Post War American Bars, Cafés and Restaurants

The Purple Tree Lounge, Washington DC

The Sweet Shop, West Layfayette IN

Emil's Steer Inn, Columbus OH

Caldwell's, St Petersburg Beach FL

Hawthorne Room, Chicago IL

Keno Café, Weslaco TX

Les Shaw's Restaurant, Connecticut

Mac's, Rochester MN

Mac's Dining Room, Rochester MN

Mangas, Elwood IN

Mark Twain Café and Bar, Cairo IL

New County Fair Restaurant, Tucson AZ

Senator Motel, Augusta ME

The Frost, Warrenton VA

The Glass House, Vinita OK

The Goodie Shop Cafeteria, Terre Haute IN

The Mel-O-Dee Restaurant, Sarasota FL

The Terrace Lounge, Grossinger NY

Town House Coffee Shop Duval Hotel, Tallahassee FL

Viking Bar, Sarasota FL

Villla Capri, Austin TX

Cowboy Bar, Jackson WY

El Ray Café. Grand Marais MN

Images from postcards

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Thank you to Lileks

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Jimmy A

July 6, 2011 at 11:17 am

If the Elephant Man was a bar, he would be the Cowboy Bar, Jackson WY
Brian

July 6, 2011 at 4:11 pm

The Frost is still open - and looks pretty much the same:
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/Csi-kCUNBlaIIpGBwafRyA?select=LmXwSdlFdg-dasYB1xyoiQ
KC

July 6, 2011 at 7:33 pm

They started out being modern, then they were seen as tacky and tasteless, and now they’ve become fascinating. So awful they’re brilliant.

If you want to see a lot more of this kind of thing, take a look at http://www.lileks.com
Terry

July 7, 2011 at 3:04 pm

That Les Shaw’s in CT was in New Haven. It was just as retro awesome from the outside as evidenced by:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=250314771915