Very Interesting late 40's Drive-in Diner with no roller skate waitresses. No Tipping sign on the building?? !!!!!!

B-52 · Guru

Very Interesting late 40's Drive-in Diner with no roller skate waitresses. No Tipping sign on the building?? !!!!!!

B-52 · Guru

MorePower wrote:
I'd give anything to have that....that would be so cool. Closest thing I have been to was Bobs Big Boy the first and orginal in Burbank California

I don't think we had anything like that here in the Peg but my mom was one of the first original Roller Skate Waitresses at the original A&W drive-in.

-- Edited by B-52 on Sunday 25th of November 2012 04:36:52 PM

B-52 · Guru

Now I'm hungry for a good Burger!!!!!!!!! And it would be REALLY COOL to me Jay Leno smile

-- Edited by B-52 on Sunday 25th of November 2012 04:38:39 PM

B-52 · Guru

Pete, here is more info on this Diner, I found it on http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=170279&page=397 Lots of cool old history on the whole site.

One of the most intriguing L.A. architectural novelties I've ever seen was this take on the drive-in. It's The Track, with "Motormat" technology. You just know the crazy trolley system must have constantly hit snags, with burgers and fries and cokes all over the hoods of cars... and yet there seem to have as many as three in the L.A. area, for however long they lasted.

Here's a description of the operation from The American Drive-In, by Michael Karl Witzel:

"Debuted in 1949, a Los Angeles innovation promised total elimination of carhops. At a new drive-in called "The Track," it attracted customers from as far as Santa Monica with its unique type of service. Like a group of horses at a trough [there's a gracious image], cars ringed around a central building, forming a circular pattern. Twenty semicircular parking spaces bridged a center kitchen by means of metal tracks. Food and condiments rode the rails within carrying...compartment[s] each powered by a small ½-horsepower motor.

"The mechanical setup was reminiscent of the wackiest Rube Goldberg device. Positioned in a pre-determined [?] parking space, the diner rolled down the car window and was greeted by a stainless-steel bin that could be made flush with the door. Inside the box were plastic cups, a water bottle, menu, order pad, and change tray. It was large, too. Food for six people could be ferried back and forth on the elevated platforms. Patrons would jot down their orders and with the push of a button, the unit scotted a return to the kitchen.

"When the empty bin arrived at the kitchen, an attendant put through the order and added up the bill. As hamburgers and other entrées were prepared, the rail box made its second journey to the automobile to collect the money. By the time it returned to the preparation area, the food was ready to go--loaded into the compartment along with condiments and the customer's change. According to inventor Kenneth C. Purdy, the spoke-and-wheel-track arrangement sped service 20-25 percent."

Well, needless to say I wanted to know where this madcap drive-in was. There was a 1951 phone-book listing for a "The Track No 3" at 3816 Sepulveda in Culver City, now the site of a Carl Jr's, but current visual details didn't add up, width of streets, etc. So I squinted at the pics, especially the fourth one above, and decided that the sign on the Herman-Something real estate office at the top right must have said "Herman Shrager"--who, it turns out, dealt in cemetery real estate, as in plots. Anyway, after more digging I found that Herman had an office at 8152 Beverly Boulevard... and eureka! It all fell into place. At the northwest corner of Beverly and Kilkea was the distinctive Welch's Candy building that still stands...and so across Kilkea from it would have been The Track. It was at 8201 Beverly Boulevard, which by 1956 was Cook's Automotive Service.

-- Edited by B-52 on Sunday 25th of November 2012 05:51:11 PM

B-52 · Guru

MorePower wrote:
B-52 wrote:
Now I'm hungry for a good Burger!!!!!!!!! And it would be REALLY COOL to me Jay Leno

-- Edited by B-52 on Sunday 25th of November 2012 04:38:39 PM
Yes meeting Jay and touring his private garage was so awesome and any one of you would post pics too proudly!
We got to go to Bobs Big By 2x and hit it on a cruise night as well. The folks are the same no matter where you go. Nice, friendly and love cars like us. Just sh*t lucky they can drve year round and have Jay show up most Fridays, We sat at the booth The Beatles sat at in th 60s. That was uber cool. Here is some pics of the cruise night as well.

Thanks for sharing those photos, it makes me want to travel even more. They should have a TV show called "Car Hops" and it could be about places where vehicles go to hang out all over the world.

-- Edited by B-52 on Sunday 25th of November 2012 11:13:13 PM

MorePower · Poncho Master!

RE: Very Interesting 50's Drive-in Diner from the past with now roller skate waitresses. No Tipping? !!!!!!

StriperSS · Poncho Master!

RE: Very Interesting late 40's Drive-in Diner with no roller skate waitresses. No Tipping sign on the building?? !!!!!!

B-52 · Guru

StriperSS wrote:
Does the food come out on a conveyor belt?

Sorta, those little huts go back and forth from the car to the building. I'm not sure how they call in their order tho confuse

MorePower · Poncho Master!

opps typo...Bobs Big Boy....I have an empty lot by my house that was an A&W with the roller skate girls. Back in the day.
Bobs still runs, stll has cruise nights(Jay Leno attends) and still have same idea. Best burger I ever ate in my life. I can still taste it.

dualquadpete · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Where did you find that photo?? thats NEAT Looks like the food comes out in the little tent on the track??? Any Idea where it was located?

beaucarlo · Guru

B-52 wrote:
Pete, here is more info on this Diner, I found it on http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=170279&page=397 Lots of cool old history on the whole site.
One of the most intriguing L.A. architectural novelties I've ever seen was this take on the drive-in. It's The Track, with "Motormat" technology. You just know the crazy trolley system must have constantly hit snags, with burgers and fries and cokes all over the hoods of cars... and yet there seem to have as many as three in the L.A. area, for however long they lasted.

Here's a description of the operation from The American Drive-In, by Michael Karl Witzel:

"Debuted in 1949, a Los Angeles innovation promised total elimination of carhops. At a new drive-in called "The Track," it attracted customers from as far as Santa Monica with its unique type of service. Like a group of horses at a trough [there's a gracious image], cars ringed around a central building, forming a circular pattern. Twenty semicircular parking spaces bridged a center kitchen by means of metal tracks. Food and condiments rode the rails within carrying...compartment[s] each powered by a small ½-horsepower motor.

"The mechanical setup was reminiscent of the wackiest Rube Goldberg device. Positioned in a pre-determined [?] parking space, the diner rolled down the car window and was greeted by a stainless-steel bin that could be made flush with the door. Inside the box were plastic cups, a water bottle, menu, order pad, and change tray. It was large, too. Food for six people could be ferried back and forth on the elevated platforms. Patrons would jot down their orders and with the push of a button, the unit scotted a return to the kitchen.

"When the empty bin arrived at the kitchen, an attendant put through the order and added up the bill. As hamburgers and other entrées were prepared, the rail box made its second journey to the automobile to collect the money. By the time it returned to the preparation area, the food was ready to go--loaded into the compartment along with condiments and the customer's change. According to inventor Kenneth C. Purdy, the spoke-and-wheel-track arrangement sped service 20-25 percent."

Well, needless to say I wanted to know where this madcap drive-in was. There was a 1951 phone-book listing for a "The Track No 3" at 3816 Sepulveda in Culver City, now the site of a Carl Jr's, but current visual details didn't add up, width of streets, etc. So I squinted at the pics, especially the fourth one above, and decided that the sign on the Herman-Something real estate office at the top right must have said "Herman Shrager"--who, it turns out, dealt in cemetery real estate, as in plots. Anyway, after more digging I found that Herman had an office at 8152 Beverly Boulevard... and eureka! It all fell into place. At the northwest corner of Beverly and Kilkea was the distinctive Welch's Candy building that still stands...and so across Kilkea from it would have been The Track. It was at 8201 Beverly Boulevard, which by 1956 was Cook's Automotive Service.

-- Edited by B-52 on Sunday 25th of November 2012 05:51:11 PM

I checked out that site .....way down the thread is a utube old video of the LA freeway system circa 1957........cool

rabbit64cs · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

you guys are good !!! that is an awesome piece of history !

MorePower · Poncho Master!

B-52 wrote:
Now I'm hungry for a good Burger!!!!!!!!! And it would be REALLY COOL to me Jay Leno

-- Edited by B-52 on Sunday 25th of November 2012 04:38:39 PM

Yes meeting Jay and touring his private garage was so awesome and any one of you would post pics too proudly! smile

We got to go to Bobs Big By 2x and hit it on a cruise night as well. The folks are the same no matter where you go. Nice, friendly and love cars like us. Just sh*t lucky they can drve year round and have Jay show up most Fridays, We sat at the booth The Beatles sat at in th 60s. That was uber cool. Here is some pics of the cruise night as well.

B-52 · Guru

rabbit64cs wrote:
you guys are good !!! that is an awesome piece of history !

This is why I wanted to and became a member of Canadian Poncho, I love sharing and hearig about all history from around the world. There is so much passion from most CP members, it can be about cars or buildings. If it has anything to do with cars we would love to know about it and find further info about it also.