Massachusetts – M.A. Kleen

Worcester Diners

If New Jersey is the diner capital of the U.S., Massachusetts is a close second. Thomas Buckley began to sell lunch wagons in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1887. Charles Palmer, who patented a “Night-Lunch Wagon” in 1893, also operated in Worcester. The Worcester Lunch Car Company, founded by Philip H. Duprey and Grenville Stoddard, was an iconic diner manufacturer from 1906 to 1957. It produced 651 diners, many of which still exist today. Several are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Worcester diners look more like railroad cars than their newer counterparts, with smooth metal exteriors and wooden interiors. Most have a distinctive barrel roof and a row of large windows, with entrances at either end.

The Miss Worcester Diner, 302 Southbridge Street in Worcester, Massachusetts, is a 1948 Worcester (#812) built for Dino Soteropoulos. It sits across the street from the old Worcester Lunch Car Company factory and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. This classic diner is a local favorite.

Diners of Massachusetts

If Rhode Island can claim to be the birthplace of American diners, Massachusetts is a close second. Thomas Buckley began to sell lunch wagons in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1887. Charles Palmer, who patented a “Night-Lunch Wagon” in 1893, also operated in Worcester. The Worcester Lunch Car Company, of course, was an iconic diner manufacturer from 1906 to 1957.

Ralph’s Rock Diner, at 148 Grove Street in Worcester, Massachusetts, is a 1930 Worcester model, #660. The Worcester Lunch Car Company operated in this city from 1906 to 1957 and manufactured hundreds of lunch carts and classic diners. Robert and Mamie Gilhooly originally opened this diner on Grove Street in Worchester’s Chadwick Square (hence the name, Chadwick Square Diner). It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Route 66 Diner, at 950 Bay Street in Springfield, Massachusetts, is a 1957 Mountain View, one of the last manufactured by that Signac, New Jersey company. Originally called the Bay Diner, owner Donald A. Roy bought it in 1975 and the restaurant is managed by his brother-in-law, Charlie Allen. It is cash only.

Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Mount Auburn Cemetery, at 580 Mt Auburn Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was the country’s first rural cemetery. Designed by landscape architect Alexander Wadsworth, it opened in 1841 and quickly became one of the most visited destinations in the country. Rural cemeteries were laid out like gardens, with winding paths, ponds, and hills, and many, like Mount Auburn, also serve as arboretums. Mount Auburn was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2003. It is 200 acres and is the final resting place for approximately 70,000 people.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was America’s greatest poet. He was a Harvard professor, translator, and like many New Englanders, an abolitionist prior to the American Civil War. “Paul Revere’s Ride”, “My Lost Youth”, The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline are counted among his works.

A granite Sphinx by Irish-American sculptor Martin Milmore commemorating the end of the American Civil War. Its inscription reads: “American Union Preserved; African Slavery Destroyed; By the Uprising of a Great People; By the Blood of Fallen Heroes.” It was erected in 1872.

Boulevard Diner in Worcester, Massachusetts

Boulevard Diner, at 155 Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, Massachusetts, is a 1936 Worcester model, #730. The Worcester Lunch Car Company operated in this city from 1906 to 1957 and manufactured hundreds of lunch carts and classic diners. Frank Galanto and his family owned and operated the Boulevard Diner until 1969, when John “Ringo” George, an employee, took the reigns. His son, Jim, has continued the tradition. The Boulevard Diner was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Look for a new diner every Tuesday in 2019! Click to expand photos.

Diner Resources

Ashes from the Oath

Firefighters’ Monument in Forest Hills Cemetery, 95 Forest Hills Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. John A. Wilson sculpted this bronze statue and relief images in 1909, and each year on the second Sunday in June members of the Boston Fire Department commemorate their fallen comrades.

Corner Lunch Diner in Worcester, Massachusetts

Corner Lunch Diner, at 133 Lamartine Street in Worcester, Massachusetts, is a 1955 DeRaffele model. Originally located in Babylon, New York, it moved to Worcester in 1968, where it was owned by Demetrious Efstathiou and re-assembled by the Musi Dining Car Company. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Look for a new diner every Tuesday in 2019! Click to expand photos.

Diner Resources

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, at 34A Bedford Street in Concord, Massachusetts, is the final resting place of New England literary giants and prominent transcendentalists like Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau. The architecture firm of Cleveland and Copeland designed Sleepy Hollow in the rural style in 1855, with winding paths and a natural, wooded setting. Thousands make a pilgrimage here looking for inspiration, and many leave behind pencils, notes, and other tokens of appreciation.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was a writer and transcendentalist philosopher known for his book Walden and essay “Civil Disobedience.” In these works, he outlined his philosophy of simple living, pacifism, and the abolition of slavery. Some have described him as an anarchist for his conclusion, “That government is best which governs not at all.”

In contrast to the transcendentalists also buried on “Author’s Ridge”, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was a dark romantic writer known for The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. Dark romantics believed humans are naturally prone to sin and self destruction. Hawthorne is considered one of America’s greatest novelists.

Everything Becomes Dust

Monument to Dr. Harriot Kezia Hunt (1805-1875) in Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mt. Auburn Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Edmonia Lewis sculpted this statue of Hygeia, the Greek goddess of health, in her honor. Hunt was one of the first professional female physicians in Boston.