Unique is a word that needs no modifier since it means “unlike anything else.” One thing can’t be more unique than another thing. That doesn’t stop people from sticking words such as “totally,” “really,” “completely,” and “very” in front of unique. Nowadays its meaning is all but synonymous with “unusual.” Language changes and words get watered down. Insert sigh here.
This minor rant comes about because the word “unique” fit the Fish Inn better than any other word. If there was another building remotely like this one, I’m unaware of it. It looked like a fish, more or less. You entered through the gaping mouth. The body of the fish was covered with shingles made to look like scales. The tail, as the only flat part of the fish, became a sign.
The restaurant was built in 1932 for Kenny and Mamie West on Highway 10 near Wolf Lodge Bay. The look of the thing would lead one to believe that they served fish there. They did. Not exclusively, though. For instance, they served adult beverages. In later years you could have a burger and listen to the Normal Fishing Tackle Band. It was once voted one of the best road bars in America by Road and Track magazine.
You could also tack a dollar bill to the ceiling. That not-unique tradition started when a customer proposed to his girlfriend on a dollar bill. She is said to have written “yes,” also on a dollar.
There were something like 4,000 dollar bills tacked to the ceiling at one time. Unfortunately, no one had taken them to the bank when the bills, and the restaurant, burned in 1996.
This minor rant comes about because the word “unique” fit the Fish Inn better than any other word. If there was another building remotely like this one, I’m unaware of it. It looked like a fish, more or less. You entered through the gaping mouth. The body of the fish was covered with shingles made to look like scales. The tail, as the only flat part of the fish, became a sign.
The restaurant was built in 1932 for Kenny and Mamie West on Highway 10 near Wolf Lodge Bay. The look of the thing would lead one to believe that they served fish there. They did. Not exclusively, though. For instance, they served adult beverages. In later years you could have a burger and listen to the Normal Fishing Tackle Band. It was once voted one of the best road bars in America by Road and Track magazine.
You could also tack a dollar bill to the ceiling. That not-unique tradition started when a customer proposed to his girlfriend on a dollar bill. She is said to have written “yes,” also on a dollar.
There were something like 4,000 dollar bills tacked to the ceiling at one time. Unfortunately, no one had taken them to the bank when the bills, and the restaurant, burned in 1996.
The Fish Inn, photo by John Margolies. Margolies was an architectural critic who set out to capture iconic vernacular architecture and signs across the United States through his photographs. He loved the cheesy roadside attractions that often made no pretense of skillful design. He is also credited with bringing many historic buildings to the attention of people who might not have recognized their architectural value. As a result, many of them are today on the National Register of Historic Places. The Library of Congress began collecting his images in 2007, and they are made available today to researchers and writers of goofy little books, such as my next one, Symbols, Signs, and Songs, coming out soon.
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