Atwater, CA - Traveling down the old route 99 in this sleepy highway town would always bring you to the Peter N' Rae's cafe. With its familiar 7up sign on the side of the building it really didn't matter whether the joint was open or closed. Just that it was there with a sign was enough to show that the old highway 99 was still alive. Not so sure anymore.
Peter N' Rae's Cafe (Demolished)
Atwater, CA Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
A cruise down old Highway 99 through Atwater used to bring a familiar roadside greeting from Peter N' Rae's Cafe. Check out the 7Up sign on the side of the building. Nothing fancy, just the sort of cafe sign that made taking the old road worthwhile. Another spot to pull over, get the camera out, and see what was still hanging around along the highway.
Whether the joint was open or closed really didn't matter on these photo stops. The cafe was there, and so was its sign. Sometimes that was enough. There would be other places to find lunch, but an old roadside sign wasn't something to pass up. Especially one that looked right at home on a stretch of road lined with reminders of the Highway 99 days.
Peter N' Rae's
Atwater, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Before the freeway hurried traffic past town, these roadside cafes and motor courts were part of the drive through the valley. A place to eat, a room for the night, then back on the road. Peter N' Rae's fit into that scene without needing much of an introduction. The cafe name and familiar soda sign said plenty.
Here's the rubble that was left after Peter N' Rae's was torn down.
Peter
n' Rae's Demolished
Atwater, CA Photo courtesy Jimmy Bowman
And that's how a place like this becomes a regular photo stop. Come through Atwater, look for the sign, and carry on down the old highway. Maybe the light is better this time. Maybe there's a different angle to catch. Nothing much has to change to make another stop worth the trouble. Of course, that routine depends on the building still being there.
The Peter N' Rae's was long a fixture in Atwater, CA
but was razed in 2003 for an empty lot. Yep, pretty close to paving paradise
and putting up a parking lot in this case.
The Empty Lot
Atwater, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
UPDATE: The cafe has now been demolished as per the photo on
the bottom right. Another roadside treasure has succumbed to time. Many thanks to Jimmy Bowman for update on fate of
cafe and for photo. 07-03
UPDATE: By July 2003, Peter N' Rae's had been demolished, taking the familiar 7Up sign with it. No more checking whether the cafe was open. Later that year, the nearby 99 Motel lost its roadside lettering too. Two familiar sights to look for on the next drive through Atwater, and two empty spots in the photo itinerary. 09-26
The Empty Lot
