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October 2023- Doggie Diner
Carnivale on the Green: A Railcar Based Traveling Carnival Railcar # 31
THE DOGGIE DINER
The DOGGIE DINER was never a part of the carnival world but was a part of mine growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area (Castro Valley). It was the 'go to' place for a hot dog for our dad, my brother and I in nearby Hayward located on E. 14th Street. During my high school years it became a regular hangout and a turn-around spot for cruising 'the strip' with Pring's Coffee Shop at the other end at the San Leandro border (another gathering place).
In 1948 Al Ross opened his first DOGGIE DINER on San Pablo Ave. in Oakland, eventually expanding the chain to 30 Bay Area locations with the majority in San Francisco. The last one closed in 1986 under the pressure of the likes of McDonalds and Burger King. The DOGGIE, an early entry into the fast food world, was sparse in design and had a simple menu consisting only of hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, milk shakes and sodas.
In 1965-66 Harold Bachman, a billboard and ad designer was given the job to create a super sized advertising piece to catch the eyes of passersby for the restaurants. He came up with the now iconic smiling 7 foot tall fiberglass dachshund dog head wearing a chef's hat, sporting a bow tie and weighing in at 300 lbs. Each store was then fitted with a tall pole with the slowly rotating head on top.
With their closings, the heads were scattered to the winds. Some are in private ownership, but sadly some are still missing. The City of San Francisco memorialized one on Sloat Blvd. as SF Landmark #154. Three are on display in Golden Gate Park. The iconic DOGGIE head has developed a cult like following and was the subject of the comic strips ZIPPY and ODD BUDKINS. In 2004 the eclectic street performing group CYCLECIDE took a cross country trip in an old repurposed bus pulling a trailer with MANNY, MO and JACK, three DOGGIE heads. The goal was to visit unusual roadside attractions and perform along the way to their final destination of Coney Island to meet up with the original Nathan’s Hot Dogs restaurant. A (and very eclectic) documentary was made of the trip called 'HEAD TRIP' and can be found on DVD.
Why the build? I often scan through the many thousands of 3D print files offered for download on the web hoping to find something of interest to use. And with absolutely no forethought of the long gone DOGGIE DINERS, I chanced upon a 3D print file of the iconic DOGGIE head. So my rail car version of a DOGGIE DINER was a must build!
The DOGGIE head, signage, stools, appliances, cook, customers and even the hot dogs are all 3D prints. The acrylic walls and bass wood framing were laser cut and added to my basic flat car. This build along with most of all my CARNIVALE rail cars would only be conceptual. With the recent availability of the 3D printer and laser cutter for the scratch builder, these concepts can now become a reality.
