Historic District Landmarks Commission blocks demolition application for Ted’s Frostop diner.
From WDSU: NEW ORLEANS — The Historic District Landmarks Commission blocked a demolition application for Ted’s Frostop diner.
The meeting Wednesday was well attended by the public and neighbors.
The development would be built and owned by RCR Claiborne Ventures, comprised of Robért Fresh Market family ownership and its related real estate investment company, RCR Ventures, according to a statement issued by Tulane University.
How Helper, Utah’s artists, and vintage collectors are breathing new life into Main Street
From Fox13: HELPER, Utah — There’s a rock that looks like it’s about to tip and crush whatever happens to be below it at the moment. But it’s been there longer than anyone can remember, a sentinel marking the beginning (or end, I suppose) of the Book Cliffs, which happens to be the world’s longest continuous escarpment.
The rock is called Balance Rock…and its seemingly unlikely endurance serves as a perfect symbol for the town under its shadow.
Hotel Beale Neon Sign Relighting Ceremony Revives Kingman History
From The Bee News: Hotel Beale, built in 1898, is set to light up its historic skyline once again. The hotel’s iconic neon sign—installed in 1936 as Kingman, AZ’s first neon sign and bearing the inscription Hotel Beale Air Cooled—will be relit for the first time in over forty years.
Kingman Main Street is proud to unveil the Hotel Beale Experience, an event featuring a historic photo exhibit on the newly refreshed hotel facade alongside the relighting of the rooftop neon sign. The historic photo exhibit has been created in partnership with the Mohave County Historical Society, Beale Street Theater, Firafly Photography, Jatcom Telecommunications, and the City of Kingman.
Chicago Sign Museum wants the city’s hand-made signs saved before they’re gone
Chicago sign painters and founders of the Chicago Sign Museum Kelsey and Andrew McClellan are working to preserve historic Chicago signs and educate on Chicago sign history. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
From the Chicago Tribune: Whether painted, wood, bulb or neon, Chicago signs have a special place in the hearts of enthusiasts who aim to bring a new museum to the city.
The Chicago Sign Museum officially got its name last year, said Kelsey McClellan, who founded the organization with her partner, Andrew McClellan. Its purpose is to provide education on historic Chicago signs and play an active role in their preservation as they face extinction.
Although the Chicago Sign Museum doesn’t have a physical space yet, it has hosted sign tours around the city, put out sign maps, helped business owners restore their vintage signs and spread the word to sign owners about the city’s updated code.
This Iconic 1956 Tiki Restaurant Just Reopened In South Florida—And It Feels Like A Trip To The South Pacific
Credit: Mai-Kai
From Southern Living: Tropical as it is, South Florida is no South Pacific. So as you pull into the palm-studded parking lot of Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, you’ll begin to wonder if you’ve been transported. Lit tiki torches flicker warmly amidst a massive swath of lush tropical foliage, and as you valet then step through the heavy carved doors, you’re transported to a time and place where tiki culture reigns.
First opened in 1956, a time of high tiki, the Mai-Kai has long been one of South Florida’s most transportive dining experiences, a Polynesian dinner theater blending fantastical entertainment and genuine cultural education. Before long, it was an institution. Any true South Floridian has a story or two here; it’s been the destination of choice for many a first date and birthday dinner.
Want Some Bad Food and Poor Design to Go With Your Tesla Charge?
From Common Edge: Among his many talents, Elon Musk has a singular knack for taking things that are cool—fast cars, rockets, (arguably) marijuana—and making them nauseatingly uncool. Equally impressively, he is adept at taking things that are decidedly not cool and pretending they are cool: racism, nativism, video games, parenthood, to name a few. He’s the opposite of the Fonz.
We can now add to the latter list the unlikely category of restaurant design.
At roughly the same time Musk was attempting to chainsaw the U.S. government in his own image, he also added a singular asset to his electric car empire. It’s not a new model of roadster or another monstrous truck, but rather a very much earthbound charging station—with a diner attached.
The White Palace Grill Is an “Oasis” of a 24-Hour Diner in a Changing South Loop
Once known for its outstanding view of the skyline, thanks to a difficult-to-develop railroad lot to the north, the White Palace Grill now stands amidst corporate behemoths that moved in as the University of Illinois at Chicago expanded and the South Loop became more residential. Photo by Kathleen Hinkel for WTTW
From WTTW: For a certain type of person, appearing in an episode of the hit show The Bear makes something a Chicago icon. Pequod’s, Margie’s Candies, Grant Achatz, Genie Kwon, Kevin Boehm: the showrunners know who and what in the restaurant business are valued in this town. But regulars at White Palace Grill, a 24-hour diner located at 1159 S. Canal St. in the South Loop, know there’s more to being an institution than appearing on a TV series – even if White Palace Grill will notch that accolade in the upcoming final season of The Bear, which filmed at White Palace this winter.
Longevity helps: White Palace Grill opened in 1939. So does continuity: the diner has only had three owners over its nearly nine decades of existence, having been purchased by current owner George Liakopoulos from near-original owner Arthur Bookman at the end of the millennium. Timelessness – an appealing way of saying a stubborn resistance to change – also might play a role, especially as independent diners slowly fade away. Even if White Palace Grill has bowed to some pressures – for instance swapping chicken for veal parmesan and offering online to-go ordering – it still has formica tables at its booths, coin-operated gumball machines by its door, and an exhaustive menu featuring everything from waffles to ribs, club sandwiches to omelettes, all at relatively low prices. The most expensive item by far is a steak for $31.99.