic Diner in Ancram - NY- temporarily closed for renovation but will hopefully keep is classic style |
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| Tucked between two buildings - Diner in Hudson - NY |
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| Happily still doing their thing - The Salem Oak Diner in Salem - NJ |
If you would like to see more photos of the various diners, please click the link below. Also please stop back from time to time because I will keep adding to this gallery. Once again thanks for viewing my blog :-)
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