When I first moved to Phoenix, this was a thriving and very well known eating establishment created by Robert Gosnell. Before my time, they even had an armor-clad knight atop a white stallion serving as a parking attendant. Not a statue, a real man, clad in armor atop a horse who guided diners into the parking lot and the nearest parking spot. That would have been something to see. I’m sorry I missed it.
27 comments:
What a great setting. Approaching this place, you would really expect a unique dining experience. Did the chef move to another location?
Glad they have built BEHIND the lovely stone structure. A real man on a horse helping you parking the car?! I would love to see that too! :-)
Now that is interesting! That must have been some place to have dinner.
I remember the knight atop the white horse as a young child. Every trip to the airport, we'd beg my uncle to go by the castle. Never ate there, but cherished the fantasy of living there.
Always learning something new about Phoenix. Can you imagine how hot that job would have been in the summer around here?
I remember this restaurant, Sharon. We would also drive by to see the knight and white horse. You have captured a great shot of the original building, so glad it's still there.
excellent slice of history and I too would have enjoyed the knight experience.
I would have loved to see that horse and rider working the parking lot! How fun that must have been. Hot work in summer though. The picture is lovely.
I remember when they built the office building behind the original building, but I moved to PHoenix in 1982, and that must have been too late for the knight and the horse. I had never heard that before.
What a sad story! I mean, a fine restaurant is one thing; an office building is another. Especially when the restaurant came with a knight in shining armor!
Beautiful, though, in any case!
Where the office building stands used to be a miniature golf course. One of my favorite activities as a little girl.
I think that the man on the horse would have been fun to see and to photograph. Too bad when good restaurants close!
This picture really takes me back. I remember John's Green Gables Restaurant and the ice cream sundae dessert bar. A blast from the past.
My husband was one of the knights, but his x-wife destroyed all his photos. Wish I could find some taken by the public so we can pass them on to the grandkids.
My family grew up in Ajo in the 60s and 70s. We ate at this place along with Beefeater's alot when our family would come up for the weekend. Now both places are GONE ! There is, however, a chili's or TGIFs on every other corner. /sarcasm
In 1952, while moving from TX to CA, our family ate here. I was 10 yrs old, and they gave the kids a toy horse and Knight. these were made of cast metal. Wish I had them today.
My grandfather was John of "John's Green Gables" My dad, Grant, managed the discothèque that was adjacent to it called the S.O.B. Room (son of the boss.) It's where he met my mother. I have some of the 'old world' banners that were hung in the restaurant. If anyone knows about their history, I would love to hear about it.
Does anyone still have the toy knight they gave when you left the restaurant? I would love to have one, especially the original metal ones.
I would love a photo. My Grandparents would treat us there on special occasions.
This was my favorite place to go when we visited my grandparents in Scottsdale. When you came in, a puppet knight would address you by name, which of course had been set up before, but as a kid, it was magical. Green Gables, El Chorro and LuLu Belle's were wonderful memories from my childhood. The Knight was truly spectacular to see as well.
This was my favorite part of a visit to my grandparents in Scottsdale. The knight greeted you first, then once inside, a puppet knight would greet you by name, that was set up with the hostess as you came in and sent over the the puppet handler before you got to that section. The miniature golf was fun too but we didn't play there much. I wish we still had the knight and had taken pictures but we didn't think we needed to.
I rode the horse dressed as a knight while in high school (1960-1962) until I graduated and went in the army. Barry Goldwater was a regular in his 1960 corvette. Waylon Jennings was also a bus boy when he was not singing at JD's although we did hang out and he later referred to the restaurant in one of his songs.
John Biondi cvcowboyfan@yahoo.com
What was our favorite was the FABULOUS miniature golf course behind the restaurant. It was geogeously landscaped featuring running streams and waterfalls, and had hand constructed castles. Each hole had a sign that was an admonishment in Old English in verse form to all that played each hole.
What was our favorite was the FABULOUS miniature golf course behind the restaurant. It was geogeously landscaped featuring running streams and waterfalls, and had hand constructed castles. Each hole had a sign that was an admonishment in Old English in verse form to all that played each hole.
Waylon Jennings sings about Green Gables in his song Honkey Tonk Heroes.
My Grandfather was a chef there when it was still owned by Robert Gosnell from like '53 on...and his son (my Father) used to visit him there and did the dishes which always owned him a huge ice cream…:)
I moved to Phoenix in 1972 to attend college and DVry Institute of Tech. John’s Green Gables got me thru those years as I started as a bus boy and worked as a bartender as soon as I made 21. I had the pleasure of meeting many celebrities as the discotheque was the place to be on weekends in Phoenix. Elton John was one and his entire group visited the disco after one of his concerts. Good times when I worked there. I still have a few items from the restaurant.
Post a Comment