The Paul McGehee Collection
  Catalog » McGehee Prints » Hand Signed My Account  |  Cart Contents  |  Checkout   
Categories
McGehee Prints
Collector's Corner
Other Rarities
The Vault
The Originals
Cards
Civil War
Western
Beaches & Surf
Maritime
Caribbean
Hawaiian
Chesapeake
Burger Joints
Portraits
Europe
Wildlife & Hunting
Fishing
Sculpture
Small Color Prints
Black & White Prints
Figure Studies
Nevis & St. Kitts
Quick Find
 
Use keywords to find the artwork you are looking for.
Advanced Search
What's New? more
So Proudly We Hail (Paul McGehee)
So Proudly We Hail (Paul McGehee)
$200.00
Manufacturers
Drive-In Memories - Meet Me at Tops (Paul McGehee)
[Hand Signed]
$150.00

"Drive-In Memories - Meet Me at Tops" by Paul McGehee. Back in the 1950's and 60's, Tops Drive-Inn was the local hangout for Arlington, Virginia's high-school kids. Tops featured burgers, shakes, fries, chicken, shrimp...and their legendary King-Size burger, the Sir Loiner. Located at the corner of Lee Highway and George Mason Drive, the popular eatery was always swarming with teenagers, night and day. Tops had light-up menus at each parking space where you would place your order into a microphone speaker, and then a car-hop would bring your order out to your car on a silver tray, to be mounted at the driver's window. You could then enjoy your hot meal and frosty drink in just a matter of minutes! The popularity of such drive-ins came to a peak in this time period, as suburbs sprawled and life became more centered around automobiles. For those in a hurry, you never had to leave your car, as with traditional diners and restaurants. And the food at Tops was great, they used only fresh local foodstuffs and choice cuts of meat. The Tops Drive-Inn chain (there were 18 of them around the region) was founded in 1953 by Captain Jim Matthews, a local who had served his country well during World War II as a combat fighter pilot. Upon his return from the war, he found himself working at the luncheonette at The Hecht Company's Washington, DC location. He learned the restaurant business there while serving food to Hecht's hungry patrons for eight years, then set out to see if he could make a go of it with his own place, on Glebe Road at Arlington Boulevard. His first Tops Drive-Inn was so successful, Matthews was soon opening branches not only in Arlington, but in DC and Maryland. In the 1960's, Jim Matthews made a deal with his old friend and mentor Harlan Sanders for Tops be the first in the region to feature Col. Sanders' Kentucky Fried Chicken. Always a local chain, Tops eventually felt financial pressure from competition with the national fast-food chains (such as McDonald's) so in 1967 he merged Tops with another local Maryland chain (founded by some former Baltimore Colts football players), Gino's, to remain financially solvent. One by one the Tops locations became Gino's. By 1972, Jim Matthews, by then on the Board of Gino's, decided that it was time to finally sell his drive-ins, and they were acquired by the Marriott Corporation, who closed some and turned others into Roy Rogers locations, (as was the case with the one depicted here). Many around the DMV have fond memories of the place to this very day, all these years later. Nights meeting friends for burgers at Tops, in the glow of the orange lights, while teenagers arrived after the high school football game, by car or on foot. Happy times! "Drive-In Memories - Meet Me at Tops" is faithfully reproduced as an archival-quality print from McGehee's original color pencil and acrylic artwork, in a limited edition of only 2,000 pieces each hand-signed by the artist.

For more information, please visit this artwork's webpage.
Reviews
Shopping Cart more
0 items
Manufacturer Info
Art Recollections, Inc.
Art Recollections, Inc. Homepage
Other similar artworks
Notifications more
NotificationsNotify me of updates to Drive-In Memories - Meet Me at Tops (Paul McGehee)
Reviews more
Write ReviewWrite a review
Currencies
Information
Shipping & Returns
Privacy Notice
Conditions of Use
Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Art Recollections, Inc.
Powered by osCommerce