While taking a walk with my husband, we saw this apartment building with an upstairs door to nowhere. If opened from the inside, one would step out into nothing. If opened from the outside, one would need stairs or ladder. The door has no stairs, so it can’t be an emergency exit. I am so curious as to what it could be for. Any guesses?
An unexplained mystery….
~Tricia
Photo Credit: City of Buellton CA Facebook page
UPDATE: Remember the old dining cars cafe I wrote about? Well it looks like someone bought the former street cars and moved them to Morro Bay, where hopefully they will end up as a new dining car cafe someday. After seeing the picture of one of the street cars being moved the other day, I decided to go and look at the cafe and see if anything was left. You can see that not much remains. Kind of sad, it was a landmark in it’s day, but time marches on and everything old is new again, so when I learn of the dining cars’ future, I will update.
UPDATE JUNE 22, 2012: New Article with more images (including interior pics) on where the street cars / dining cars are going!
NOTE: I have moved my photography hobby blog to Sweet Rascal Photos. Please visit me there.
AJ Spurs Steak House Restaurant in Buellton CA has a great old western decor both inside and out.
While my husband and I waited a few minutes for our guests to arrive, I pulled out my phone and took a few pictures of the wagons on the rooftop and wagon wheel benches.
I almost backed up into some cacti (not shown) while moving far enough into the parking lot to take a roof photo.
Very rustic, countrified setting!
Thank goodness for camera-phones! I would have been wishing I had brought my point and shoot camera with me.
If I had been able to take inside photos (the interior is dark and I was not sure if it would be appropriate) you would have seen images of bison (or buffalo?) and bear, along with other wild creatures and decor. Maybe next time….
p.s.
If you are vegan or offended by the idea of killing animals, I apologize. I am Not a hunter, nor a fan of killing animals, and yet I do like a good burger now and then. Also, this is just such a unique atmosphere and ambiance. But young children might get freaked out by the life sized giant animals when you walk inside. Interesting place though and good food!
MIKES BARBER SHOP in MORRO BAY California. This tiny little building in muted colors looks like a blast from the past. The only color is the red, white and blue barber pole, which still spins. We were walking the streets in Morro Bay after seeing the Farmer’s Market, and happened to turn down a side street where we saw this cute little barber shop.
LOTTO WINNER: Friends who were with us told how the former owner of this barber shop won the $133 Million dollar lotto in 2010. I researched it when we got back home and found this article.
Drove through the old town of Niles, California the other day (where Charlie Chaplin made some of his silent films). Did not stop except to take a picture of the old train car.
I realized that this clock has a different pastel colored band around the glass face on each side. The first photo has the pink.
Baby Blue.
And a soft mint green.
Somehow I missed taking a picture of the fourth side! Oh well….
SOLVANG CA: SUNNY FIELDS PARK
More photos of the old streetcar dining cars cafe that is soon to be torn down if someone does not buy and move it soon (zoning issues). This time I focused just on the signs.
SIGN: The old original sign read MULLENS DINING CARS. The old (but newer) signs read CHICKEN DINNERS, with faded yellow paint on one side, and pink and teal on the other side of the sign. 
Original black and white photo source: google images. Taken in the 1940′s I believe. Color photos: mine. Taken: Februray-March 2012.
My earlier post with full details regarding this Old Abandoned Dining Car Cafe in Buellton CA here.
UPDATE June 21, 2012: I added new photos and info here.
UPDATE June 22, 2012: Newspaper article with interior and exterior photos here.
In Buellton, California a historic but abandoned STREET CAR DINER is soon to be torn down due to rezoning. I stopped by at twilight the other evening to take some photos but it was almost too dark for my amateur camera skills. 
BACK STORY: 1940′s: The sides of the diner were once STREET CARS in Huntington Beach, CA. Edward Mullen (a railway steward) brought them up from southern California and built Mullens Dining Cars, which only lasted 3 years due to changes in the location of Highway 101.
“The diners main attraction, the two early 1900′s Type-B Huntington Standards street cars, built by the St. Louis Car Co. for Henry Huntington’s Los Angeles Railway, are now in need of a new home.” [OldStreetCarDiner.com]
The land is no longer zoned for commercial use, and vandalism has destroyed past remodeling attempts, so now it is due for the scrap heap unless the current owners can find someone with the means to move it to a new location. {Couldn’t they get Historical Landmark designation and funding? Just wondering….}
Local paper, Santa Ynez Valley Journal, did an article and took some interesting interior photos here. The old dining cars have been used for tv commercials and professional photo shoots. (I will have to keep my eyes opened for those!)
Local TV station KCOY news article with contact info here.
It would be a shame to see this local landmark and icon disappear. Here is hoping someone comes to its rescue soon. (The deadline was 6 months, and the above news stories were in April and May 2011. It is now February 2012). Wishing, hoping and praying for a miracle for this great piece of local history.
A google search turned up this old photo, not sure who to give photo credit to, as it was not clear in the picture:
Google Images
UPDATE: JUNE 2012 — The dining cars are gone! They were purchased, dismantled from the cafe, and are on their way to Morro Bay. I hope to have a follow-up someday of their new location. PHOTO BELOW: by City of Buellton on facebook:
Old antique street car, later part of a dining car cafe in Buellton, now on it’s way to Morro Bay.
UPDATE June 21, 2012: I added new photos and info here.
UPDATE June 22, 2012: Newspaper article with interior and exterior photos here.
