The Lawrence Park Dinor is a Silk City

diner A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a com ...

in Lawrence Park Township, Erie County in U.S. state of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It was opened in 1948, and has operated since then. The previous owner George Gourlias got the diner listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2004. The spelling "dinor" is unique to northwestern Pennsylvania, and its origin is largely unknown.

Design

The Lawrence Park Dinor is located in Lawrence Park Township, outside of

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

, on Main Street in a

lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...

. Because of the property's narrow size, the diner is oriented perpendicular to the street. A cottage erected at the same time as the diner sits at the rear of the lot, and served as the living quarters for the diner's original owners. The Lawrence Park Dinor was manufactured by

Silk City Diners Silk City Diners was a division of the Paterson Wagon Company, later known at Paterson Vehicle Company, established by Everett Abbott Cooper and based in Paterson, New Jersey, which produced about 1,500 diners from 1926 until 1966. Each was tagged w ...

, a division of the Patterson Vehicle Company, in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.concrete block A concrete masonry unit (CMU) is a standard-size rectangular block used in building construction. CMUs are some of the most versatile building products available because of the wide variety of appearances that can be achieved using them. Tho ...

foundation, and is long and wide. Its exterior is a white,

porcelain enamel Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between . The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating. The word comes from the Lati ...

with a fluted,

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

band "sandwiched by two narrow strips of blue". A

monitor roof A monitor in architecture is a raised structure running along the ridge of a double-pitched roof, with its own roof running parallel with the main roof. The long sides of monitors usually contain clerestory windows or louvers to light or ventila ...

runs the length of the diner, a feature that was common in diner design until the 1950s. The building's two entrances, one at the end of the diner and another at its middle, are both fronted by stainless steel doors, each with a large, oval window. The interior of the diner is laid out in a counter–aisle–booth seating configuration with 16 seats at the counter, 5 booths, and a free-standing table. The vaulted ceiling is made up of curved, porcelain panels.

History

The Lawrence Park Dinor was manufactured at the Silk City factory and transported to its present location in 1948. Its first owners, Harold Curtis and his wife, purchased the diner to serve the community of Lawrence Park. As the majority of people in Lawrence Park were employed by

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

from the diner, a fast and inexpensive eating establishment was in demand. The unusual spelling of "dinor" is found only in northwestern Pennsylvania and its origin is speculated to have been a typographical error that was never corrected, or a variant derived from the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

. In 1930, three out of five diners in Erie used the spelling; by 1958 it was used by over 90 percent of diners in Erie. The diner was listed on the

on March 18, 2004, by George Gourlias with the help of Lawrence Park Historical Society Member Virginia Anderson. The current owners took over the diner in 2010. The Lawrence Park Dinor is known for its famous "Greek sauce"—a (brought to the menu by former owner George Gourlias 1991-2010) spiced,

ground beef Ground beef, minced beef or beef mince is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife, meat grinder (American English), mincer or mincing machine (British English). It is used in many recipes including hamburgers, bolognese sauce, meatloaf, ...

mixture popular in Erie as a topping on

French fries French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips ( Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...

(known elsewhere as "Texas hot sauce" for its use as a chili dog topping).

References

Sources

* * {{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Erie County, Pennsylvania Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Commercial buildings completed in 1948 Diners on the National Register of Historic Places Diners in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Erie County, Pennsylvania Restaurants in Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Erie County, Pennsylvania Restaurants established in 1948

Design

History

See also

References

Sources