Rolando's Roadside Roundup: Sept. 27
Dallas Zoo McMansard is the latest McBoxing; sweet save for ice cream shop; Stork Club's bar languishes; Long Island loses a beloved diner
Hello, fellow Retrologists!
Lots of news from far and wide to share today, so let’s get right to it.
How Hildebrandt’s was saved, and the sweet vision for its second 100 years
First off, and in case you missed it, my piece for ABC’s Localish and Eyewitness News in New York on the change in ownership at Hildebrandt’s on Long Island dropped yesterday.
I first shared Hildebrandt’s on my Instagram account in 2017, and have probably posted about it more than any other place, and with good reason: It’s achingly beautiful, the people are wonderful, the food is comforting, and it’s a living link to a vanished way of life.
After an agonizing dance with death that lasted for almost two nail-biting years, Hildebrandt’s was recently purchased by two cousins who have the means and the plans to take Hildebrandt’s into its second century.
I hope you can check out the full report here.
It was a pleasure to work on this story with videographer and editor Brittany Winderman. We’ve collaborated on a few nostalgia pieces, including the Northport Sweet Shop and the Lexington Candy Shop, and our collaboration on Long Island’s Big Duck will drop later this week.
Not lovin’ it: More McDonald’s mansards get McBoxed, including famous Dallas Zoo location
I’ve gotten the heads up on several McDonald’s mansard buildings that have bitten the dust recently.
This summer, I was tipped off to the demise of the mansard in Liberty, New York. This was a fun location that still featured some of the McDonaldland characters, at least in paintings in the PlayPlace and on the windows.
McDonald’s has done an all-too-effective job of erasing this era of marketing to kids, but there are generations of us who were bombarded with it who miss it and WANT to see it, or at the very least, enjoy finding traces of it while they last. Check out some of the photos below from my visit on June 20, 2021.
And that’s not the only sad news in McDonaldland. The mansard that was hanging on in Horseheads, New York is getting McBoxed as we speak.
Retrologist correspondent Mike Taylor sent along the “after” photo, showing you the process of McBoxing.
The “before” photo was shot by me in April.
And finally, the beloved Dallas Zoo McDonald’s, which was high on my list of places to shoot, is apparently being McBoxed. I got a tip about this in my Instagram inbox. How incredibly sad!
And the tweets sharing the sad news are below.
Please share in the comments any mansard or unusual McDonald’s that have survived the purge!
Notes from the Road
Long Island loses another diner, The Plainview. It lasted 50 years. [News 12]
A bar from the fabled Stork Club lives — in a pandemic-shuttered Manhattan pub [New York Times]
An old storefront in Grand Rapids is getting a new lease on life [WZZM13]
Sale of restaurant and mansion related to Colonel Sanders ruffles KFC’s feathers [NY Post]
Atomic Liquors gets some love in roundup of patio spots in Las Vegas [Thrillist]
Oklahoma landmark church with an egg-shaped dome is demolished [KOCO]
Troubling news about future of modernist radio-station building for KGY in Olympia, Washington … [The Olympian]
… and some background about the building. I hope it can be saved
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