One of my favorite details of this photo is the little arch on the roof, which used to have a crescent moon in it. The moon is now sitting on the floor of the kitchen, a small hole in the yellow plastic. Next to it are the words MOONDANCE DINER, the old letters that adorned the face of the building, cut into pieces and leaning against a wall.
There are so many stories to tell about this diner. The story of how a New York City diner, beloved in the Broadway community and featured in a number of films, ended up in La Barge, Wyoming, a town with a population of 400. The story of how it was abandoned, still set for service the next day, silverware wrapped in napkins, salt and sugar in shakers.
And then there’s the story of how I traveled 6 hours to find it, and just happened to show up on the same day that the people who had purchased the lot were there to open it up and figure out what to do with it next.
I had planned on showing up, taking a few photos of the outside, maybe pressing my lens up against the window and seeing what I could see. Instead, I have hundreds of photos of every detail and angle I could get. I’ve been thinking about what to do with these stories and photos, and have some ideas. But for now I just wanted to share this little slice of the story.
Thank you for reading. I’ll write soon.
~Ponders
