Tag: lunch counter

museumofcityny:

Well, they don’t call them April showers for nothing.  Today is the kind of day for curling up with a cup of coffee and some comfort food.  So here’s a picture of a Diner.  The first diner was created in 1872 by a man named Walter Scott in Providence, Rhode Island. Around 1858 he had been supplementing his income by selling sandwiches and coffee to night workers at the newspaper and patrons of men’s club rooms. But by 1872 business became so lucrative that he began selling food at night from a horse-drawn wagon parked outside the Providence Journal newspaper office as his primary job. The success of the early converted wagons inspired a few individuals to form companies and manufacture lunch wagons for sale. It is said that the first commercial production of lunch wagons began in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1887 by Thomas Buckley. Buckley was successful and became known for his wagon design.  These improved wagons allowed customers to stand inside, or sit on stools at counters thus removing the danger of inclement weather spoiling a cup of coffee. In 1893, Charles Palmer received the first patent for the diner and also built in the Worcester area until 1901. The lunch wagons became very popular because people could purchase inexpensive meals during the day but also at night during a time when most restaurants closed by 8:00 pm. During the Depression most diners were able to stay in business because of their relative inexpensiveness and after WWII, the demand for diners increased dramatically. Americans were eager to spend money and make up for the years that they had to do without for the war effort.  During this time of population shifting from cities to the suburbs the look of diners began to change. This is when all stainless steel exteriors and large windows came into vogue. And the 1950s arrival of the Space Age also changed the look of the classic American diner.  However, the 1950s also brought about the rise of fast food establishments, which were in direct competition with diners.

X2010.7.1.12500
Wurts Bros. (New York, N.Y.)
[Interior of diner].
DATE:ca. 1939