Jerry Ueckert, a Route 66 enthusiast from Edgewood, N.M., reports that he has purchased a Valentine diner in Magdalena, N.M. He plans to move the diner onto his property on Route 66 and restore it.
Ueckert says the diner appears to be the Aristocrat model. The Kansas State Historical Society gives the following description of the Aristocrat on its Valentine identification page:
Designed in late 1940s by Richard Ten Eyck, a Wichita industrial designer, this 8-stool model is recognizable from the outside by the rounded parapet above the door (flush with the front facade), and buttresses at the corners.
Ueckert’s diner is one of at least five Valentines on the Mother Road. Other examples can be found behind Bill Fernau’s Phillips 66 station in Chandler, Okla.; next to the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Okla.; across from La Posada in Winslow, Ariz.; and at Twin Arrows, Ariz.
According to Jerry,
It’s in sad shape, which is to be expected, and any number of people are beginning to doubt my sanity, (as if they needed further reason prior to this), but I think this thing is just too damn cool!!!
I have to agree.