The Boulevard Diner is a historic diner at 155 Shrewsbury Street in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

. It was built by

Worcester Lunch Car Company Worcester Lunch Car Company was a manufacturer of diners based in Worcester, Massachusetts, from 1906 to 1957. History In 1906 Philip H. Duprey and Grenville Stoddard established the Worcester Lunch Car and Carriage Manufacturing Company, whic ...

in 1936 as #730. It is a well-preserved instance of a barrel-roof diner that the company made in significant numbers in the years before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and the city's best-preserved 1930s diner. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2000.

Description and history

The Boulevard Diner is located on Worcester's east side, on the south side of Shrewsbury Street at its junction with Plum Street. Shrewsbury Street is a major artery running northeast from downtown Worcester to join

Massachusetts Route 9 Route 9 is a major east–west state highway in Massachusetts. Along with U.S. Route 20 (US 20), Route 2, and Interstate 90, Route 9 is one of the major east–west routes of Massachusetts. The western terminus is near the center of the cit ...

. The diner is set on a brick foundation set close to the sidewalk, and has a utilitarian single-story brick kitchen attached to the rear. The diner is eight bays wide and four deep, with entrances at the sides, sheltered by the ends of the barrel roof. The eastern entrance is enclosed in a 1950s steel-and-glass enclosure, and the western entrance is accessed by an enclosed stair; both still have their original wooden doors. The diner is covered in yellow ceramic panels with red lettering reading "Boulevard Diner". The interior has had many of its features restored, including marble counters, tile floors, and appliance surrounds. The diner was manufactured in 1936 by the

as #730, and was owned by Frank Galanto, a prominent local owner of several diners, from its construction until 1969. At the time of its National Register listing in 2000, it had been owned since 1969 by members of the George family. The barrel-roof diner was one of the company's more common products.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Restaurants on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Diners on the National Register of Historic Places Diners in Massachusetts Restaurants in Worcester, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Worcester, Massachusetts 1936 establishments in Massachusetts Restaurants established in 1936

Description and history

See also

References