In recent years all the wonderful 1950s-era kitsch that has defined Route 1 running through Saugus north of Boston has been disappearing.
The Howard Johnsons restaurant disappeared before I even arrived.
Weylu’s giant Chinese restaurant Palace on the hill where Route 1 breaks free is long gone, having sputtered along for years before being torn down.
The Full of Bull restaurant was torn down and replaced with a – shudder – MacDonald’s
The venerable Hilltop steakhouse was torn down a couple of years ago, and its herd of fiberglas cows scattered to the winds, although the 100 foot tall lighted cactus is still there (though not lit up)
The Ship restaurant (in the shape of a fully-rigged sailing ship, of course) , having passed through many hands, is closed once again and in danger of being torn down.
Fortunately, we still have the Christmas Tree shop in the shape of a fishing village (next to The Ship), the Kowloon restaurant in the shape of an enormous Polynesian hut, and Prince Restaurant with its Leaning Tower of Pisa/Pizza.
But the Route 1 Mini-Golf and Batting Cages was purchased and the miniature golf course bulldozed. Its signature feature, the bright orange T. Rex with its fluorescent green eyes, which sat almost opposite Weylu’s, guarding the start of Route 1 in Saugus, was in jeopardy. But people are as fond of the damned thing as Back Bay fans are of the Citgo sign (the sole remaining lit-up sign of the many that ringed Boston’s Back Bay 50 years ago), and mobilized , like the Citgo signers, to save the Saugus-saur. Now it’s back, atop a retaining wall:
For now, the 1950s-era sign for the Mini-Golf is still there, too, but I suspect its days are numbered: