The last of the Doggie Diners in San Francisco has been designated a protected city landmark -- heading off a developer's plan to raze the site. The diner sign sports a unique decapitated Dachshund head on a pole. The property owner, the Sloat Garden Center, was hoping to expand its nursery and demolish the diner, offering to donate the head to the Museum of the City of San Francisco. The Landmark Preservation Board rejected that offer and named both the head and diner officially protected landmarks.

The Doggie Diner chain once included thirty diners in the Bay area. The owner plans to fight the ruling. [07/17/1999]

February 10, 2012