H92.68.1

Drive-in
c.1965
42 in HIGH x 78 in WIDE x .75 in DEEP
(106.68 cm HIGH x 198.12 cm WIDE x 1.90 cm DEEP)
Gift of Mrs. Sally Arney
H92.68.1

Drive-in

This hand painted Doggie Diner sign, blue arrow on the top "Drive-In", brown dog in white chef's hat on the bottom, holding the arrow, is from the East 14th Street and Fruitvale Avenue (Oakland) Doggie Diner and probably dates around 1965. Doggie Diner was a popular fast food restaurant in California evolving just after World War II, c. 1948-1950. The logo for the restaurant was a dachshund head wearing a chef's hat. Logically, the food served at the restaurant was hot dogs. The typical Doggie Diner sign was an over-sized dachshund head (wearing the chef's hat) on top of the restaurant; these three-dimensional popular art sculptures were probably 6 - 8 feet tall. Some of the locations had drive-in areas, many were walk-up and self-serve (that is there were no waiters or waitresses); most had two or three token tables (picnic-style tables and benches), but customers were encouraged to eat in their cars, or drive away with the food. With the advent of larger chains of fast food restaurants in the 1970's (e.g. MacDonald's, Carl's Jrs., Burger King, Wendy's, etc.) serving a greater variety of foods, the popularity of the Doggie Diner waned. The East 14th Street/Fruitvale Avenue Doggie Diner might have lasted into the early 1980's; at the date of this writing (12/1992) the building is a Pollo Loco restaurant (fast food-chicken).

Used: Doggie Diner | Oakland | Eating

Bookmark and Share