From Preservation Online, the online magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

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Developer Spares NYC Diner


Story by Margaret Foster / Aug. 1, 2007

After more than 70 years as a New Yorker, a diner that starred in "Spider-Man," "Friends," and "Sex and the City" is retiring to Wyoming next week.

The owner of SoHo's Moondance Diner, Extell Development, has agreed to donate the 1933 structure to the American Diner Museum, a Rhode Island-based nonprofit that has relocated more than 30 diners.

"It's sad that it won't be back in New York anytime soon, but I am proud that it has found a secure new home," says Michael Perlman, a local preservationist who convinced Extell to reconsider its plans to demolish the Moondance, the city's oldest diner.

Extell, which in May gave an Aug. 1 deadline to move the diner, plans to build a condominium tower in place of the diner, which opened as the Holland Tunnel Diner.

America's first diner—a horse-drawn covered wagon—opened in 1872 in Providence, R.I.; about 2,500 remain, according to the museum, which posts diners for sale on its Web site.

After the move, scheduled for next week, new owners Vince and Cheryl Pierce will reopen the 34-seat diner in La Barge, Wyo.

Read more about the American Diner Museum's work >>

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