Car Hops and Curb Service: A History of American Drive-In Restaurants 1920-1960

by Jim Heimann

Travel back to the heyday of the American drive-in restaurant—complete with swinging ponytails, shiny new automobiles, and the aroma of French fries drifting through unrolled car windows. Beginning with the original Texas Pig Stand of 1921, this evocative compendium cruises through 40 years of drive in culture, tracing the history of roadside restaurant architecture and the people who created it. Engagingly illustrated with historical photographs and a rich assortment of related ephemera, from menus to matchbox covers, Car Hops and Curb Service chronicles a unique chapter of popular culture for anyone who sipped a malt, hung a tray, or cruised a drive in parking lot—or wished they had.

Genres: History, Food, Pop Culture, Nonfiction, Americana

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1996

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic look at how DIR changed the way we ate, played and socialized. A nostalgic look back at a time and place that has (almost) disappeared...brought back lots of good memories for me. Summer trips for root beer floats at A&W after spending the afternoon at the high school pool - wish I could go back there.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly 5 stars. The book is more than twenty-five years old now so it might be hard to find. What a winner though. It is a lovely explanation of period architecture and a whole lot more.

With the advent of Ford cars for the masses, the road system in the United States grew exponentially and this not only changed transportation and mobility but caused a social revolution. Heimann explains how newly available cars for the masses changed habits. There was a new demand for gas stations, recreational stops, and souvenirs as well as food stops that were better than fruit stands. There was a 300% increase of cars on the road between 1915 and the early 1920s and the 20s began to roar.

The book shows that it was natural that the first drive bys were in warm and expansive places like Texas and the true king of this culture, Southern California. Los Angeles being the home of Hollywood style didn’t hurt either.

Signage and architecture are pictured beautifully. Neon, art moderne and Art Deco were perfect mediums, so chic and clean. The pictures add immeasurably to the message. For instance, there was the early Tam o’ Shanter chain where waitresses came out to the cars lined up and took orders in their tartan uniforms. In this case the buildings themselves were beyond eclectic with a mixture of peaked Indonesian roofs topping buildings with Tudor beams. Trust me. My favorite photo shows an early innovation in bringing the food to you. A long board came to your car and was slid from one open window through the width of the car and placed on the opposite open window. Food came out separately. The hamburger quickly became the food of choice but amazingly the early menus might include waffles, spaghetti or chicken a la king.

The zaniness is very appealing and there are hundreds of photos. The history continues through the heyday of the phenomenon giving short shrift to the McDonalds era. Ray Kroc may have streamlined and universalized fast food (boo) but his ideas can’t compare with the exotics in Car Hops and Curb Service.

[Nog · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was in the library in the Architecture section and saw this book. The drive-in is a perfect example of where two major American desires intersect. Americans love to eat (just look at your fellow citizens if not at your own stomach). Americans love to be in their cars (even parked, talking into their cell phones). Food + car = drive-in.

From the first Pig Stand in Texas to the last Bob's Big Boy, they're all here. A lot of the history related here has to do with the buildings and how to dazzle the passing motorist. Car hops came later. One recurring feature was the central pylon jutting skyward (ahem!).

At first, the fare was mostly BBQ pork sandwiches and "chicken in the rough" before the proprietors figured out that they could serve more people faster with burgers. Thus, the ubiquitous burger.

This is pretty well written and the interesting facts just keep coming. Contrary to popular belief, the drive-in was in decline by the time teenagers in the 50's were hanging out at them. And did you know that Hollywood stars would frequent the drive-ins near the studios back in the 30's?

[David Erkale · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look into the drive-in restaurants of a bygone era. Although, since this was published in the 1990s, information regarding where to look for still-open places of the sort may be incorrect.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super brief but not at all light on material. Would have liked to have seen a little better typographical editing as certain paragraphs were so widely drawn out that it was hard to read. Short but still very much has the Time machine-esque quality of many of the authors other works.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Especially loved the Round Building look of the 1930s.