(Blue Star Diner in Newport News, VA: April 15, 2003)
At
the end of the nineteenth century, still in the form a wagon, lunch
cart design
was quite ornate. The White House Café series
of lunch carts, built by T. Buckley in the 1890s, have been claimed to “perfect
little palaces and admired by all those who see them.” Measuring
sixteen feet long by seven wide and ten feet high, the wooden wagons
featured much artistry. Etched designs of goddesses, presidents, and
other figures often decorated windows. Blue and red flash glass would
also add visual appeal to the diner exterior. While wooden part of the
car itself would be painted simple bright white, it too would be embellished
by a local artisan. O’Mahony cart exteriors were covered in three
quarter in beaded pine paneling. They still looked like wagons despite
the decoration. |
Gutman 52 |
The
highly ornamented style continued when the customer stepped inside
these early lunch wagons. According
to diner researcher,
Gutman, the O’Mahony manufacturing company envisioned its products
to appear like deluxe Pullman car. The kitchen u shaped was located
along the back of the car. While a handout window was built into the
earlier
cars it was later eliminated. A eating shelf was located along opposite
perimeter wall. Symbolic of cleanliness, white remained a popular color
for the counter and other interior surfaces. Although these early cars
did not have electricity they did possess cookstoves, a rather modern
innovation. French plate mirrors and linoleum crafted especially for
the lunch car business made up for any technological shortcomings.
This favorable comparison to high class lunch rooms led the lunch wagon
to
be called the dining car, later shortened to diner. |
The
diner soon grew out of its wagon heritage. When manufacturers added
steel
structural support to the wooden framework
the size of the diner
could be infinitely expanded. The smallest diner measured twice the
length of the wagon. In accordance to increasing size, the original
wheels used
when the horse would pull the wagon to its resting location, were no
longer necessary because railroad flatcars and trucks transported the
larger units instead. In 1941 the Paramount diner company patented
the split diner. This diner, built in two or more sections, would be
hauled
on a truck to its destination. Each section having an open wall would
be assembled on a single foundation. The roof of these growing structures
was often shaped like a barrel. The O’Mahony company boasted
that their roofs were sheathed in quality white pine. The wagon exterior
often
appeared quite similar to each other. The number of windows used on
each wall of the wagon was way method to distinguish one manufacturer
from
the other. Some manufacturers, like Ward and Dickinson became so found
of steel that they covered the entire exterior with this durable material.
Stainless steel became the dominant exterior surface. Oftentimes it
would be decorated with panels with integrated graphics. One popular
combination
was medium blue with yellow lettering. Paramount diners, based in,
Elizabeth, New Jersey, became well known for its terra cotta design.
This design
included flat porcelain panels in two colors flanking the exterior.
Rounded corners and windows were also characteristic of this design
included
in the trade publication Diner. |
Gutman 177
While
much of the elaborate, flamboyant styling had given way to more geometric,
industrial design
inspired architecture by the time the diner
entered its Golden Age during the 1930s. By the 1930s the hard edge
boxed design was giving way to a more streamlined look. Surfaces
and textures
were brushed, polished, rounded, or wrapped. Like other architecture
of the period, the diner possessed a futuristic look. At the end of
the 1930s a new fleet of diners began to arrive on the map thanks
to a man
Merrimac, Massachusetts man named JB Judkins. His new patented modular
design was based on New England boat builder’s concept. Two bullet
shaped ends characterized the sleek diner known as the Sterling Streamliner.
Mounted to roof was a fin with the diner’s name on it. A neighboring
New England competitor, the Worcester Lunch Company constructed slightly
more conservative models who had slanted ends. The shape reminded the
onlooker of a locomotive and mobility. The diner was forging ahead
into future with a strong architectural signature. |
The
diner interior reflected its modernized exterior. Like later models,
the
early diner interiors featured a counter bar
flanked by stools. The
materials used for the counter reflected the changing economy. The
eating counter became one of the most important elements in diner interior
and
overall character. Initially white marble and opalite were the material
of choice. During the 1930s one manufacturer introduced glass countertops
as refrigerated units displaying salads fruit and pastry. This type
of utilitarian decoration sharply contrasted to the detailed styling
in
the lunch carts. The backbar area, the section, behind the counter,
complemented the prominent counter and was “an integral to the success of the
diner.” Architecturally speaking, the back was a storage space
for mugs, pots, pans. It served as a model of efficiency and would
remain a fixture for decades to come. On the other hand, the decorative
style
continued to evolve. Art deco theme that incorporated tile panels with
decorative geometric patterns became very popular at one time. The
increasing large diners offered greater seating options, such a more
booths, in
addition to the traditional counter stools. The general configuration
of the diner interior changed as multi-section diners became more popular.
One possible layout put the traditional dining space for customers
in the front section and the kitchen in the back section. Other configurations
designated the back half as a separate dining room and restroom. As
the
diner grew in size and popularity options only continued to increase. |
 |
Kittell Page 39 |
The decade immediately following the end of World War II enhanced what the previous decade had begun. In 1946 O’Mahony introduced a new model featuring enlarged windows, curved glass windows, and fatter trim above the windows. O’Mahony’s new deluxe model sheathed in cream colored porcelain enamel with two porcelain stripes in red or turquoise was grander than any other diner before. The front section facing the street measured eighty feet. The company liked to tout it as the largest diner in the world. |
While
size generally increased, the
significance of the back bar did not. Eventually, water stations, drinks,
salads, and desserts stayed up front. Fluorescent Lighting illuminated
the ceilings. Sometimes a strip of mirrors was added down the center
to add a feeling of spaciousness to smaller diners. Like other period
diners, a new material called Formica was generously applied to this
diner as replacement for tiles. After WWII materials such as marble,
mahogany, and leather were hardly used because of their high cost.
Even tiles became very rare for sometime. This shift is materials can
be attributed
to an inexpensive yet durable material that was easy to install. Formica
was selected for its longevity as well as its decorating potential
. Soon, it became available in seventy colors as well as patterns such
as wood grain. In 1950, the company’s most popular pattern, Skylark
took hold of the dinner community. The sleek Formica was used for a
variety of surfaces, especially the counter and table tops. The Parmount
company
liked Formica so much that it pioneered the replacement of wood and
porcelain enamel and metal ceiling surfaces with it. This whimsical
touch was welcomed
during a progressive design era. Light fixtures even resembled saucers.
This futuristic science influence upon the diner interior coincided
with the country’s race to the moon. This embrace of new design
ideas proved the diner was a well-used place that reflected America’s
current aesthetic and priorities. |
During
the mid-1960s another era of diner architecture emerged onto the
scene due to the never-ending quest for the new and exciting. Putnam
argues the main reason diner architecture changed during this time
period is because designers felt exhausted with stainless steel options.
The two styles that emerged from their experimentation, colonial
revival and Mediterranean were more evocative of the past than the
future. These domesticated facades, were more in taste with the urban
renewal projects legislators were pursuing during these time period.
Ocean City, New Jersey actually began to ban stainless steel and
to require that a diner must have a Colonial image in order to follow
city ordinances. The town leaders and restaurant owners hoped the
patriotic look would convey an image of a conservative family place
with more food and less flash. The Kullman diner manufacturing company
tried to authenticate their colonial design by using salvaged bricks
from old colonial homes on its diner exteriors. In addition to colonial
inspired designs, the Mediterranean style, became a popular architectural
alternative that attempted to ensure the diner would not resemble
the new fast food franchises. “A palazzo of steel with rows
of repetitive arches, Spanish quarry tile, and a mansard roof” the
new diner design oftentimes could be credited to the owner’s
Greek ethnicity. These diners were much larger than those from previous
eras. Although the outside appear change, the driving force behind
the diner, more is better, prevailed.
|
Gutman 182
Like
the exteriors, the interiors of Colonial and Mediterranean diners
reflected
the changing attitudes
towards the all-american eating institution.
While the dining rooms seemed to stretch on forever, the traditional
counter bar continued to shrink. A two hundred seat restaurant contained
only six to eight stools (182). The almost invisible bar was not the
only difference between the new diners and those built during the war
years. More subtle changes changed the aura of the diner. Diner owners
tried to add a more elegant, homelike aura to the diner by installing
wall to wall carpets instead of hard Terrazzo tile. Crystal chandeliers
and coach lamps replaced the fluorescent lighting. Laminated wood paneling,
smoked mirrors, imported tile counters, and Grecian statues were added.
These additions enabled the diner feel more like an elegant restaurant
than ever before. The design elements, both consistent and uniquely
diner, proved to be both comforting and an ominous sign of the diner’s
immanent demise. |
