It was once quirky. Iconic. So popular it was the backdrop for Hollywood movies.

Now it’s shuttered. Decaying. Badly battered by thieves and vandals.

It’s future may be inglorious. Demolition.

The vacant Wheel Inn in Cabazon, famous for its neighboring dinosaur sculptures along Interstate 10 on the blustery desert side of the San Gorgonio Pass, is in such bad shape that it might face demolition.

UPDATE: Wheel Inn gets stay of demolotion

“That’s like a piece of history going down the drain,” said 59-year-old Hemet resident Kate Beckmam, who was drawn to the Wheel Inn by its famous peanut-butter cream pie and kept coming back.

WHEEL INN QUIZ 1) Which massive dinosaur sculpture came first, Wheel Inn founder Claude Bell’s Apatosaurus or his Tyrannosaurus? 2) What is inside “Dinny’s” belly? 3) What stood at the Wheel Inn door? 4) In “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” who gives Pee-wee (Paul Reubens) a lift to the eatery? And what was that character’s unforgettable sign-off? 5) Besides the famous “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” flick, what movies featured scenes at the Wheel Inn dinosaur complex? 6) Pee-wee befriends what Francophile waitress in The Wheel Inn? 7) What music video for a No. 1 song on the Billboard charts features a brief glimpse of the eatery? Click here or scroll to the bottom for answers

The deteriorating building is a sorrowful sight for Tina Lopez, the restaurant’s manager for 20 years. She sees it during commutes from Banning to her new job at Sherman’s Deli and Bakery in Palm Springs. She loved her job and was distraught when the Inn closed.

“I drive by ‘the Wheel’ every day,” she said. “It’s sad.”

Thankfully, the Cabazon Dinosaurs attraction, which includes massive Tyrannosaurus and Apatosaurus sculptures created by the late Wheel Inn founder Claude Bell, are on separate property. The attraction, which includes a robotic dinosaur museum, remains open daily. Information is available at cabazondinosaurs.com.

The Wheel Inn was an attraction itself, earning a spot in Tim Burton’s 1985 flick “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.”

The diner featured a delightfully tacky art gallery where portraits of John Wayne and Elvis on black velvet were big sellers, phones were mounted by tables for truck drivers to use and it boasted some of the best peanut butter-cream pie in the universe.

Its chicken-fried steak and biscuits and gravy were revered.

The classic fun ended when the last Wheel Inn operator, Jesse Lantner, shut it down in 2013 after a year of running the diner.

He said at that the time that costs of maintaining the building – more than a half-century old – were high. The diner was busy only on weekends. It had competition from fast-food restaurants that opened along Interstate 10 and the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa.

Lantner abruptly closed without notice, to the dismay of employees who worked at the Wheel Inn for as long 38 years.

Cabazon’s blustery winds combined with trespassers and ne’er-do-wells to ravage the building after the closure.

On a recent visit, broken signs, fading paint, weeds growing through asphalt and toppled, broken rooftop air-cooling equipment were visible.

“The problem is that it’s falling apart,” said Bob Hughes of Hughes Properties in Palm Springs. “It’s almost in a demolition state now.”

Hughes, who is marketing the Wheel Inn for owner Sam Spinello, took down a for-sale-or-lease banner last week because of ongoing damage to the building. He said copper thieves stole piping and transients managed to break into the upstairs living quarters.

While still trying to sell or lease the property, Hughes feels the old diner is in such bad shape that the best option may demolition.

“It’s a bad situation,” Hughes said. “The land is worth more than the building.”

QUIZ ANSWERS 1) First built, with work starting in the early 1960s, was Bell’s Apatosaurus, Dinny. Mr. Rex was not built until the mid-1980s. 2) A gift shop that is operated by the still-open Cabazon Dinosaurs attraction. 3) An Early California miner sculpture – not a dinosaur. 4) “Tell ’em large Marge sent ya,” declared character actress Alice Nunn as the ghost of a long-dead trucker. 5) The films “Paris, Texas” and “The Wizard.” 6) Diane Salinger played Simone. And, for the record, Jon Harris played her mammoth, dino-bone swinging boyfriend, Andy. 7) “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” the alt-rock classic by Tears for Fears. Click here to return to the quiz.

Amy Wilson, a cashier at the Cabazon Shell gas station and truck stop next door, is asked daily about the Wheel Inn. Forlorn travelers walk into the station’s mini mart and ask what happened. Truckers say they long for its home-cooked style.

“They talk about when they went there as kids,” she said.

When our children Kevin and Alexis were young and we lived in Snow Creek Village 10 miles away, I used to haul them to the Wheel Inn for the diner’s famous peanut-butter cream pie.

One of my favorite episodes was about seven years ago when waitresses had fun working in Flintstone-style cave girl costumes, complete with faux bone jewelry.

Fred Coats, who manages the Shell station, said it’s a loss for Cabazon, where he has lived for 15 years. He was among the many locals who dined there and enjoyed its dinosaur and cowboy decor.

“Cabazon is not the same without it,” Coats said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9078 or bpratte@pe.com