Once Upon A Time in Whopperland
For a time in the late 90's and early aughts, Burger King dazzled us with refreshed interiors of neon and the golden years of radio and film. Here's a look at two examples on New York's Long Island.
Well, it’s been a day shy of a year since my last post, here. Why you may ask? A multitude of reasons. The least of which, I just haven’t been able to find the creative spark to write. Not to say that I don’t enjoy this, but I have been focused more on the visual medium side of this creative equation as of late. I have a lot of ideas of posts to write, and I don’t ever know what to start with. The ideas just bounce off the corners of my ADD afflicted brain. The endless Flickr backlog catch-up project has taken up the bulk of my time, and summer always leads to more trips to discover more, or re-discover places already trodden. Some might say, it’s a whopper of an endeavor. And with that, let’s dovetail into today’s topic, shall we?
We’ll be taking a look at two Burger King restaurants today. From the outside, they are your normal run of the mill BK specimens, from an era before the bland minimalist “shoebox” remodels that have taken hold lately. Inside however, diners are greeted with neon lights, movie posters, Cadillac inspired booths, and movie star head-shots. These were part of a series of interior remodels that were rolled out throughout the 1990s and into the early aughts to hearken back to both 50s Rock ‘n Roll and Hollywood culture and aesthetics. These two here, embrace the Hollywood.
The first, located in the Douglaston - Little Neck section of Queens, adjacent to the Nassau County line dates to 1991. A 1999 remodel embraced the neon clad, movie star laden interior you’ll see in the following photos. The building was an outlot of the currently dying Douglaston Plaza. Once home to Macy’s and Toys “Я” Us, the center originally started out life as an E.J. Korvette branch.
Outside, it’s fairly normal proceedings. A grey metal roof, wall of windows, and a small blue stucco appendage sticking up out of the roof-line, showcasing the dated as soon as it came out, “blue swoosh” BK logo of 1999. But inside, well have a look...
Alas, just a couple months after these photos were taken, this location closed. It still sits, boarded up and forgotten.
Our second stop, is further east out on the Island in Stony Brook, NY. This Burger King dates to the late 1960’s, in the era of its earliest Mansard roofed locations that would grace the countryside well into the 90s. The only outside change were its roof painted blue, and a logo refresh.
This location goes even further down into the depths of Hollywood excess, and we are here for it. Giant pink neon stars graced the ceiling over the dining room. A Marilyn Monroe standee greets diners, replicating that famous subway grate scene from 1955’s “The Seven Year Itch”. More car themed booths, as well. Each divider, a 50s Television set. The fate of this location? Remodeled around the time of the Covid-19 lockdowns.. just another box.
As of press time, there are still a few of these neon clad gems around. One in Amityville, NY continues the Hollywood theme. In Maryland, three are still showcasing the Rock n’Roll theme that was the accompanyment to this decor package seen here. A fourth, also in Maryland, sits empty, neon lights dark. If there are others you know of, feel free to drop a comment and share!
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McDonald's used to have a similarly-themed restaurant in Anderson, SC that, unfortunately, is no longer there.