Vineyard and Holt

The Mural House was on the southwest cornor of Holt and Vineyard. I think there is a hotel where the restaurant used to stand.

I remember the Mural House. Their grenadine of beef was outstanding. They were located on the south side of Holt just west of Vineyard. It was owned by a teacher at Chaffey High School named Wally Page. He has since died. The last time I was there was in 1978. I have a very vague recollection of the decor as dark, kind of like the old Sycamore Inn decor.

The Mural House restaurant was just west of the NEWLY CONSTRUCTED gas station/Jack in the Box, or just west of the southwest corner.

David, my recollection of the spot the Mural House resided at was the south side of Holt, just west of Vineyard. I don't recall ever stepping in the place, but the marquee out front was a neon delight!

The previous comments re the Mural House location are right on. Had dinner there many times. The fried chicken was great.

GREETINGS:

Scott has the location right, just west of the SW corner of Holt and Vineyard. And, yes, it was owned by Chaffey High School teacher Wally Page (in fact, it was often referred to as "Wally Page's Mural House"). The atmosphere was dark and intimate, and the menu was varied (steak, chicken, salads, etc.) and slightly upscale (not quite like the Sycamore Inn, but above a Sizzler).

I recall a good-sized bar which was used as a popular meeting place. At that time I was too young to drink, but I recall my older friends and acquaintances telling interesting stories about events in the Mural House bar. Part of it was because it was so close to OIA (Ontario International Airport, as it was then known), which made it a very popular stop for airline employees and the local aerospace workers.

For those of us who grew up in eastern Ontario, it was "the" fancy dining spot south of Foothill Blvd. and east of downtown Ontario.

The Mural House was on the south side of Holt, just west of Joe Bertino's garage, which has since moved to Vineyard and Eighth and is being operated by Joe's son, Charlie. I remember an afterglow (cast party) there after a barbershop show. The restaurant had numerous rooms, so we had quartets singing in each of the rooms long into the night.

There was a gas station at the southwest corner of Holt and Vineyard; the Mural House was the next building west. In addition to previous comments, I recall that the Mural House billed itself as a favorite stop for Hollywood celebrities in former days (halfway to Palm Springs). The food was good, but we used the bar more, it being the closest bar to Lockheed Aircraft Service Company (LAS) on Airport Road just west of Vineyard.

In addition, behind (south of) the gas station and Mural House was Bertino Auto Service, a real old-time independent garage, which will be remembered fondly by many LAS employees.

Spires was on the northeast corner of the intersection.

The reason it was called Mural House was that the walls of the dining areas had murals painted on them. It was a great place to have dinner.

[Well, I guessed it was something like that, but it's nice to have somebody finally say so. Thanks, Steve. -- DA]

The Mural House was also the site of the bi-weekly pre-football home game dinners for Chaffey football players in the early '70s. I fondly recall owner Wally Page presiding over plates heaving with roast beef, mashed potatoes and peas that we all gobbled down en route to (often, luckily) a Chaffey victory. Funny thing...I cannot recall who paid for these meals, but I imagine it was the proud and well-heeled Chaffey Booster Club. I also had Wally as my high school physiology instructor. He was always genial and wore one of the era's worst "Beatles style" toupees (sorry, Wally!). We all loved him!