I ran across a picture of Clifton’s Cafeteria in a book called California crazy and beyond: roadside vernacular architecture, by Jim Heimann. It was a fantastical cliff face and forest affair in the middle of an LA street. It opened in the Depression offering pay-what-you-can meals and free food for the destitute.

In looking for more information about Cliftons, it turns out it’s still there! They mention that a few changes have been made: replacing the organ and organist with a moose (I didn’t realize they were equivalent), singing waiters and canaries with Muzak (again, not really equivalent in my book) and artificial plants with real (OK, that’s cool). But they still offer the guarantee: “Dine Free Unless Delighted!”

Update: more information can be gleaned from items in the Los Angeles Public Library’s Menu Collection by searching for “Clifton’s.”