The old Diamond Lil's Steakhouse

Diamond Lil's, April 2005. Note "Home Maid"

An old photo of Diamond Lil's. A steakhouse at 1528 W. North Temple. It was destroyed by fire in 2021. I took this photo in 2015.

Here is a short history excerpted from a 2009 Intermountain Catholic article:

In November 1969, Jim Pietramali and Garth Campbell opened Diamond Lil’s doors for business at 1528 West North Temple. The original building was a modest home, which was remodeled using old barn lumber and logs from pioneer cabins, some of which are 100 to 150 years old.

The seating capacity was 32 people in about 1,000 square feet. Today [2009] the seating capacity is 500. The original kitchen was about the size of a large walk-in closet.

Today [2009] Diamond Lil’s is owned by Pete Funaro. He started working at Diamond Lil’s in 1970 for his uncle, Jim Pietramali. Pietramali, 87, still works for Diamond Lil’s.

“A lot of customers kept coming back and we became the premier steak house in Salt Lake City,” said Funaro. “We are an independent Utah’s own company. The seating allows for parties that can seat as many as 275 people at one time.

In 1973, they started adding on to Diamond Lil’s. They used only logs from Utah cabins.

Funaro also has his own wholesale pasta business, Funaro’s Perfect Pasta. Diamond Lil’s serves Funaro’s pasta. All of his pasta was used during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Mi Casita Ghose Sign

Ghost sign, old Southeast Market building. April 30 2024.

A ghost sign on the old Southeast Market building at 422 E 900 South, SLC. This sign is for the Mi Casita Mexican Restaurant and dates to about 1992.

The building is undergoing a reconstruction but it seems like the original facade will be preserved.

The building was constructed in 1941 as the O.P. Skaggs Market (last slide, showing neon sign from 1947).

O.P. Skaggs building and sign, 1947. From Utah State Historical Society.

The building was sold by Skaggs in 1945 but kept the name for several more years, eventually becoming known as Sudbury's Foodtown, after long-time manager, turned owner, Ray F. Sudbury.

Sudbury sold the building in 1966 to William and Mae Tang, who operated it as Super Save Discount Market in the late 1960s.

Many businesses have used the space over the decades. The last ones to occupy the space were Southeast Market, Melewa Bakery, and Pho 28 (Photo 3, from Google Street View 2022).

Ghost sign, old Southeast Market building. April 30 2024.

Google Street View 2022

The Original "W" from the Walker Sign is now at West High School

The "W" from the original Walker Sign is now at West High School

The neon "W" from the original Walker Sign is now part of West High's history. It is mounted on the roof adjacent to the football field! It is best viewed from the bleachers during a football game. 🏈

The football field and bleachers on the west side of West High School, 2022

In 2008, the original sign letters from the Walker Building's weather tower in downtown Salt Lake City were removed and replaced. Only the "W" from the 24 letters survived and was placed in the backlot of Rainbow Neon Signs, who then volunteered to put the letter on top of West High.

Source: Fox13Now 2014/08/20

Update on the Ghost Sign at 1480 S State

The old Pappy's Pawn at 1480 S State as it is today, Dec 6 2021.

An update on the old ghost sign uncovered at the now-closed Pappy’s Pawn at 1480 SState, Salt Lake City.:

As of this morning (6 Dec 2021), the stucco has been repaired and painted red, meaning that the recently uncovered sign is now hidden again behind the stucco (see the previous post).

 

The old Pappy's Pawn at 1480 S State as it is today, Dec 6 2021.
Note the lack of seagull statues on top of the pawn sign.

Also note that the existing sign no longer has the seagulls, which we learned from @handysixdeuce that the seagulls were originally part of a massive art installation at the now-demolished Prudential Federal Savings building previously located at 115 S Main Street SLC and is now the site of the Eccles Theater. 

I'm not sure if Pappy took the seagulls with him or if the new owners have them. I just hope they didn't end up in the trash.

Here are some interesting articles about the art and architecture of the Prudential Building, the 2014 demolition of the building, and the promise of SLC to reincorporate the seagulls into the Eccles Theater - which has not happened.

• Salt Lake Tribune archive article about the removal of the seagull art installation: https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=57977106&itype=CMSID
• Mid-Century-Modern Daily's article on the Prudential Federal Savings building https://www.mcmdaily.com/salt-lake-city-prudential-building/ 

Of note, the Prudential Building was designed by architect William Pereira who is best known for designing San Francisco's iconic Transamerica Pyramid.

The seagull piece was named "The Gulls of Salt Lake City" and was created by California artist Tom Van Sant with the aid of master welder Timothy E. Smith. It consisted of 100 gulls attached to three stainless steel rods, 120 feet long, held in tension between the roof and a sunken garden below street level. A cricket was placed at the top of the sculpture.

Prudential building and seagull sculpture in the 1960s.
From Utah Division of State History site file.

Prudential building and seagull sculpture in the 1960s.
From Utah Division of State History site file.

Ghost Sign on State Street, Dec 2021

The other day I saw this historic painted sign being uncovered by workers at 1480 S State Street Salt Lake City, which is the recently closed Pappy’s Pawn shop. Pappy was of Greek heritage and a longtime resident of State Street. 

Detail of newly revealed painted sign, Dec 2021.

The workers said they were repairing the stucco when they found this older sign under it. The workers thought the older sign was incredibly cool and were carefully working to keep it intact.

Unfortunately, it will not be visible for long as the plans of the new owner are to cover it back up.

I did a little history digging and found that the building was constructed in 1938.

Below is an incomplete list of businesses that have occupied the space:

• Crystal Laundry (1930s-1940s)
• Good Laundry and Dry Cleaning (1940s-1960s)
• European Auto Parts Inc (1960s-1970s)
• Jensen Distributing Co (1970s)
• Betty’s Collectables (1975-1976)
• Earl Shiel (1980s)
• Pappy’s Pawn (1990s-2020s)

The only letters clearly uncovered are “ING” so I’m not sure what the full word could be but my best guess is Good Laundry and Dry Cleaning which was operated by a Japanese-American family.

View of Pappys Pawn as it appeared in 2019, from Google Street View.