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Valentine Diners - Oklahoma - Weatherford

Weatherford dinerWeatherford, Oklahoma

  • Business name: Heartland of America Museum
  • Street address: 1600 S. Frontage Rd.
  • Open or closed: Open as a museum
  • History: Several different Valentine buildings were at the same location on Route 66 in Weatherford, but at different times. The first was the Porter House Diner, owned and operated at 305 West Main by Marvin and Arvilla Porter from 1940 to 1950. Because of brisk business, the Porters later attached a second building to the original diner. In 1950 the business was taken over by Harry Wright, who operated it as the Wright Steakhouse until 1960 when it was sold and moved to Cordell, Texas, for use as a liquor store. The third Valentine diner at 305 West Main was moved there in the early 1960s from El Reno, Oklahoma, and operated by Laverne and Juanita Snow as the The Little Porter House or Porter House II. Cliff Harris purchased this diner in 1965 and changed the name to the Cliff House. It was operated by Harris and his son Jay until 1989 when the diner was acquired by the county and moved to its headquarters for road building equipment, where the building was used for storage. In 2002 this diner was donated to the Heartland of America Museum and restored. Today, visitors to the museum can view a guest book open to an entry from April 22, 1960, where Elvis Presley left his signature along with the comment, "Cool, Daddy." Presley was known to travel Route 66 on trips to and from the West Coast.
  • Model / serial number: Aristocrat / Unknown
  • Additional images:
    Exterior before restoration (courtesy of Heartland of America Museum)

 

 

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Entry: Valentine Diners - Oklahoma - Weatherford

Author: Kansas Historical Society

Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.

Date Created: July 2014

Date Modified: July 2014

The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.