Chick’s Drive-In
Restaurant, shoreline setting, storm recovery, and documented afterlife. Cleared photographs date to May 29, 2017, after closure. A verified, reuse-cleared photograph of an actual Chick’s car meet has not been located; these empty-lot views must never be captioned as a car meet.

id: WHCD-001
title: Chick’s entrance after closure, 2017
kind: Photographs
date: 2017-05-29
summary: Entrance doors and the long customer-welcome sign above them, photographed after the restaurant closed.
url: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chick%27s_Drive_Inn,_West_Haven_2017_-Closed-_(53225771675).jpg
credit: Ethan Long / Wikimedia Commons
notes: CC BY-SA 2.0 Source-issued 1280-pixel thumbnail retained unmodified in originals; WebP display conversion only. Source identity, capture date, license, nonzero size, decoding, and upright orientation checked. Full-resolution retrieval was rate-limited; no claim is made that the saved master is the photographer’s camera original.
file: images/whcd-001.webp
text_file: 
institution: Chick’s Drive-In
accessed: 2026-09-08
license_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
external_image_url: 
document_file: 

id: WHCD-002
title: Roadside sign and empty parking area, 2017
kind: Photographs
date: 2017-05-29
summary: Chick’s roadside sign, concrete barriers, and empty parking area. This is an after-closure photograph, not a car meet.
url: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chick%27s_Drive_Inn,_West_Haven_2017_-Closed-_(53225771680).jpg
credit: Ethan Long / Wikimedia Commons
notes: CC BY-SA 2.0 Source-issued 1280-pixel thumbnail retained unmodified in originals; WebP display conversion only. Source identity, capture date, license, nonzero size, decoding, and upright orientation checked. Full-resolution retrieval was rate-limited; no claim is made that the saved master is the photographer’s camera original.
file: images/whcd-002.webp
text_file: 
institution: Chick’s Drive-In
accessed: 2026-09-08
license_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
external_image_url: 
document_file: 

id: WHCD-003
title: Restaurant corner and parking area, 2017
kind: Photographs
date: 2017-05-29
summary: The side of the closed restaurant and its parking area, showing the relationship between the building and the gathering space.
url: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chick%27s_Drive_In,_West_Haven_2017_-Closed-_(53225265736).jpg
credit: Ethan Long / Wikimedia Commons
notes: CC BY-SA 2.0 Source-issued 1280-pixel thumbnail retained unmodified in originals; WebP display conversion only. Source identity, capture date, license, nonzero size, decoding, and upright orientation checked. Full-resolution retrieval was rate-limited; no claim is made that the saved master is the photographer’s camera original.
file: images/whcd-003.webp
text_file: 
institution: Chick’s Drive-In
accessed: 2026-09-08
license_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
external_image_url: 
document_file: 

id: WHCD-004
title: 2015 closure coverage and photograph gallery
kind: Sources & research leads
date: 2015-10-27
summary: Contemporary article with Peter Hvizdak restaurant photographs.
url: https://www.nhregister.com/connecticut/article/Chick-s-Drive-In-in-West-Haven-to-close-after-11342371.php
credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source
notes: Copyrighted news photography: link only. It documents cruising as a use of the restaurant, but its captions do not establish a car meet. External source reference; the complete source is not reproduced in this download.
file: 
text_file: 
institution: Chick’s Drive-In
accessed: 2026-09-08
license_url: 
external_image_url: 
document_file: 

id: WHCD-005
title: Irene cleanup: news report and video
kind: Sources & research leads
date: 2011-08-29
summary: Workers and customers help recover after the storm.
url: https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Chick-s-works-to-reopen-in-West-Haven-after-storm-11569079.php
credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source
notes: Arnold Gold/Register photography and news video; link only. External source reference; the complete source is not reproduced in this download.
file: 
text_file: 
institution: Chick’s Drive-In
accessed: 2026-09-08
license_url: 
external_image_url: 
document_file: 

id: WHCD-006
title: Founder’s obituary
kind: Sources & research leads
date: 2015-07-24
summary: Origin of the restaurant and founder’s local role.
url: https://www.nhregister.com/business/article/West-Haven-icon-Chick-Celentano-dies-at-82-11343269.php
credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source
notes: Copyrighted newspaper photographs linked only. External source reference; the complete source is not reproduced in this download.
file: 
text_file: 
institution: Chick’s Drive-In
accessed: 2026-09-08
license_url: 
external_image_url: 
document_file: 

id: WHCD-007
title: Street Creepers’ Savin Rock Wednesday Cruise Nights
kind: Sources & research leads
date: 2017-07-26
summary: A real West Haven car-cruise gallery dated July 26, 2017.
url: https://hotrodhotline.com/the-street-creepers-car-clubs-savin-rock-wednesday-cruise-nights/
credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source
notes: RELATED LEAD, NOT CONFIRMED CHICK’S: source gives Savin Rock and West Haven but does not identify Chick’s. After the restaurant closed. No reuse permission found; do not download into the published gallery or recaption as Chick’s. External source reference; the complete source is not reproduced in this download.
file: 
text_file: 
institution: Chick’s Drive-In
accessed: 2026-09-08
license_url: 
external_image_url: 
document_file: 

id: WHCD-008
title: Riva opening announcement
kind: Sources & research leads
date: 2025-07-14
summary: Subsequent use of the former Chick’s site.
url: https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/west-haven-riva-soft-open-july-16-20768830.php
credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source
notes: A 2025 opening announcement, not evidence of a Chick’s reopening. External source reference; the complete source is not reproduced in this download.
file: 
text_file: 
institution: Chick’s Drive-In
accessed: 2026-09-08
license_url: 
external_image_url: 
document_file: 

id: WHCD-009
title: Supporting source: www.nhregister.com
kind: Sources & research leads
date: Source consulted September 2026
summary: Supporting source for the collection history and chronology.
url: https://www.nhregister.com/connecticut/article/Register-s-top-10-most-read-stories-in-2015-11341774.php
credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source
notes: External source; consult the original publication for its full context.
file: 
text_file: 
institution: Chick’s Drive-In
accessed: 2026-09-08
license_url: 
external_image_url: 
document_file: 

id: WHCD-010
title: Supporting source: www.nhregister.com
kind: Sources & research leads
date: Source consulted September 2026
summary: Supporting source for the collection history and chronology.
url: https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/new-haven-area-development-projects-2025-20013128.php
credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source
notes: External source; consult the original publication for its full context.
file: 
text_file: 
institution: Chick’s Drive-In
accessed: 2026-09-08
license_url: 
external_image_url: 
document_file: 

id: WHCD-011
title: Supporting source: www.flickr.com
kind: Sources & research leads
date: Source consulted September 2026
summary: Supporting source for the collection history and chronology.
url: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ethanmlong/53225771675/
credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source
notes: External source; consult the original publication for its full context.
file: 
text_file: 
institution: Chick’s Drive-In
accessed: 2026-09-08
license_url: 
external_image_url: 
document_file: 

id: ED-L-CHI-ADD-001
title: Joseph Celentano with a signature hot dog outside Chick’s
kind: Photographs
date: October 2015
institution: Chick’s Drive-In
summary: Joseph Celentano stands outside Chick’s during its final season.
url: https://www.nhregister.com/connecticut/article/Chick-s-Drive-In-in-West-Haven-to-close-after-11342371.php
credit: Peter Hvizdak / New Haven Register
notes: Available at the linked repository; image or full record is not included in this download. Image-level expansion of WHCD-004. Caption inconsistently says Thursday October 27, 2015; October 27 was Tuesday. Retain month rather than inventing corrected day. Reuse: Link only; © 2015 Peter Hvizdak
file: 
text_file: 
accessed: 2026-09-12
license_url: 
external_image_url: https://s.hdnux.com/photos/62/66/33/13330169/4/1920x0.jpg
document_file: 

id: ED-L-CHI-ADD-002
title: Chick’s service counter and illuminated menu boards
kind: Photographs
date: 2015 closing coverage; exact capture date unresolved
institution: Chick’s Drive-In
summary: Menu boards and the service counter preserve the restaurant’s everyday ordering space.
url: https://www.nhregister.com/connecticut/article/Chick-s-Drive-In-in-West-Haven-to-close-after-11342371.php
credit: Peter Hvizdak / New Haven Register gallery
notes: Available at the linked repository; image or full record is not included in this download. Distinct interior image from WHCD-004 linked gallery; no prior image file. Reuse: Link only; © 2015 Peter Hvizdak
file: 
text_file: 
accessed: 2026-09-12
license_url: 
external_image_url: https://s.hdnux.com/photos/63/47/74/13532956/4/1200x0.jpg
document_file: 