Valentine Diner

[[File:Along Old Rt. 66, Diner, Valentine, AZ (6709916209).jpg|thumb|Valentine diner on old Route 66 in Valentine, Arizona]]

A '''Valentine Diner''' was a prefabricated mail order small diner produced in Wichita, Kansas after the Great Depression.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=Chris |title=East from FRISCO - on the Trail of America's Soul |date=2009 |publisher=Foundry Publishing Group |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=978-1-4461-5696-4}}</ref> The concept was created by Arthur Valentine in the 1930s, who had experience operating lunch rooms.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Kansas Historical Society |title=Arthur Hoyt Valentine |url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/arthur-hoyt-valentine/18728 |website=Kansas Historical Society |accessdate=7 September 2018 |date=July 2014}}</ref> Originally the diners were manufactured by the Ablah Hotel Supply Company.

In 1947, manufacturing was taken over by the Valentine Manufacturing Company.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Kansas Historical Society |title=Valentine Diners - Business |url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/valentine-diners-business/18734 |website=Kansas Historical Society |accessdate=7 September 2018 |date=July 2014}}</ref> After World War II and the implementation of the Interstate Highway System in the U.S. in the late 1950s, prefabricated diners saw a boom in business as motorists took to the roads in greater numbers for longer journeys and would stop for a meal.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sisson |first1=Patrick |title=Diners, the original prefab success story |url=https://www.curbed.com/2017/5/30/15716116/restaurants-diners-prefab-historic-preservation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607224930/https://www.curbed.com/2017/5/30/15716116/restaurants-diners-prefab-historic-preservation |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 7, 2017 |website=Curbed |accessdate=7 September 2018 |date=May 30, 2017}}</ref> Valentine Diners were produced until the 1970s, and several survive as operating business (sometimes as a restaurant, sometimes as other businesses) around the United States today. A few have become historical roadside attractions, such as along historic Route 66.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Norah |first1=Jessica |title=Route 66 Itinerary: The Ultimate American Road Trip |url=https://independenttravelcats.com/2-week-route-66-itinerary-ultimate-american-road-trip/ |website=Independent Travel Cats |date=April 2018 |accessdate=7 September 2018}}</ref>

At least twelve different Valentine Diners styles were produced.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Kansas Historical Society |title=Valentine Diners - Identifying |url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/valentine-diners-identifying/18732 |website=Kansas Historical Society |accessdate=7 September 2018 |date=July 2014}}</ref> Diners can be identified by either their wall safe, which will have a Valentine logo (a heart with an arrow through it), or the Valentine diner steel serial number plate, which has the word “Valentine” written on it.

== References ==

Category:Diner manufacturers Category:Prefabricated buildings Category:Great Depression Category:History of Wichita, Kansas Category:Manufactured goods