Who: Shawn Haas, 31, of Price Hill, an amusement park consultant for International Theme Park Services, Inc.

        On display: His 1950s diner collection.

        Where: In his own private diner, in the living room of his home.

Shawn Haas in his living room/diner (Enquirer photo) | ZOOM |

        At the hop: “Each wall is a separate mural of a scene from a '50s diner,” Mr. Haas explains. “They are all three-dimensional, and you can actually sit at the bar.”

        The start of something big: “I've been collecting diner and '50s memorabilia for several years,” he continues. “The first thing I bought was a metal Coca-Cola cooler I found at a church garage sale. It was cool-looking, so I started picking up things that matched it.

        “When I moved into the house, I didn't have any furniture for the living room,” he chuckles. “My sister said: "Why don't you paint it to look like a diner? After all, you have all of that diner stuff.' ”

        Why not? “I thought that was a great idea,” he says. “The only problem was, I'm not an artist.”

        Experienced artist or not, Mr. Haas was up for the task.

        “I just figured you throw some paint on a blank wall,” he reasons. “If you like it, you leave it. If you don't, just paint back over it. To draw the people, I just traced my own body.”

        Imaginary friends: All of Mr. Haas' murals are three-dimensional. The first suggests a girl sitting at a table, sipping a milkshake and gazing out at Hollywood Boulevard. Half of the table juts out of the wall.

        Another scene depicts a drive-in restaurant complete with a Corvette in the parking lot and a waitress in roller skates. The roller skates and food tray jut out of the wall. Across from that is a mural of an old Wurlitzer bubble jukebox.

        Place your order: Mr. Haas even has an original soda fountain equipped with a Coca-Cola fountain dispenser and milk shake machine. Behind it is a mural of a soda jerk.

        “My favorite thing is my 10 cent Coca-Cola vending machine,” he says. “My parents surprised me with it for Christmas one year. I keep it stocked with Cokes, root beer and regular beer when people come over.”

        The good old days: “Everybody wants to know why I'm so fascinated with the 1950s,” Mr. Haas muses. “It just seems to me that it was one of the most carefree times when you could have some good fun.

        “Besides that,” he grins, “They had a lot of neat stuff.”

       Share your prize possessions with Marsie Hall Newbold by mail; c/o The Cincinnati Enquirer; e-mail: marsolete@aol.com.

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