Under a giant penguin sign, this is the diner that marks the end of Route 66

"Technically, the Mother Road that stretches from Chicago to the West Coast ends at the Santa Monica Pier, but Mel's Drive-In declares the "ROUTE ENDS HERE," inlaid in terrazzo beneath that jumbo tuxedoed penguin. It's been a beacon for decades, and though the beloved restaurant space recently was listed for sale for $26 million, Mel's owners hope it remains a diner and destination for generations."

"For much of its history, the diner at the end of Route 66 was the 1959-founded Penguin Coffee Shop, a Googie-architecture marvel of angular windows, rock walls and little cartoons of penguins hanging above swivel stools and an open kitchen."

"We'd visit every month or two, until the Penguin closed its doors in 1991 and transformed into a Western Dental office, which kept the penguin sign but dropped those high ceilings and removed the kitchen along with other hallmarks of its roadside charm. Thankfully, its journey didn't end there."

""It was a Googie kind of restaurant - you know, we don't have that many of them around anymore," my dad recalls. "It had an aura of roadside diner about it. ... Everybody would see the giant penguin out there. I don't think Burgess Meredith ever ate there, though." The joke takes me a beat before landing; my version of Batman's Penguin will always be Danny DeVito."

Route 66 is lined with famous roadside signs, including a giant penguin at Mel’s Drive-In in Los Angeles. The Mother Road officially ends at the Santa Monica Pier, but Mel’s Drive-In declares “ROUTE ENDS HERE” beneath a large tuxedoed penguin. The diner has served as a long-standing beacon and has been listed for sale for $26 million, while owners hope it remains a diner destination. For much of its history, the site operated as the 1959-founded Penguin Coffee Shop, known for Googie architecture, angular windows, rock walls, penguin cartoons, and an open kitchen. After the Penguin closed in 1991 and became a Western Dental office, the penguin sign remained even as key interior features were removed.

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