I'm a total sucker for kitchy americana, so it should come as no surprise that I nearly wet myself when I saw the signs for this place.
Here it is, the original home of Kentucky Fried Chicken, opened and operated by the man himself, Kentucky Colonel Harlan Sanders.
Here's the landmark sign. I only just realized that it says "See other side" at the bottom. Oh well...
An overenthusiastic yahoo. Some poeple you can't take anywhere.
The kitchen display on the museum side of the store. In the second photo you'll see a manually operated french-fry cutter just left of that greenish box.
The actual preserved body of Harlan Sanders. After lying in state at the capitol building in Frankfort his body was encased in fiberglass and moved to the restaraunt that made him a household name.
Okay, I made up that last part, but he really did lie in state at the Kentucky capitol so people could pay their respects. Not bad for a humble fried chicken merchant.
Also, check out the adding machine on the desk. Simple arithmetic never weighed so much.
An actual typewriter in front of some chips well past their prime.
You can't read it in this resized photo, but the small, yellow plate reads "Wurlitzer." I never knew they made wood paneled jukeboxes. I'm guessing it predates the chrome and bubble-tube jobs of the fifties.
Mom always told me I should've gone to college. It's service with a smile, at least. Now, you want fries with that, motherfucker?
Our intrepid colonel opened a small motel next to his restaurant and gas station in a further attempt to capitalize on all the traffic travelling US route 25-- the main thru fare in the area prior to the completion of I-75 a few miles to the west. He set up a demo motel room in the restaurant to show patrons that clean and comfortable rooms were just a few yards away.
The lobby area. Just offscreen to the left is the KFC food counter.
Entranced by the entrance.
A model showing how the original service station, motel, and restaraunt looked back in the thirties and fourties.
A series of artifacts on display in the back of the lobby section. Notice that the big drum of seasoning says "COL. SANDERS' BASIC FORMULA," not secret formula. I wonder where they hid the good stuff. Also, I have no idea what's up with the wooden shoes in that last shot.
Tee hee hee! My beer gut quivers in anticipation!
Hey, spork you, buddy!
Trivia: What we commonly call a 'spork' is actually a Runcible Spoon.
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a961108a.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runcible_spoon
Obscure trivia: Runcible was an early system of mathematics for the IBM 650, a mid-fifties era computer.
Original table setting from the old restaurant
All things considered, it's one of the nicest fast food joints I've ever been in.
Mission statement of original establishment. Sorry for the glare.
Thanks to Eileenbunny for manning the camera while I giggled like a schoolgirl, made an ass of myself, and shoveled artery clogging food in my mouth.
Here it is, the original home of Kentucky Fried Chicken, opened and operated by the man himself, Kentucky Colonel Harlan Sanders.
Here's the landmark sign. I only just realized that it says "See other side" at the bottom. Oh well...
An overenthusiastic yahoo. Some poeple you can't take anywhere.
The kitchen display on the museum side of the store. In the second photo you'll see a manually operated french-fry cutter just left of that greenish box.
The actual preserved body of Harlan Sanders. After lying in state at the capitol building in Frankfort his body was encased in fiberglass and moved to the restaraunt that made him a household name.
Okay, I made up that last part, but he really did lie in state at the Kentucky capitol so people could pay their respects. Not bad for a humble fried chicken merchant.
Also, check out the adding machine on the desk. Simple arithmetic never weighed so much.
An actual typewriter in front of some chips well past their prime.
You can't read it in this resized photo, but the small, yellow plate reads "Wurlitzer." I never knew they made wood paneled jukeboxes. I'm guessing it predates the chrome and bubble-tube jobs of the fifties.
Mom always told me I should've gone to college. It's service with a smile, at least. Now, you want fries with that, motherfucker?
Our intrepid colonel opened a small motel next to his restaurant and gas station in a further attempt to capitalize on all the traffic travelling US route 25-- the main thru fare in the area prior to the completion of I-75 a few miles to the west. He set up a demo motel room in the restaurant to show patrons that clean and comfortable rooms were just a few yards away.
The lobby area. Just offscreen to the left is the KFC food counter.
Entranced by the entrance.
A model showing how the original service station, motel, and restaraunt looked back in the thirties and fourties.
A series of artifacts on display in the back of the lobby section. Notice that the big drum of seasoning says "COL. SANDERS' BASIC FORMULA," not secret formula. I wonder where they hid the good stuff. Also, I have no idea what's up with the wooden shoes in that last shot.
Tee hee hee! My beer gut quivers in anticipation!
Hey, spork you, buddy!
Trivia: What we commonly call a 'spork' is actually a Runcible Spoon.
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a961108a.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runcible_spoon
Obscure trivia: Runcible was an early system of mathematics for the IBM 650, a mid-fifties era computer.
Original table setting from the old restaurant
All things considered, it's one of the nicest fast food joints I've ever been in.
Mission statement of original establishment. Sorry for the glare.
Thanks to Eileenbunny for manning the camera while I giggled like a schoolgirl, made an ass of myself, and shoveled artery clogging food in my mouth.
