Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Dept. of What Were They Thinking



This vintage 1911 photo from a city I adore, Savannah, Georgia, shows Klein's Restaurant at 116 Whitaker Street.

This closeup shows Klein in front of his restaurant/deli with his pooch.



Flipping it over, you can see that Klein himself is telling someone in Middletown, PA that "business is on the boom!"



I found absolutely nothing online about this place or Klein. Today, this is what remains at the same spot:



Other than a small architectural detail at the roofline, all interesting portions of the building have been obliterated. I can only shake my head and wonder why. As they say, "Time marches on," but did it have to be so brutal?!?

Today, Whitaker Street still has a number of thriving businesses, including Sweet Carolina Cupcakes, which is about a block or so away from Klein's former restaurant.



I may have to eat one of these to get over the loss of this cool storefront.



See more vintage & current Savannah, Georgia photos on my Savannah web pages.

1 comment:

Matt said...

Lived in Savannah for a few years, and miss it. Klein's probably would've easily survived in the now tourist haven, if it didn't look like a cardboard box. I'll never understand the American "tear-down-rebuild" mentality.

Thanks for sharing!