Al's diner
| Al's diner | |||
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| National Register of Historic Places | |||
 Al's Diner in 2012 |
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| location | Chicopee , Massachusetts , United States | ||
| Coordinates | 42 ° 11 '30.8 " N , 72 ° 35' 56.1" W | ||
| Built | 1958 | ||
| architect | Master Diners | ||
| Architectural style | Stainless steel diner | ||
| NRHP number | 00001482 | ||
| The NRHP added | December 14, 2000 | ||
The Al's Diner (formerly. The White Diner ) is a 1958-built Diner in Chicopee in the state of Massachusetts of the United States . It is one of the so-called "stainless steel" dinners and was entered on December 14, 2000 as part of the Multiple Property Submission Diners of Massachusetts MPS in the National Register of Historic Places .
description
Al's Diner is one of only two Massachusetts diners built by Master Diners in Pequannock , New Jersey . It is within an industrial and commercial park near the Willimansett Bridge, which connects Chicopee to Holyoke . It was in a steel frame made of stainless steel ( English stainless steel produced) and thus disguised from the outside what this diner-type gave his name. Horizontal stripes made of red and blue enamel give the outer shell colored accents. The monitor roof is surrounded by a steel parapet. The kitchen is in a one-story extension with a flat roof at the rear.
The diner has two entrances at the front, each with a short steel canopy. The entrances to other diners of this era were relocated to a vestibule , which is why the entrance areas of Al's Diner are unusual and leave less space for seating in comparison. On the roof there is a sign from the 1960s, which is very large considering the dimensions of the diner, with the inscription "Al's Restaurant", above which there are two other signs that advertise various take-away dishes. To the left of this is another sign with the inscription "Al's Diner".
Inside, the diner offers 24 seats along the front and 14 stools at the counter, which extends over almost the entire length. The original color concept inside consisted of the colors salmon pink, pale gray, dark gray and white, which can still be seen in some places such as the walls below the windows, the tables or the terrazzo floor . The stools and sitting areas are covered with green PVC .
Historical meaning
Al's Diner is the last remaining diner in Chicopee and, as one of only two Master Diners built restaurants and the way the entrances are designed, is very unusual across the state compared to other stainless steel diners. The diner has been closely associated with the Mathews family since the late 1950s.
In 1958 Al Thibault bought the diner and opened it in Chicopee under the name "The White Diner". In 1959, Anastasios Mathews left the Puritan Diner in Holyoke to work as a cook at The White Diner. In 1962, Al Rubin bought the diner and renamed it "Al's Restaurant", which, given the up-and-coming fast food chains, corresponded to the trend of the diner operators at the time to create a family-oriented restaurant atmosphere. At the same time, the kitchens were also moved to an extension. On February 1, 1975, the Mathews family, who had already been employed there by three family members, acquired the diner and continues to operate it to this day. The diner was open around the clock until 1983, but was then initially closed on Sunday nights and, from 1985, gradually also at night.
Chicopee was an important industrial location as early as the 1940s with manufacturers of products such as car tires, handguns, steel products, chemicals, textiles and furniture. In addition, the city was selected as the location of the US Army North Eastern Air Base (now Westover Air Reserve Base ) in 1939 . In 1949, a total of 55 restaurants and diners were counted in Chicopee; Al's Diner is the last remaining diner in town. The manufacturer Master Diners stopped its business activities in the 1970s.
See also
literature
- Kathleen Kelly Broomer, Betsy Friedberg: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. (PDF) National Park Service , October 2000, accessed on July 14, 2016 (English, accessible via the "NR" button).
- Richard Gutman: American diner then and now . Harper Perennial, New York 1993, ISBN 978-0-06-096956-1 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ National Register Information System . In: National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service . Retrieved November 2, 2013.
- ↑ a b cf. Broomer / Friedberg, p. 5.
- ↑ a b cf. Broomer / Friedberg, p. 6.
- ↑ a b cf. Broomer / Friedberg, p. 7.