Lou-Roc Award Winners
A diner "wins" a Lou-Roc award when its owner or steward opts to needlessly remodel or otherwise deface an original structure. In our considered opinion, every diner is a national architectural treasure and perfect in its design and intention. Anyone who attempts to "improve" upon its look or purpose does so foolishly and needlessly. In the face of this and despite all evidence that supports the viability of preservation and restoration, anyone who damages or improperly cares for their diner warrants nomination for this infamy.
Named for the horrendously bludgeoned diner of the same name in Worcester, Massachusetts. (Photo by Allen Fletcher)
2029 Lincoln Highway, Langhorne, PA
Diner suffered a horrific renovation in the late 1990s that stripped away its spectacular space-age DeRaffele stylings. Lou-Roc Award winner.
Formerly the Newark Diner and then Jude's Diner. Remodeled by Cheeburger franchisee with boundless stupidity who didn't think an authentic 1950s O'Mahony Diner was quite 50's enough for his liking. Good cheeseburgers, though.
One of the first Starlite's built replaced a 1940s-vintage Kullman dinette model. Lou-roc award winner.
607 W Main St/Rte. 322, Ephrata, PA
9.02.01: Found it. Complete exterior Lou-Roc'ing. Diner interior mostly intact. New wooden booths, countertops, country-cozy addition. homemade peach pie - delightful. Made w/tapioca. Friendly staff.
1975 Lee Rd, Cleveland Heights, OH
Formerly the Berwick Diner from Berwick, PA. Installed in Cleveland Heights as part of the Sweet City double diner project.
1975 Lee Rd, Cleveland Heights, OH
Formerly the Terminal Diner from Atlantic City, New Jersey. Installed in Cleveland Heights as part of the Sweet City double diner project.
336 North 3rd Street (Rt 309), Coopersburg, PA
Painfully remodeled diner. Large addition out back.
5627 Bristol Pike, Bristol, PA
Horrifically Lou-Roc'd diner, which originally was a two-section 50s vintage stainless steel model of undetermined make. Brian Butko in Diners of Pennsylvania speculates that it might be a 1952 Kullman.
455 Shell Road, Penns Grove, NJ
Lou-Roc'd late 2011. Please share your experiences.
