THE LAST STAND-ALONE
DINERS IN MANHATTAN
G'day folks,
Welcome to some history about diners in Manhattan.
Hidden
away in Lower Manhattan, amidst all the skyscrapers and modern glass and steel
office buildings, is a small diner. Tucked away on Pearl Street, in the old
part of the city, it is one of the last remaining stand-alone diners in
Manhattan.
Dwarfed
by towering buildings, the Pearl Diner is an anomaly in New York, where the
real estate is measured in millions. This small, stand-alone diner has somehow
survived the seemingly never-ending urban growth, and continues to serve
wholesome diner food in cosy surroundings (note: by stand-alone diners, we mean
one story buildings with at least three separate walls).
Today,
in Manhattan, there are just five stand-alone diners remaining.
The Pearl Diner
212,
Pearl Street, Financial District.
Located
in the heart of the Financial District, the Pearl is a beautiful old diner that
opened in the early 1960s. At night, its neon sign is a warming beacon set
against the backdrop of the 24-story skyscraper next door (built in the ’70s).
The diner was built by the Kullman
Building Corporation of New Jersey, who made prefabricated, iconic looking
diners of stainless steel and formica that tended to evoke railroad cars in
style, size, and shape.
The Square Diner
33,
Leonard Street, Tribeca.
This
tiny, beautiful railroad car style diner has been serving up delicious comfort
food to Tribeca residents since 1922. Old photos show that
the original diner was a long, wooden building, which was replaced by the
gleaming stainless steel diner in the 1940s.
Hector’s Cafe and Diner
44,
Little West 12th Street, Meatpacking District.
One of
the last old-fashioned places to eat in a neighbourhood that has lost almost
all of it’s working class roots. Tucked away underneath the High Line,
Hector’s once catered to the workers of the old meatpacking plants and
slaughterhouses of the 1960s. Hector’s has thankfully survived the onslaught of
tourists and the fashionable, swanky brunch set.
Star on 18
128, 10th
Avenue, Chelsea.
Understated
and with a plain, painted exterior, the Star on the corner of 10th Avenue and
18th, is a far cry from the gleaming, stainless steel of the classic diners. But step
inside, and you will find a homely, cosy diner, with traditional booths and
counter stools.
The Empire Diner
210, 10th
Avenue, Chelsea.
The
Empire is perhaps Manhattan’s most iconic stand alone diner. Designed and built
in the sleek, gleaming Art Moderne style, it was constructed by the Fodero
Dining Car Company in 1946. According to The New Yorker,
“There’s the Chrysler and the Empire State, but this diner in Chelsea is more
quintessentially New York than just about any other building.”
Manhattan
was once home to dozens of similar stand-alone diners. But construction, high
rents, and lack of protection has seen all but these five either tragically
torn down or moved out of the city. As more of the stand-alone diners
disappear, so too does a large part of the city’s charm and neighbourhood
character.
Clancy's comment: I've been to a few of these and loved every minute.
I'm ...
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