With the growing popularity of drive-in restaurants in the 1960s, local operators filled the void. Spencer’s Drive-In at Four Corners was located on the northeast corner at the intersection of Kent-Kangley and Maple Valley Highway. The Summit-Landsburg Road added an awkward fifth leg to junction, located to the far right of this March 1968 photo. Spencer’s advertised breakfast, lunch, and dinner featuring both indoor dining and pickup service at the south side window where menus were posted. The building was originally located in the mining town of Durham and owned by Morris Bros. Coal Mining Co. It was moved to this site about 1939 shortly after Palmer Coking Coal’s purchase of a 40-acre tract from Weyerhaeuser. For nearly 20 years it served as Palmer’s main headquarters which included gas pumps, retail coal bins, and office where coal miners picked up their paychecks. Palmer moved to its present Black Diamond location in 1958.
The building stood vacant until the mid-1960s before housing a succession of restaurants, including Spencer’s Drive-in, Grace & Eddie’s, and the E-Z Eatin’ Café. In 1987 the structure was enlarged, modernized, and became the Summit Inn, operated by the family of Evan Morris Sr. Its finally incarnation was Nollies, a sporting goods store. The building was torn down in June 2006 to make way for intersection improvements along Highway 169. Today the site is where the Maple Valley Town Square monument fronts the Fred Meyer block at Four Corners. This image of tax parcel 272206-9015 comes courtesy of the Puget Sound Regional Archives with photo enhancements by Nick Haney. Next week, a photo of this same building in April 1973
