The last Moondance
The Moondance Diner at 12:40 a.m. Aug. 11, 2007, as workers begin pulling
the diner off its foundation. (Photo by Jefferson Siegel)
Following the good news that the Cheyenne Diner has been saved, photographer Jefferson Siegel checked in with his memories of the Moondance Diner's last night in the city, and this photo from its departure:
Just after 9 p.m. on Friday, August 10, 2007. workers began lifting the Moondance from its foundation on the corner of Grand St. and 6th Ave. It was the coldest night of the summer and a bit rainy, which must have been pleasant for the workers but it made the crowd of onlookers even more melancholy.This was the night police were alerted to the possibility of a radioactive threat against the city, so as the evening progressed there was increased police activity down the block at the exit of the Holland Tunnel.
As night turned into early morning, the diner was lifted on hydraulic jacks. Steel rails were slid under the gleaming chrome structure and it was pulled to the curb. As it was slowly pulled along the rails the basement was exposed to the elements. Just after 6 a.m. Saturday morning the Moondance was finally loaded onto a truck headed for the George Washington Bridge and points west. By Saturday afternoon the temperature had soared back into the 80s as passersby stopped to look through a fence where the diner had once stood.
