Worcester Lunch Car Company was a manufacturer of

diner A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a com ...

s based 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 ...

, from 1906 to 1957.

History

Worcester Lunch Car Company factory manufacturing building in Worcester Massachusetts MA USA

In 1906 Philip H. Duprey and Grenville Stoddard established the Worcester Lunch Car and Carriage Manufacturing Company, which shipped 'diners' all over the Eastern Seaboard. It was named for

, where the company was based. The first manufactured lunch wagons with seating appeared throughout the Northeastern US in the late 19th century, serving busy

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

locations without the need to buy expensive real estate. It is generally accepted that the name "diner" as opposed to "lunch wagon" was not widely used before 1925. The company produced 651 diners between 1906 and 1957, when manufacturing ceased. All of Worcester Lunch Car's assets were auctioned in 1961.

Examples

Many diners still exist in the Worcester area, including Casey's Diner (1922) in nearby Natick and the

Boulevard Diner The Boulevard Diner is a historic diner at 155 Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. It was built by Worcester Lunch Car Company in 1936 as #730. It is a well-preserved instance of a barrel-roof diner that the company made in significan ...

(1936) in Worcester, which are some of the oldest diners in the country and 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 ...

. The Miss Worcester Diner (1948) still exists in its original location across the street from the former factory. The Rosebud (1941) is an example at 381 Summer Street in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

near

Davis Square Davis Square is a major intersection in the northwestern section of Somerville, Massachusetts where several streets meet: Holland Street, Dover Street, Day Street, Elm Street, Highland Avenue, and College Avenue. The name is often used to refer ...

. The Elmwood Diner (originally known as Central Diner) is Worcester Lunch Car Company #806 built in 1947 and moved to its current location in 1953 where is still operates in the Elmwood section of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010 Worcester Lunch Car Company #821 is still in its original location at 53 Park Street in

Adams, Massachusetts Adams is a town in northern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,166 at the 2020 census. History Nathan Jones purchased the township of ...

. The former "Miss Adams diner" was sold to a couple in 2013 who operate it as, Izzy's Diner and Pizza, a full service diner and pizza shop, and still contains many original items including the original Worcester Lunch Car Clock. The car is slowly being restored to look as it did originally. In August 2020, the diner was purchased by a local restaurateur. While most of their diners were located in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

some were purchased as far away as Florida. The

Henry Ford Museum The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, and as the Edison Institute) is a history museum complex in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, United States. The museum collection contains ...

in Michigan contains a notable example of a Worcester Lunch Car diner called Lamy's, built in 1946. In January 2012, Lamy's once again began serving food. Many surviving Worcester Lunch Car diners are currently listed on the

Other examples

Maine

* A-1 Diner, Gardiner, Maine *Miss Portland Diner – WLCC No. 818, 1949

Massachusetts

Lloyd's Diner Lloyd's Diner is a historic diner at 184A Fountain Street in Framingham, Massachusetts. Formerly Whit's Diner in Orange, Massachusetts, it was moved its present location in 1990. Built as #783 by the Worcester Lunch Car Company in 1942, it was ...

, 184 Fountain St, Framingham, Massachusetts * Blue Point Restaurant, 6 Dayton Street, Acushnet, Massachusetts * Club Diner, Dutton Street, Lowell, Massachusetts * Owl Diner, Appleton Street, Lowell, Massachusetts * Day and Night Diner, Route 20,

Palmer, Massachusetts Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,448 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Palmer adopted a home rule charter in 2004 with a counci ...

(Worcester Lunch Car #781, 1944) * Dinky’s Blue Belle Diner, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts (Worcester Lunch Car #814) * Lanna Thai Diner, Woburn, Massachusetts * Miss Adams Diner Adams, Massachusetts; Worcester Lunch Car 821

New Hampshire

* 4 Aces Diner, Bridge St, West Lebanon, New Hampshire *Daddypops Tumble Inn Diner, Main Street, Claremont NH *Gilleys Diner (1940), Portsmouth, NH *Peterborough Diner (1950s), Peterborough, NH

New York

* Bolton Beans, Lake Shore Drive, Bolton Landing, New York. Originally Mancini’s in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1961 became Don’s Diner in Plainville, Massachusetts. In 1969 moved to North Attleboro, Massachusetts as Red Rock Hill Diner. In 1989 moved to Bolton Landing as Bolton Beans.

Rhode Island

* Jigger’s Hill and Harbour Diner, Main Street, East Greenwich, Rhode Island * Miss Lorraine Diner, Mineral Spring Avenue, Pawtucket (Worcester Lunch Car No. 774), formerly Donwell's Diner in Hartford, CT

Vermont

* Athens Diner, formerly Libby's Blue Line Diner, originally The Casu Diner in Turner's Falls, Mass. (Worcester Lunch Car #838, 1953) * Chelsea Royal Diner, West Brattleboro, Vermont * Parkway Diner, South Burlington, Vermont * Miss Bellows Falls Diner, Bellows Falls, Vermont (Worcester Lunch Car #771, 1941)

References

External links

Gutman's ''The Worcester Lunch Car Company''
1906 establishments in the United States Diner manufacturers {{Diners , state=expanded