Diners
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Miss Worcester
Diner
Click photo to enlarge
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Many people who
have studied diners believe they evolved from the night lunch carts that were
manufactured in Worcester between 1890 and 1908 by T. H. Buckley. In fact,
Buckley's Worcester Lunch Car Company was one of a number of diner manufacturers
in America, and it was not the first. Diners were invented in the context
of industrialization.
The
Food
Individual diners have always had their own
special recipes, but "diner food" is also served in other kinds of restaurants.
The
late hours open
Diners were invented to serve meals to factory
workers on the late shift. In recognition of this market niche, T. H. Buckley
named his first cart the "Owl Café." Today, many diners serve only breakfast
and lunch.
The
customers
Early diners were built to serve factory employees
near their work places, but diners soon became popular roadside cafés and
downtown lunch places. Then and now, anyone can eat at a diner.
The
mobile building
Diners were built in factories and sold completely
equipped, from stoves to silverware to hat racks. Diners were built with wheels
so that they could be moved from factory to site. Many Worcester diners still
have their wheels hidden underneath.
Worcester
diners
Click
on an image below to see it larger and for more information about the scene
being viewed.
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American
Eagle Cafe #200
Photo by E.B. Luce, 1907
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Interior
of the American Eagle Cafe
Photo by E.B. Luce, c. 1907
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Finely
Fran's (formerly Muggsy's)
Photo by Rosemary Richard Lebeau,
1993-1994
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Interior
of the Worcester Lunch Car Company factory, photo c. 1905
Photo by E.B. Luce, c. 1905
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Charles
H. Palmer advertisement, 1893
Worcester City Directory
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Hotel
Diner behind Bancroft Hotel, photo 1936
Photo by E.B. Luce, c. 1938
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Charlie's
Diner
Photo by Paul Cotnoir, 1982
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Trainor's
Lunch Car
Photo by E.B. Luce, c. 1925
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Boulevard
Diner
Photo by Rosemary Richard Lebeau,
1993-1994
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Chadwick
Square Diner
Photo by Paul Cotnoir, 1982
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