email: roadarch@outlook.com

Giant Coffee Pots (page 1)

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Coffee Pot Restaurant and Colonial Room [gone]
Pennville, IN
The Coffee Pot Restaurant, shown in the early 1950s postcard above, featured Kentucky Fried Chicken. Somewhere along the line, it lost the Pot from the roof and eventually the building burned down. For more, see this website.

Coffee Pot
Lexington, VA
This Coffee Pot opened as a coffee shop in 1959. It is 22 feet tall and 20 feet in diameter. The initial plans called for a globe on top that would light and percolate. However, this feature was never added. A concrete walkway around the building was painted red to suggest a hot stove. The building was used as a restaurant until 1978 when James River Livery, a canoe rental business, moved in. These photos are from 2007 when the building appeared to be vacant. From around 2010-2012, the building housed the First Catch Fish Market. After that, the building appeared to be used for storage or a residence. By 2017, it was housing Coffee Pot Art, an arts and crafts gift shop. A smaller coffee cup was built next to the coffee pot's spout which emits steam. The store closed in 2018 but the coffee pot and cup are still there. [map]

There was a giant Coffee Pot in Bremen, IN in the 1930s which is long gone. The similarity between that building and the one in Lexington described above makes me think that it may have been the inspiration.

Koffee Pot
Long Beach, CA

2008:
2013:
2016: 2021:
The Koffee Pot was built in 1932 as the Hot Cha Cafe. This giant metal coffee pot was part of the original, octagonal structure. In 2007, the building was used as a barber shop. When these 2008 photos were taken, it was about to reopen as the Koffee Pot. After that, it housed a medical marijuana shop. The building has been vacant since 2010. In 2015, restoration of the building was begun. It appeared to be done in 2019 and now houses a hair salon. [map]

Coffee Pot Restaurant
Roanoke, VA
The Coffee Pot Restaurant was built around 1936. [map]

Coffee Pot
Springfield, IL		 Coffee Pot Inn
Brookhaven, MS
This Coffee Pot in Springfield supposedly came from a nearby, closed coffee shop called something like the "Koffee Korner." It was installed at Route 66 Motorheads around 2023. Does anything know more about this coffee pot or the previous business name? [map]

The Coffee Pot Inn in Brookhaven was built in 1931 by James J. Carruth and his wife. It was the city's first drive-in restaurant. The building was also the Carruth home and a Greyhound bus stop. The building has been vacant for decades. [map]

Bob's Java Jive
Tacoma, WA
Bob's Java Jive, a restaurant and lounge, was built in 1929. It was built by Tacoma designer Bert Smyser. The place was originally known as the Coffee Pot Restaurant. The coffee pot is about 25 feet tall. There were originally giant flowerpot-shaped restrooms outside. In 1955, Bob Radonich bought the place and renamed it the Java Jive after the Ink Spots song.

The Java Jive has been a speakeasy, go-go dance club and the home base for The Ventures (1960s surf sound). Inside, the jungle/driftwood/1960s kitsch theme lives on. There are spray-painted game trophies, fishing floats, and African masks. At one time, two chimpanzees entertained patrons. Bob, the owner, died in 2002 and the place is now run by his daughter. In 2007, the Java Jive was shut down for electrical code violations, but it reopened shortly thereafter. The interior was toned down somewhat for fire safety. These photos are from 2015. The building was repainted around 2019. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Perky's Espresso
Puyallup, WA		 former Perky's Espresso [gone]
Auburn, WA
former Perky's Espresso
Bonney Lake, WA		 former Perky's Espresso
Lakewood, WA
The Perky's Espresso in Puyallup occupies a coffee pot-shaped drive-through coffee stand. It was built around 2000. I believe this was the first location. The building has been painted green and the flames are gone. [map]

The former Perky's Espresso building in Auburn housed a Cowgirls Espresso stand when this photo was taken in 2015. By 2018, the building had been demolished. For more, see this website.

The former Perky's Espresso in Bonney Lake housed a Cowgirls Espresso stand when these photos were taken in 2016. By 2018, the building had been painted grey and it was housing Cafe Elite. [map]

The former Perky's Espresso location in Lakewood now houses Lady Bug Bikini Espresso. [map]

If you know of any other surviving Perky's buildings, I'd love to hear from you.

Perkulator
Poplar, MT
The Perkulator coffee drive-through building was built around 2004 and was originally located in Williston, ND. It was moved to Poplar in 2007. [map]

Coffee Pot Espresso
Gleed, WA		 Bearclaw Coffee
Pinckney, MI		 Coffee Pot
Bellefontaine, OH
Coffee Pot Espresso was built in 2014. The building now houses Zac's Zzas Pizza. The building has been expanded but the coffee pot is still there. [map]

Bearclaw Coffee occupied this drive-thru building when these photos were taken in 2011. The original name was "Coffee Pot". The log siding was added when Bearclaw moved into the building. I don't know if there was ever a handle or spout. Does anyone know when this building was built? By 2019, the building was housing Rise & Grind Drive-Thru Coffee. [map]

The Coffee Pot in Bellefontaine has been there a long time although no one seems to know how long. It's been there long enough that locals call the place it's situated "Coffee Pot Hill". There was supposedly a restaurant here before the land became the Ohio State Eagles Recreational Park and Campgrounds. The Coffee Pot does not seem to be used for anything although it is in every good shape. There must have been a handle originally. Does anyone know more about it? [map]

Coffee Pot
Washington Island, WI
This Coffee Pot was built in 1941 for the Washington Island Girl Scout troop. The girls sold treats from the coffee pot to pay for their cabin. It was built on a steel chassis with wheels so that it could be moved around for special events. The coffee pot itself is made of galvanized steel with two functioning windows and a door. It is painted with Norwegian rosemaling. Later, the coffee pot was used a tourist information booth (vintage photo at left). Visitors were given free coffee. Since 1996 when the Island Welcome Center was built, the coffee pot is purely decorative. It was restored and moved here in 2005. [map]

Coffee Pot
Cordova, SC
 The Big Coffee Pot
Winston-Salem, NC
The Cordova Coffee Pot is installed on the roof of an abandoned restaurant. It appears to be about ten feet tall. It was built for a British couple during World War II. The restaurant was known as the "Coffee Pot". In later years, the building was occupied by an antiques store. It has been vacant for many years now. This photo is from 2009. The Coffee Pot was restored in 2013. [photo thanks Robby Delius] [map]

The Big Coffee Pot is one of Winston-Salem's oldest landmarks. It was made of metal in 1857 as a tinsmith's shop sign. It is 16 feet tall and displayed on a stand. For more, see this website. [map]

There is a smaller replica of that Coffee Pot in Winston-Salem at the Downtown School which has been there since at least 2007.

Milagros
Coffee House
Alamosa, CO
 former Lynn's Paradise Cafe [gone]
Louisville, KY
The coffee pot and cup sign at Milagros Coffee House was installed in 2017. [map]

The former Lynn's Paradise Cafe featured an eight foot tall pouring coffee pot. The sculpture was built in 1994 as a fountain. The coffee pot poured water into the cup. These photos are from 2006. The restaurant closed in 2013. The sculptures were removed around 2016. For more, see this website.