Vintage matchbook covers are fun little treasure troves of information and delightful pocket sized works of art. You can sometimes pick up a ziplock bag full of them in antique stores and junk shops for just a few bucks, making them an inexpensive treat to take home and explore.
I found a bag of interesting ones in Muncie this spring. This one is for the Flamingo Cocktail Lounge on Kilgore Avenuez. It was air conditioned!
The design caught my eye and a quick internet search yielded a couple of interesting things including this interior picture from the mid seventies.
I also learned that they were known for a hamburger called “Lukey Fogle” and for a blind piano player who provided background music.
An ad placed in an undated program for Muncie Community Theater’s production of “The Tea House of the August Moon” advertised the Flamingo Cocktail Lounge as a destination for cocktails, dinner and supper, reminding theater goers “For before or after the show don’t forget the Flamingo Cocktail Lounge.”
I later learned they put on that show in the 1970-71 season so I assume this program was from that performance.
As of a 2017 post in the Lost Muncie Facebook group, the building was home to the End Zone Sports Bar and Grill. They were know for wings, pizza and beer. The above interior photo was posted in this group, undated and without photo credit.
Google tells me that the End Zone is now closed too. The addresses have been updated on that street so the old Flamingo was located at 2104 Kilgore Ave and now the address is 2430 Kilgore Ave.
The property is listed as land today and is under contract with a local realtor.
Maybe it’s nuts, but I enjoy finding these small scraps of the past and climbing down the rabbit hole to see what can be learned.
I used to drive past this place every day on my way to work. The Flamingo/End Zone was vacant for a long time before it was partially destroyed by a fire last year. It was demolished in August.
I am too young to remember it as the Flamingo, much less go there, but my parents loved it. It was a really classy establishment. I do remember the End Zone, though. Again- too young to go there!
Fun! You have a good eye for treasures and stories ☺️
Thank you so much! Sometimes the best stories are the unexpected ones we find.
I used to collect matchbooks and I think my husband has a lot of his collection, still.
My great-grandmother’s brother owned a pool hall lunchroom in Moscow, Idaho in the early part of the 20th century. I read an article about advertising tokens, which included a website that showed them organized geographically and alphabetically. I was so pleased to find there were token for his place! It was called The Pastime. It was apparently a common name among such establishments.
The Pastime – I like it!
What a treat it must have been to find those.