Owl's Barn

Back before my time, there was a roadside bar, burger joint and general local hangout in Lockwood Valley, called the Owl's Barn. I'm not sure of the precise location, but from descriptions I think it was in the cluster of rustic homes west of Seymour Canyon Road, before the Ridgelite quarry. It apparently opened in 1953 and lasted until about 1990.

I've only come across a couple of photos; this is one of them. Based on the Pepsi logo on the sign, this appears to be from around 1970. I've seen one older photo that has 1950s-era  Royal Crown Cola logos on the sign instead of Pepsi.

I was browsing one of the online hobby dealers and came across the Blair Line Fred & Red's Cafe kit. It doesn't look a whole lot like the Owl's Barn, but it seems to me that it captures the spirit of the place.

 

I ordered it, and plan to build it pretty much as designed, just changing the sign over the entrance and the one on the side wall. At 3.5 x 6.5 inches, it's probably going to be too large for the Frazier Borate, but I'll put it either in the Lockwood business district, or along a stretch of road in the vacant area between the Center Creek Mine and the Frazier Borate.

The L&SE is supposed to be a couple of decades earlier than the real-life Owl's Nest, but I'm going to take some artistic license. I'll probably go with a 1930s soda logo on the signs.