Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Cowboy Restaurant in Orange

An anonymous OCThen reader wants to ask if anyone remembers a western-themed restaurant in Orange, on the corner of Chapman and Main St, around 1970...

Does anyone remember a restaurant in Orange (circa 1970) near Chapman and Main St. with a Western theme? You could dine in themed areas, like a stagecoach, jail, saloon, etc.
If you remember the name of this place, or can provide your memories of it, click on "Post a Comment" below.

3 comments:

  1. Certainly you aren't referring to Arthur's? Or did this Okie-themed monstrocity buy out the old joint and retain the ghost-town facade?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I remember that restaurant. It was on the northeast corner of Main and Chapman. It was called Wild Bills, and had a giant statue of Wild Bill by the front door. It was taken down a few years later for a gas station and car wash.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I remember Wild Bill's and actually ate there a few times. It was another themed family restaurant - so typical of Orange County during the 1960s and 1970s. I loved the theme dining rooms; especially the Marshal's office and jail. It didn't last very long before the gas station and car wash replaced it a few years later.

    The corner of Main and Chapman was much different then than it is today. On the N/W corner was an old salvage yard, surrounded by a high corrugated metal fence. There was a road sign indicating "Irvine Park - 7 miles." On the S/W corner was a Gulf Oil service station - quite large if I remember correctly. The S/E corner was a bank building (US National, then Crocker). Behind the bank was a Travelodge (Sleepy Bear) Motel.

    I grew up a few blocks away and remember Main and Chapman fondly. Overtime the area changed dramatically. Both Main Street and Chapman Avenue were substantially different in the 1960s and '70s than they are today.

    ReplyDelete

Custom Search