In 1944, Samuel Zelin, an immigrant from Poland, along with his business partner Irving Greenman, purchased the 1930 diner then located at 11th Avenue and 49th Street in New York City. After replacing the existing diner with a new model by the well-known Kullman Dining Car Company, the Munson Diner became one of the several diners owned and operated by the Zelin family in Manhattan.

Late 1940’s/ Early 1950’s: The addition of a long, narrow eight-foot wide kitchen on the service side of the building was added shortly after construction and ran along the whole length of the diner. because it was faced with the same cladding as the rest of the diner, it was visually indistinguishable from the original diner’s size. Connected to the kitchen and dining area in this 8 foot wide addition was also an office. This addition is no longer extant. Another early alteration was the addition of a parapet that wraps around the originally exposed two sides of the diner. The streamlined, horizontal design of the parapet suggests a date later than the original construction of the diner and was perhaps added at the same time as the 8 foot wide addition, due to the apparent lack of seaming at the parapet. Finally, a two-bay wide brick addition was added to the diner on the opposite side to accommodate a bar. This addition is no longer extant. 1960’s, early 1970’s: Typical of many 1940’s and 1950’s diners, the Formica countertops and vinyl stools and booths were replaced in the 1960’s or 1970’s with new Formica and vinyl. The original floor was covered with new linoleum tile as well. 2006: Upon its relocation to Liberty, New York, 100 miles north of the diner’s original location, the diner underwent an interior renovation including a new kitchen, new and larger red booths, a new ceiling, and a new layer of laminate on the tables and countertops. The original exterior was left untouched by these recent changes, except for a mural that was painted on the backside of the diner to match the real steel and enamel paneling on the rest of the structure. Finally, the main entrance to the diner, originally located on the narrow end of the structure, was moved to the middle of the longer side when it was relocated to its current site.

Vacant as of February 2011

Despite the several stages of alterations that the diner has accumulated over the years and its recent relocation to Upstate New York, it retains much of the original character both on its exterior and interior, and has been restored by recent owners to a condition very close to the original. It was purchased by investors in 2005 for $30,000 but over $400,000 has been spent on the structure since then, in transportation and renovation costs. It retains all original windows, glass blocks, porcelain panels, and steel framing, as well as other interior features that have either been covered by new materials (floors) or have been repaired and maintained over the years (steel framework behind counter).

The Munson Diner is an important example of both the architectural style of diners of the 1940's as well as the mobile nature of this building type. The vertical dark blue \"fluted porcelain" enamel panels separated by bands of stainless steel, along with the rounded corners, glass blocks, and large fixed-pane windows are characteristic of Kullman diners of the 1940's, particularly of their popular Challenger model. The exterior emphasis on streamlining and industrial materials expresses the technological innovations of the time, and is exemplary of the modular nature of diner construction at the time – diners were often based off of a particular model and could be modified slightly to fit the purchaser’s needs. Door placement, the coloring of the Formica tables and countertops, and other features could be changed to make the 16-foot-wide structure more personalized. The Munson Diner’s 50 foot by 16 foot frame retains the larger of its two original red neon signs, proclaiming its presence from afar. The major difference between the Munson Diner and the typical 1940’s Challenger model is the addition of a vertically paneled parapet, most likely from the 1950’s, which covers a rounded molded roof that can still be seen from the interior of the structure.Despite the renovations on the interior of the diner, the original seating plan, with a Formica bar and stools on one side and vinyl benches with Formica tabletops, along with the original black changeable letter boards that inform the visitor of the array of dining possibilities, are key interior features of the structure.

1941-1950

The diner was originally located at the corner of Eleventh Avenue and 49th Street in Manhattan. In 1950, Manhattan Pontiac, a car dealership, purchased the surrounding lots and constructed an L-shaped, two-story structure that wrapped around the Munson Diner. in 1954, two stories were added to the dealership.

The Munson Diner was produced by the Kullman Dining Car Company, today known as Kullman Building Corporation, in 1945 in Harrison, New Jersey. Samuel Kullman, the founder of the company, was a former accountant of one of the earliest dining car companies, P.J. Tierney Sons. when he left Tierney’s company to start his own dining car business in 1928, he brought with him the foreman of Tierney’s metal shop, Joseph Fodero. Together, they perfected and advanced the production of prefabricated dining cars and diners.The diners by the Kullman Dining Car Company in the 1940’s, the Munson Diner included, took advantage of the technological innovations of the day, with concrete foundations, steel and wood framing, colored porcelain panels with stainless steel trim, glass block, large fixed-glass window panes, and Formica and vinyl countertops and seating. Although Formica was invented in 1913 by Herbert A. Faber and Daniel J. O'Conor, and was produced in decorative sheets beginning in the 1920's, it was not until the 1930's that new production techniques allowed for the material to be used in restaurants and diners because of the lower cost and high durability as production methods changed. By the 1940's, there were over 70 colors of Formica to chose from, making it an ideal choice for mass-produced, customizable products such as diners.Stainless steel, as well, gained popularity in the 1930's and 1940's as a durable, streamlined material that replaced tiles as the most popular wall surface in diners, as was the case in the Munson Diner. While many other diners have had their steel trim painted, covered, or removed, all of the original stainless steel remains on the exterior of the diner.The size of the diner -- 16 feet wide -- was based on the maximum width that a truck could carry for the diner to reach its final destination or be moved to another location if needed. The intention of diners was for them to be prefabricated in one area with the possibility to be shipped anywhere in the nation. The structure is consists of a combination of steel H- and I-beams, channels, and tie rods and supports the roof and walls, composed of steel channels and angles that connect to the base of the diner.

By the 1950's, diners were known to be a place where people of all social classes mixed and dined in the same space. Although seen as a strictly male space until the 1920's because of the unclean and late-night connotations of earlier lunch-wagons and dining cars, by World War II diners were largely run by a female staff and catered to both a male and female clientele. Because of the Munson Diner's location on Eleventh Avenue, it was frequented by a wide range of customers, from mobsters to local workers to nearby residents and wealthier clients as well. Life at the Munson Diner became a cross-section of New York City's inhabitants. Adding to its local fame, in the 1990's, Munson Diner was featured in several scenes in episodes of \"Law and Order" and "Seinfeld,";"As the United States emerged out of the Great Depression, diners were another product that was subject to the same futuristic, \"moderne" aesthetics as other products produced by industrial engineers, with polished and brushed finishes and rounded or wrapped edges. The material choices of diners, especially those of the Kullman Dining Car Company and their 1941 Challenger model, were used to convey the contemporary ideas of machine-efficiency, cleanliness, and modernity. The combination of shiny stainless steel and colorful porcelain was designed to attract attention to the diner and help it stand out in its urban setting.The diner became a significant location during its lifetime in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood and upon its move to the Catskills, the New York Times published many articles following its subsequent successes and failures, as well as a farewell piece.

In the 1920's and 1930's, as urban Americans became more mobile and prosperous, they not only began to move out to the suburbs but also started to use the automobile and other modes of transportation in new ways. The proliferation of diners throughout the country, especially in the Northeast, was due in part to the need for rest stops and food that would be easily accessibility on highways. diners' appeal of a simple, inexpensive meal available on busy street corners, highways, and intersections also made it universally attractive.The Munson Diner is one of the rare remnants of 1940's diners that remains in good condition and retains its original use. Of the over 5,000 diners in the United States in the 1940's, under 1,500 exist today, most of which are either no longer functioning or are in a state very different from how the intended streamlined appearance. The current site of the Munson Diner was previously the site of a local diner in Liberty, New York that was demolished; the Munson Diner's purchase, transportation, and relocation to a new site is not uncommon of diners located on expensive urban lots and is also reminiscent of the original intent of diners and their ability to be moved to new locations where they would be more profitable.

The Munson Diner is a 1945 prefabricated stainless steel and porcelain diner by the Kullman Dining Car Company of New Jersey that, despite being typical of the era, is today a rare example of a 1940's diner in good condition and consistent use. Its material detailing -- stainless steel trim, fluted porcelain panels, and oversized neon sign on the exterior proclaim its modernity and streamlined design, while its low-priced menu drew customers from a wide range of backgrounds. The diner was also the location of shooting of several episodes of Law and Order and Seinfeld, adding to its place in the collective memory of New Yorkers and viewers around the nation.

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