New colors and signs now herald the coming of Prince’s Hamburgers to 3425 Ella Blvd., north of 34th St. between “Wash Me” Car Wash and the Kar Hospital. Prince’s former dominion near 59 at Weslayan is now under the rule of not-quite-an-emergency health clinic MedSpring Urgent Care, though the 1930s restaurant chain still maintains another freewayside outpost in the former Murphy’s Deli spot on I-10 between N. Kirkwood Rd. and Tully St. Prince’s underground holdings Downtown have also been relinquished, along with the diner location on N. Post Oak Blvd.
The newly marked territory on Ella shares its western border with the Waltrip High School track. Across the street from the coming is Ella Plaza, formerly home to yes-that-Swayze Swayze School of Dance and recently worked over by serial redeveloper Braun Enterprises. Looking from the strip center’s parking lot to the south, the Shipley’s donut sign can be spied rising over the horizon, as can the Sunbelt Jewelry & Loan pawn shop’s commanding sign:
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Meanwhile, the former Jack in the Box box has been modified to bear the Prince’s emblem, with only the outline of a crown echoing the iconic neon sign that got hauled off to the National Save The Neon Signs Museum in Minot, North Dakota:
- Previously on Swamplot: A Flurry of Culinary Updates from the Downtown Tunnels; Prince’s Hamburgers by 59 and Weslayan Has Been Down for a Long Count; Old Prince’s Hamburger Sign Is Leaving North Shepherd for Points Even Further North; Prince’s Heads for North Post Oak
Photos: Swamplot inbox