Whataburger Military - On the ridge line of this giant triangle will illuminate the block letters that say "Whataburger". And, just in case this was not enough, two steel legs will be attached to the sides of the gable to turn the giant "A" of the building into a giant "W".
Dobson is nothing if not a businessman. In addition to selling cars, he mines for diamonds in South America and speculates in oil. He also bought an airplane and learned how to fly it so he could visit his various businesses in the western hemisphere.
Whataburger Military
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Dobson also painted his A-frames to make them look as vivid as possible. International orange is a great color to use if you want to make objects stand out from their surroundings. Radio towers and other hazards in the path of aircraft are often painted alternately between white and orange to make them as visible as possible.
Dobson knew this from his pilot days. Every building has the potential to be extraordinary, but few actually live up to that potential. Some buildings have the courage to defy the pull of mediocrity - the constraints of budgets and codes and fears that tend to make most buildings look the same.
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It takes courage to create something extraordinary and many people do not have that courage. One of the businesses he will visit is a frozen custard stand. Dobson added hamburgers to his own menu but quickly realized he needed to do something different to stay competitive.
It turns out that the color scheme seen by someone flying an airplane is also seen by someone driving a car, so he painted his new Whataburger location alternately with the international white and orange stripes.
This bold color scheme has been associated with Whataburger ever since. Although Whataburger continued to evolve as a franchise throughout the 80s and 90s, the original, iconic A-frame design would eventually be phased out. Building codes began limiting the height of fast food restaurants.
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The new Whataburger stores will have larger dining areas and still feature the building's signature white and orange roof, but not all. Whataburger's story is related to that of Harmon Dobson. Born in Oklahoma in 1913, Dobson grew up on a farm in Arkansas.
During World War II, he helped build military bases in North Africa and oil refineries in the Middle East. Its shape is unlike anything around it. Its color is unlike anything else around it, with spots of white and orange popping up against the bright blue Texas sky.
The building has presence - it has dignity. Although it is just a fast food restaurant, it is much more than that. Mesquite, Texas east of Dallas is home to one of the few original Whataburger locations still operating as Whataburger.
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It is located on a busy road and is surrounded by strip malls and gas stations. Cars change that equation. A small sign like the one on the original Whataburger is no longer enough. Dobson could have made a bigger mark, but he had a better idea.
He decided to build a building that would act as a sign of himself. Instead of a one-story box, Dobson envisioned a tall, vertical structure. It would be strong - framed in steel and skinned in corrugated metal like the buildings he built during the war.
Shaped like a giant letter "A", this extruded triangle will have an air-conditioned kitchen and seating for customers. An A-frame will be installed at the rear of the site with a long canopy extending to the street to provide shade for diners who choose to dine in their drive-thru.
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In August 1950, Whataburger No. 1 opened in Corpus Christi, Texas. The burger stand is a simple box with a neon sign on top that says "Whataburger." Customers will park and go to the window where they will place their order.
Of course, the cast A-frame still looks like a Whataburger even if it's used for something else. There are three of these abandoned A-frames still in use in San Antonio. One is home to the fruteria on the South of the city, while the other is now a used car business on San Pedro Road.
The third is used as a taco stand on Broadway. Its real name is Taqueria Vallarta, but it is often referred to as "Whatataco". For centuries, businesses have operated according to a model where they would grab the attention of shoppers by using storefront displays, which would inspire customers to walk in and exchange their money for goods or services.
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The Whataburger is another Texas quirk that we often take for granted. Although this fast food restaurant has almost 800 locations, almost half of them are in Texas. And as good as the burgers are, the architecture of the buildings has never been better.