Cruising, Cars, and Neon Nights
There’s something magical about neon signs glowing over a row of parked hot rods, the smell of burgers in the air, and carhops weaving between chrome bumpers with trays in hand. Growing up as a car guy, and the son of a car guy in south St. Louis County, I was raised on stories about hot rods, street cruising, and legendary drive-ins of the late 1950s and early ’60s. In south county it was Wild’s Palace of Poison. North county had Chuck-A-Burger. The rest of St. Louis had their pick of Steak ’n Shake and White Castle. Wild’s closed the same year I was born, but the others still survive.
My road trips today are part back-road exploration and part history hunt. My Google Maps now holds 1,636 flagged diners and drive-ins to photograph.
Spotlight on Michael Karl Witzel
That brings us to The American Drive-In: History and Folklore of the Drive-In Restaurant in American Car Culture by Michael Karl Witzel. He’s an author and photographer well known in Americana circles. His Route 66 Remembered is a staple on many bookshelves, and he’s earned a reputation as a go-to chronicler of roadside culture.
That pedigree shows here in this heavily illustrated homage to the rise of drive-ins. The book explores everything from neon signs to carhops to the rituals that made drive-ins pop culture touchstones.
Style, Substance, and Stories
Chapter titles like The Circular Mecca of Neon and America’s New Motor Lunch tell you everything you need to know about his mix of style and substance.
The photographs are striking, showing remnants of vintage diners and drive-in burger stands that clearly inspired movies like American Graffiti and Hollywood Knights, or television shows like Happy Days. They make me want to chase down every one of these places in person.
One image that made me laugh was the original “Big Boy” illustration. Nothing like the polished version we know now, he was a greasy, shirtless slob in overalls—more caricature than icon. Cleaning him up was definitely the right call.
More Than Burgers and Neon
This book is for anyone who loves mid-century Americana, neon lights, burger stands, pop culture nostalgia, cars, and good food. It’s both visual eye candy and a thoughtful dive into why drive-ins mattered then and why they still matter now.
My Own Connection
Books like this remind me why I collect these scenes today. I grew up watching drive-in burger stands with carhops, drive-in movie theaters, hot rods and muscle cars staged under marquee lights, and carloads of young folks cruising the Boulevard. Almost overnight, many of them disappeared.
That’s why I plot these places obsessively. I might never visit them all, but I’ll keep pointing the lens their way so they don’t slip quietly into history. These places and those memories—they’re chapters in the story of American life worth photographing and preserving.
Safe travels, RJ
The American Drive-In: History and Folklore of the Drive-In Restaurant in American Car Culture by Michael Karl Witzel is available on Amazon. Other books by Michael Karl Witzel include: Route 66 Remembered, The American Gas Station: History and Folklore of Gas Stations in America, The American Diner, Americana: Roadside Memories, The American Motel, Cruisin’: Car Culture in America, Drive-In Deluxe, and Classic Roadside Americana
You might also enjoy: Car Hops and Curb Service by Jim Heimann, American Autopia by Gabrielle Esperdy, Motoring: The Highway Experience in America by John A. Jakle & Keith A. Sculle. The Great American Retro Road Trip by Rolando Pujol, and Roadfood by Jane Stern and Michael Stern
