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Pick a state to find the nearest diner. Eternally updated.

I have visited more than 500 diners across the United States. Why? Is it the pecan pie? Is it the eggs that are so runny you could put a saddle on them? Is it because I have a formica fetish? Well, no.

As a photographer, I admire the architectural diversity of diners. Early diners, built in factories in the northeast and shipped to their sites, are a kaleidoscopic blend of various textiles. Porcelain enamel, granite, tile, wood, stainless steel and chrome melded together in exacting detail make for colorful photos. Still, this is not why I visit them.

It's the people. A diner counter is the great leveler. An attorney in a three-piece suit can sit elbow to elbow with a flannel-shirted construction worker. Diners serve up the character of this country, the character of each diner's community. It's the overheard dialogue, the sassy waitress, the simple pleasures of conversation and yes, the pecan pie.

This directory is VERY MUCH under construction. The listings here are currently incomplete and the status of several of these diners require some checking on my part. I apologize in advance.

As small businesses go, diners are either very successful or struggling. Name changes, location changes and creeping extinction are the matter of course for diners.

Simply throwing Elvis posters on the wall and writing "DINER" after your name on a neon sign does not a diner make. This directory presents primarily those diners which were factory built, though there are some exceptions.

Richard Gutman's book, American Diner: Then and Now, published in 1993, and which contains an extensive diner directory, was my starting point. With the help of By The Way magazine's "Diner Finders", I will be able to update the listings.

Several of the diners listed no longer exist. Forgive me. I've put a "*" next to those closed or in question.