94th Aero Squadron Restaurant, Denver, Colorado, 1980 & 1982

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94th Aero Squadron Restaurant, Denver, Colorado, 1980 & 1982

Edited by David Barth January 2016. Photos were taken by David Barth.

94th Aero Squadron theme restaurant,
Denver, Colorado, 1980.

This restaurant was located on the south side of Stapleton Airport in Denver. This view is to the east. It sat only a few hundred yards from the main east-west runway, and it had large windows on the north side, seen on the left side of the building in this picture.

The theme was that of a French chateau that had been taken over by Allied air forces to fight the Germans during WWI. Typical of what we expect old French buildings to look like just after the turn of the Twentieth Century, it had stucco exterior walls with large areas of stucco missing where the structural brick wall was exposed.

The attention to detail was significant in that around the outside of the building was a replica German DR-1 Triplane (dridecker) that appeared to be only slightly smaller than the original design, and a replica WWI truck. Fifty-gallon barrels to represent aviation fuel storage were stacked in the yard, and there were stacks of firewood to feed the fireplaces, although the actual fireplaces in the restaurant might have been fed by gas. Several chimneys were on the roof.

As was traditional in many European rural homes, the barn was co-located with the house, and to illustrate this, a bale of hay was permanently hung next to the door to the "hayloft". Because this restaurant represented an Allied airfield, it had a wind sock to advise pilots of wind direction so that they could land and take off into the wind from the imaginary airfield.

Tables had earphones so that clients could listen to tower/aircraft communications. The windows were built out of the north wall of the building enabling people to see planes on final approach. At night, it was possible to see several planes far to the east, lined up to land. Because winds in the area prevailed from the northwest, a common approach was to land to the west. When possible, takeoffs were to the east to avoid flying over the large residential area to the west of Stapleton. Still, residents complained of the noise even though when the airport was built in the 1930s, it was far from town. In 1992 the Denver International Airport replaced Stapleton. It was built about 10 miles east of Denver, but someday, urban encroachment might require another airport to be built farther away from the city.

94th Aero Squadron Restaurant,
Denver, Colorado, 1980.

This picture shows the replica plane and truck. Today, leaving these interesting artifacts outside might result in their being vandalized, but in 1980, when this picture was taken, it was a kinder, gentler time, and people left the decorations alone.

Note the twin machine guns on top of the engine nacelle. Early implementations required steel plates to be placed on the back of the propeller to keep the bullets from cutting the blades off. The Germans were the first to develop and interrupter gear that prevented the guns from firing when a prop blade was in front of them, and this type of aircraft used that technology.

94th Aero Squadron Restaurant,
Denver, Colorado, 1980.

This picture shows a more complete view of the replica WWI truck.

94th Aero Squadron Restaurant,
Denver, Colorado, 1982.

This picture was taken two years after the previous three images. Note that a replica Sopwith Camel, an allied fighter plane, sporting the French tri-color tail, has been placed in the yard. The replica truck is no longer seen.

The restaurant burned in the late 1980s, a few years before Stapleton Airport closed forever. In the history of theme restaurants like this one and Victoria Station, based on old railroad passenger cars, have a limited life because the public tends to seek new and different dining experiences. This is why restaurant chains periodically change their looks, inside and out, and introduce new menu items.