LEFTON'S GREAT AMERICAN DINERS

      From the Roadside USA Collection:

                 THE MARKET DINER

                          NYC # 01179

                  Measures 6 x 3 x 1.25

New Collectible figurine by David Stravitz

New in box - box shows some signs of wear.

Award-winning artist, David Stravitz, has been called 'a genius of detail! That accolade is affirmed in this Premiere Edition of Lefton's Great American Diners.

His credentials are impressive: He has won

commissions from august institutions including the Smithsonian. His work has been honored and endorsed by Heads of State. His genius has created a nostalgic melding of art and architecture and set new standards for collectibles.

Diners are an uniquely American phenomenon. They were the independent forerunners of today's fast food franchises.

While they shared similarities in style and menu, each diner strove to establish its own identity.

Pastels and picture windows were very much in vogue. The Market Diner employed both to achieve a special look that set it apart from other dining establishments.

Three things every diner needs: a parking lot, riotous decor and waitresses who call you “honey.” Market Diner had them all. The space-agey, stainless-steel structure, built in 1963, wraped itself around the corner like a silver snake in Hell's Kitchen, NYC at  the corner of 43rd St & 11th Ave.  The parking lot in front is free for customers—which is nice, because the diner is near the Lincoln tunnel and all points west to New Jersey and beyond.

Market Diner was one of the city’s most distinctive and well-preserved pieces of architecture. The one-story structure boasted a zig-zagging overhang and picture windows that slope inward at the bottom, furnishing futuristic views of the warehouses and gas stations that surrounded it. With bright orange, high-backed Naugahyde booths and hemispheric metal lamps inside, the impression it makes is generally 1960s, and Jetsons more specifically.

The menu included Italian and Greek specialties, such as pasta and moussaka. Cakes and pies spun in perpetually revolving glass cases. There was even a wine list, but who wants cabernet with a buffalo burger, when you can have one of the best black and white milkshakes instead? And did we mention the parking lot? Market diner, like so many of the old dinners across America, closed it's doors for good November 2, 2015.  A sad day indeed for me, I ate at the Market multiple times a week (and I'll even admit, multiple times in one day a few times, seeing it was open 24hrs)!

Over the years I received several of these figurines from friends I turned on to the Market while they came to visit, or people who had heard me rave about my favorite go to spot.  We even gave one or two to the diner as well before they changed owners in 2004.  Now's your chance to own a piece of history.

Sorry no take backs😉 (we're keeping one for ourselves for nostalgia) but have two looking for new homes. Let me know now if you have any questions before bidding.

Thanks for your interest!