| Giant Containers |
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| CUPS |
| In the early 1940s, Levengood Dairies of Pottstown built at least four milk and ice cream retail stores shaped like cups with straws protruding from their tops. They were originally just cup-shaped structures made of steel with sliding doors. Over the years, additions have been made to all four of them. |
| The Cup [closed] Pottstown, PA |
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| The Pottstown Cup most recently served as a coffeeshop. In 2004 (the top two photos are from 2002), new owners completely renovated the place with a Coca-Cola themed interior. As of 2006, it is closed again. In 2007 (bottom photo), it remains closed. |
| Mike's Corner Cup Boyertown, PA |
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| The Boyertown Cup was called "The North End Sandwich Shop" and was known as "Mike's Corner Cup" when these photos were taken. As of 2005, it has new owners and is now called "CD's Place." |
| Rita's Italian Ice Pennsburg, PA |
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| The Pennsburg Cup was called the "Penn Cup" but it is now part of the "Rita's Italian Ice" chain. |
| Speedie's Dinette Reading, PA |
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| Speedie's Dinette is another former Cup. [photo thanks Ralph Hassel] |
| Coffee & Cream Lincoln, RI |
Dixie Cup House Knowlton Township, NJ |
City Limits Diner Stamford, CT |
Kerbey Lane Café Austin, TX |
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The Coffee & Cream cup doubles as a water fountain (the ladder in the photo isn't normally there). It catches the eyes of passing motorists for a small drive-through coffee stand set back from the road. This appears to be a modern creation.
The Dixie Cup House is another cup-shaped structure. It is presently occupied by Bob's Barber Shop. For an earlier photo, see this website. The City Limits Diner features this giant coffee cup as part of its signage. There are two other City Limits Diners in White Plains, NY (from 1994 and 1996). This location opened in 2002. [photo thanks DinerFan] The first Kerbey Lane Café opened in 1980. This location, Kerbey Lane South, opened in 1986 in a former Burger Chef. They have two other locations as well. I believe the South location is the only one with this half-cup sign. This location opened in 2002. For more, see their website. |
| Teacups St. Paul, MN |
Coffee Mug Seattle, WA |
Mug of Cocoa New York, NY |
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These Teacups are located at Como Park. This same ride appears at many other amusement parks across the country. The design was probably inspired by Disneyland's Mad Tea Party ride, built in 1955. For more, see these websites:
1 and 2.
This Coffee Mug is located at Red Cup Espresso. This Mug of Cocoa is part of the Hershey's Times Square animated sign which was created in 2002. Machines create the illusion of steam rising from the mug. For more, see this website. |
| Coffee Cup Sacramento, CA |
Cupcake Cafe Minneapolis, MN |
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This Coffee Cup is installed on the roof of a Starbucks. Does anyone know if it was here from a previous business?
The Cupcake Cafe features this giant coffee cup on the side of their building. |
| Koffee Kup Restaurant Daytona Beach, FL |
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| The Koffee Kup Restaurant features this giant cup on top of their sign. |
| Maltby Espresso Snohomish, WA |
Cup O' Chino Bonsall, CA |
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Maltby Espresso features a latte-shaped drive-thru kiosk. I believe this place opened in 2006.
The Cup O' Chino drive-thru coffee stand is shaped like a giant cup of cappuccino. Does anyone know when this was built? |
| Perry's Cherry Diner [closed] Green Bay, WI |
Java J's Bristol, VA |
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The former Perry's Cherry Diner features a giant cup incorporated into its building. It was built around 2005 as an attempt at franchising. This building has been vacant since 2006. The original Perry's Cherry Diner in Sturgeon Bay, WI is still open but I don't believe it has a giant cup. For more, see
their website.
Java J's features another modern giant cup. This drive-thru location opened in 2007. Their first location opened in downtown Bristol, VA in 2000. For more, see their website. |
| Lily-Tulip Corporation Springfield, MO |
Dixie Cup Lexington, KY |
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The Lily-Tulip Corporation headquarters was built in 1952 with an entry shaped like a giant cup with a straw. In 1989, the company became the Sweetheart Cup Company. In 2004, it was bought out by the Solo Cup Co. In 2005, the company closed this location and the fate of the building is unknown. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.
The Lexington Dixie Cup water tower was erected here in 1958. I believe Dixie Cups are still produced at this plant. For more, see this website. [photo thanks Beth Tibbitts] |
| Solo Cup Company Augusta, GA |
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| This Solo Cup plant is still in operation. It was built in 1947 for the Lily-Tulip Corporation. The building went through the same sequence of owners as the one described above in Springfield, MO. For more, see this website. |
| Lily-Tulip Cup Toronto, ON |
Lily-Tulip Cup Riverside, CA |
Coca-Cola Cup Sacramento, CA |
Tervis Tumbler North Venice, FL |
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This former Lily-Tulip Cup building is nearly identical to the ones in Springfield, MO and Augusta, GA shown above. This cup was originally painted white. In 2006, there was talk of demolishing the building but it was still there in 2007. Lily-Tulip, later Solo Cup, moved to another location and this building is now used by multiple tenants. For more, see this website.
The Riverside Cup stands in front of a former Lily-Tulip Cup plant. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. This giant Coca-Cola Cup is on the corner of an unidentified building. It was built in 1996. It didn't appear to be a cup manufacturer or a bottling plant. Does anyone know anything about it? Tervis Tumbler's headquarters features a two-story tall representation of their drinking glass. It was built in 2005. For more, see their website. |
| Dixie Cup Water Tower Easton, PA |
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| The Dixie Cup Water Tower is on the roof of the former Dixie Cup factory. The factory opened in 1921 and closed in 1983. It is now used as a warehouse and may eventually be converted to condos. The original Dixie Cup water tower from the 1920s is slightly different from the one that is there today. Hopefully, this water tower will survive during building's conversion. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, and 4. [two top photos/info thanks to Clint Newton] |
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More Giant Cups:
Giant Orange Juice Glass (various cities, FL) Cup and Saucer Water Tower (Stanton, IA) LaBeau's Drive-in (Garden City, UT) Giant Cup (Tooele, UT) [gone?] Giant Cup (Seattle, WA) Coffee Cup (Milwaukee, WI) Nescafe Cup: 1, 2 (Caracas, Venezuela) I don't believe this patented coffee cup was ever built. |
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