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Penguin Point Drive-ins

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The Penguin Point drive-in chain was founded in 1950. The northern Indiana chain recently had thirteen locations. In 2023, it was announced that the remaining locations would be closing.

Penguin Point
Wabash, IN

This Wabash location opened in 1950 and was the first in the Penguin Point chain. It originally had car hops and a 20-foot-tall penguin sign. That sign was later demolished. It was probably similar to this one. The sign that is there now and the canopy are probably from the early 1960s. This location will be closing in 2023. [map]

Penguin Point
Bristol Street
Elkhart, IN		 Penguin Point
corporate offices
Warsaw, IN
This Elkhart location features a neon penguin on top of the plastic sign. This guy has yellow feet while the one shown below in Plymouth has red feet. This location closed in 2022. The sign was adapted for the Food Shack. The penguin remains. [map]

The sign at Penguin Point's corporate office in Warsaw was restored in July, just in time to celebrate the company's 65th anniversary. The seven-foot-tall sign was built in the mid-1960s and is installed on roof. The neon had been dark for more than a decade. It features four colors of neon tubing: blue and white for the penguin's body, orange for his feet and beak, and red for his vest. I assume with the closing of the company in 2023, this sign will be removed soon. [map]

Penguin Point
Plymouth, IN
The Plymouth location has the same style sign as the one in Elkhart above. Both of these locations opened in 1972 with these signs. They are the only ones left with neon penguins. This sign style originated in 1964 when a Warsaw location from 1952 was remodeled. The neon penguin portion of the sign is about five feet tall. This location closed in 2022. The signs were still there in 2023. For more, see this website. [map]

Penguin Point
Marion, IN		 Penguin Point
Goshen, IN
The Marion location opened in 1968. Their sign once had a neon penguin on top like those in Elkhart and Plymouth. This location closed in 2022 but the sign was still there in 2023. [map]

The Goshen location features the older style sign like the one in Wabash at the top of this page. This location closed in 2022 but the sign was still there in 2023. [map]

former Penguin Point [gone]
Decatur, IN
This former Penguin Point housed Arnold's Fabulous Fifties Drive-In when this photo was taken in 2009. By 2015, it housed Aunt Bee's Drive-in. By 2016, the building and canopy had been demolished.

More Penguin Points:
Warsaw, IN [closed 2023]
Cincinnati, OH

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