Tuesday, February 1, 2011

A Week of Worcesters

Providence may be the birthplace of the diner, but Worcester is truly a diner kind of town.

A week's feature on diners manufactured by the Worcester Lunch Car Company could easily focus on this Massachusetts industrial hub.

I guess you'd expect nothing less from a city whose tourist council's information booth was once a diner.


According to Roadside Online's Diner Finder, there are currently 14 diners in Worcester.

11 of these are Worcester style diners
 1 is in storage
 1 is a private residence (really!)
 3 have been renovated to the point where there is little left of the original structure.
   (Having been manufactured in the 1930s & 1940s, it is bound to happen.)
 2 have been remodeled to keep up with the times, but are more true to their original form.
 1 is an 'lost diner found' ... Worcester 101 (more on that later this week.)
 1 used to be a bar and is still in great shape
 2 are picture perfect examples of Worcester Lunch Car craftsmanship.
    (The Boulevard Diner and the Miss Worcester from yesterday's post. I'm seeing conflicting
    reports about the Miss Worcester's status ... is it open?)

Photos tomorrow in a Worcester Wordless Wednesday.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Paula

    My wife I am on a mission to take a photo of our 1961 Comet in front of as many diners as possible. I maintain a webpage with our progress. Here is our list for Worcester. I have tired to match them to you list of 11 above. Just want to make sure I have them all covered:


    Alice & the Hat Diner, Murry St
    1 is in storage

    Blanchards 101 Diner, 322 Cambridge Street
    1 is an 'lost diner found'

    Boulevard Diner, 155 Shrewsbury St
    2 are picture perfect examples of Worcester Lunch Car craftsmanship

    Corner Lunch, 133 Lamartine St
    Not a worcester so it does not line up with your list

    Fifty-Fifty Diner/Emerald Isle, 49 Millbury St
    3 have been renovated to the point where there is little left of the original structure.

    George's Green Island Diner, 162 Millbury St
    2 have been remodeled to keep up with the times, but are more true to their original form.

    LaPrade's Diner, 169 Stafford Street
    1 is a private residence (really!)

    Lou-Roc's Diner, 1074 West Boylston St
    3 have been renovated to the point where there is little left of the original structure.

    Miss Worcester Diner, 300 Southbridge St
    2 are picture perfect examples of Worcester Lunch Car craftsmanship

    Parkway Diner, 148 Shrewsbury St
    3 have been renovated to the point where there is little left of the original structure.

    Ralph's Chadwick Square Diner, 148 Grove St
    1 used to be a bar and is still in great shape

    If you could confirm that would be great. We will be going up to Worcester in the near future to wrap up the photo shoots.

    Len & Annie

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