In the Bay Area the Doggie Diner sign is a designated landmark: MisterSF.com
The Doggie Diners faded away decades ago, and yes, they actually sold hot dogs in a diner. Their links were considered to be very good, though this may have been urban myth.
While many people had a sentimental attachment to the Doggie Diner, this did not actually translate into actually going there to eat. The diners had a seedy appearance, and were often located in rough neighborhoods.
Doggie Diners were open until the early morning and featured a rogue's gallery of customers who were busy formulating their latest scam over a quick bite and soft drink. The Doggie Diner still lives on in the Zippy the Pinhead cartoons (see http://www.doggiediner.com/).
3 comments:
That's an interesting article. I spent some time near SF in the mid 1970s, but unfortunately I don't recall seeing the sign when visiting the city.
It's rather strange that folks would want to save a sign that no longer has a business associated with it. I could be snarky and make a statement that this points out the average SF leftie's detachment from the realities of the need for a business to advertise and make money.
Question: Also in the mid 1970s wasn't there also a place that served many types of hamburgers and featured a Hippo as its mascot?
I think you're right, I remember seeing something like that on Market in SF. To some degree, while people never actually ate at a Doggie Diner, the business was still a landmark for many. Sort of like the Pink Elephant Car Wash, or Ranier Brewery sign up here. To many the end of the Doggie Diners also meant an end to an era, most likley that of their youth. The SF Chronicle used to note every bar that closed in SF. It go to the point where I used to get annoyed at all the articles and columns that lamented every dive bar's passing, then I realized that this was an older generation telling us how life used to be lived.
And, probably indicated how much time the average journalist spent in cheap bars.
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