Well, another year has flown by, and it seems that before we knew it, the end of November has come along. Sometimes it is hard to believe that this amount of time has passed – not just the current year but the time between 1980 and 2025! Back in the summer of 1980, I had just started using a 35mm camera, being influenced by my friend Steve Repucci. Steve had been using a 35mm camera since the early 1970s and I saw the kind of results he had managed to get over the years. You see, I myself had used at least two different Kodak Instamatic cameras through the 1970s but never considered photography as a hobby until I met Steve. So, with my first 35mm camera in hand, I started taking some scenic photos.
But almost immediately, I had entertained the thought that I might start taking photos of Diners. You see, towards the end of 1979, Steve and I had been going out on Sunday morning road trips which usually started with a stop for breakfast, often at a local diner – the first two or three weeks we had stopped at Genia’s Diner in North Woburn, Massachusetts.
Where my Sunday Morning road trips with Steve Repucci began… Genia’s Diner in North Woburn, Massachusetts Photo by Larry Cultrera, March 1981
After the third week, we came up with the bright idea to start going to different diners which would determine the direction of the road trip. Of course, at that time there was no internet or diner directories, etc. to consult, this meant basically that we had to rely on personal knowledge, memory or serendipity to find the diners! This was our modus operandi for the better part of the next year, until Steve moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Labor Day weekend of 1980! Helping out with the move were myself and Steve’s brother Scott, who drove a rental truck with all of Steve’s belongings as well as those of Jake Bobitz, who had also decided to move back to his hometown of Harrisburg, after having lived in the Boston area for a few years. So, the move consisted of a caravan of four vehicles with Scott in the lead driving the U-Haul followed by Jake in his car. Steve was next in line with me pulling up the rear in the Chevy Van!
This trip marked my first time ever in Pennsylvania! While there, I noticed quite a few diners near where Steve lived, and we may have even had a meal or two that weekend at one although I do not specifically remember. After getting back to Massachusetts, I still continued to go out on Sunday morning road trips and hitting diners for breakfast, sometimes solo and sometimes with my brother Rick.
Diners of the Northeast was published in the Fall of 1980
Not long after Steve’s move to Harrisburg, a new book had been published called Diners of the Northeast and that was a godsend! Finally, this was a guide to a bunch of diners from New Jersey, New York and New England. This book authored by Donald Kaplan and Alan Bellink had fanned the fire I had to fever pitch, and I was now dead set on photographing diners although that would not happen until that coming November. It was on our next planned trip down to Harrisburg that I made that first tentative photo of the By-Pass Diner!
So, on the day after Thanksgiving 1980, I made the trip down to Harrisburg again. This time with my brother Rick and my friend Scott Drown. I recall driving down Interstate 81 from Scranton to Harrisburg, where we drove through about the worst, most dense fog ever. I am just glad it was during daylight hours, although it was still downright scary! The next morning, November 29th we decided to go out to breakfast at the By-Pass Diner located at the corner of Herr Street and Arsenal Boulevard, which was maybe three miles away from the apartment that Steve was sharing with Ed Womer on North Progress Avenue.
The By-Pass Diner of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania became the subject of the very first photo of a diner that I ever shot on November 29, 1980.
Now forty-five years later, I have managed to take thousands of photos using 35mm film, 35mm slide film and since 2000, digital images of just under 900 diners. These were located throughout the northeast, as far south as Tennessee, Georgia and Florida and as far west as Michigan and Chicago!
On a side note, I last spoke maybe five years ago with our old friend Jake Bobitz, in fact I have tried calling him a few times in the intervening years without any luck. As I was writing this post, I happened to do some searching on the internet and was shocked and surprised to find out that he had passed away just over a year ago on November 7, 2024. Rest in peace my friend!
The first photo that appeared on this blog back on October 31, 2007. Featuring my late friend Owen Abdalian and yours truly at the Main Street Diner in Woburn, Massachusetts. June 13, 1993 Photo courtesy of the Boston Globe
I always try to acknowledge the “Birthday” of this blog on or around October 31 every year. I am posting this a day early as bright and early tomorrow morning; I am having another foot surgery. Well, be that as it may, there has been a lot of water under the bridge and a lot of change, diner-wise since I started this blog. Even though I have been officially retired from my regular job for just over two years, I thought I would be able to do more writing on the blog. Unfortunately, due to shear laziness I have been rather lax in posting! So, todays post is unusual as it is actually the third post in as many days, but that is the way it goes sometimes. I still manage to get out there and photograph some diners and by last count it is just under 900 since November 29, 1980.
In honor of this blog’s birthday, I am posting some photos of a diner I first saw derelict in a New Jersey field back in 1985. This was the former Pole Tavern Diner of Pittsgrove, New Jersey. It had been replaced by a newer diner at some point in the past and moved to this field just off of Routes 40 & 581.
The former Pole Tavern Diner in a field. November 18, 1985 photo by Larry Cultrera
The next time I saw the diner was on the Society for Commercial Archeology’s Delaware Valley Diner Tour on June 19, 1993. As seen in this next photograph, the weeds and trees have almost obscured the diner from view since I first saw it in 1985!
The former Pole Tavern Diner literally obscured by an overgrowth of trees and brush. June 19, 1993 photo by Larry Cultrera
Sometime in the early 2000s, this diner was saved by Steve Harwin of Diversified Diners in Cleveland, Ohio. He actually did a frame-off restoration, completely rebuilding it and it was purchased by renowned New Hampshire businessman and philanthropist Michael Dingman. Mr. Dingman had the diner installed on his private property in southeastern New Hampshire and used it for private functions. He even had a roof top sign made for it, naming it Betsy & Mike’s Diner. Unfortunately, I never got to see it at that location.
Betsy & Mike’s Diner at Michael Dingman’s property. Photo courtesy of The Concord Monitor.
Within the last 10 years, Mr. Dingman had passed away and his collection of classic cars, and more than 500 exquisite neon, porcelain & metal signs, as well as including the diner were put up for auction. The diner was bought by developer Steve Duprey who transported it to two storage locations in Concord, New Hampshire until he finalized his plans for the diner. As reported on December 16, 2024, the two sections of the diner were moved to a site at 24 South Main Street in Concord. The diner was being installed at the downtown entertainment complex called the Arts Alley. This an integral part of the second phase of Steve Duprey’s renovation the Bank Of New Hampshire Stage.
So, on December 24, 2024 Denise & I stopped in Concord on our way up to Laconia, New Hampshire for the Christmas Holiday. I was able to grab 3 photos of the diner with the assistance of a construction worker who escorted me into the construction site. The diner was partially blocked by equipment, etc., so I did the best I could under the situation.
Betsy & Mike’s Diner after it got to its new home in Concord, New Hampshire. December 24, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera
According to a December 16, 2024 article written by Jonathan Van Fleet and Geoff Forester of the Concord Monitor, Steve Duprey was quoted as saying that “the diner will serve as a meeting and special event space at Arts Alley, which will also feature dining and entertainment spaces, including a long-anticipated restaurant called the Friendly Toast” (that actually opened on July 1, 2025). Duprey went on to say that “while the diner still has a full kitchen, seating is limited and it won’t be competing with the Friendly Toast. Its history and iconic charm are what make it an integral part of the project.” “It’s going to be cool,” Duprey said. “It’s going to be a great little spot.”
Recently, Denise and I took a couple of days off to spend time with her sister in Laconia, and we stopped off again in Concord and I shot 3 more photos. Here is one of them and as you can see, the diner looks great!
Betsy & Mike’s Diner in Arts Alley at The Bank of New Hampshire Stage Complex. October 11, 2025 photo by Larry Cultrera
Hopefully, I will continue to pursue my photographing of diners and write this blog for the next few years!
Andrew Satter emailed me back on October 10th and informed me that Cambridge, Massachusetts Mayor E. Denise Simmons had caught his previous Pop-Up exhibit of photos at the Cambridgeside Mall earlier this year. She contacted him recently and proposed a showing at Cambridge City Hall. The following is excerpted from a press release dated October 9th….
Rediscovered 1970s Photographs of Iconic Cambridge Diner on View at Cambridge City Hall “The Diner Project – Remembering a Time Past But Not Forgotten” Exhibit Opening Reception Thursday, October 16, 2025 in The Mayor’s Gallery, Cambridge City Hall
CAMBRIDGE, MA – October 9, 2025 – A long-lost box of photographs has led to a powerful new exhibition at The Mayor’s Gallery at Cambridge City Hall, celebrating the spirit and stories of working-class communities in Cambridge. Mayor E. Denise Simmons proudly announces Cambridge City Hall’s newest exhibit, “The Diner Project – Remembering a Time Past But Not Forgotten” featuring black-and-white photographs taken between 1974–1977 by then-student and aspiring photographer Andrew Satter, who spent three years documenting life inside Russ’s Kitchenette Diner, a 1930s railcar-style diner and beloved East Cambridge institution that served city workers for over 40 years before closing in 1978. An opening reception, including an artist talk and book signing, was held on Thursday, October 16, 2025, from 5:00–7:00 PM at The Mayor’s Gallery on the second floor of Cambridge City Hall, with light refreshments served at 5:00 PM. That event was free and open to the public.
The Mayor’s Gallery—a civic space dedicated to celebrating the creativity, diversity, and voices of our community—serves as the perfect venue for this exhibition. Designed to foster connection and dialogue among all who call Cambridge home, the gallery invites visitors to reflect, learn, and share, together. Satter, now an executive coach, published a companion monograph titled Walk-Ins Welcome and hopes the exhibit sparks memories and reconnections: “These images honor everyday people. I hope those who remember Russ’s—or recognize someone—will come forward and help continue the story.”
Andrew Satter speaking about the photos at the opening reception, October 16, 2025
A sample of photos on display at the Mayor’s Gallery
Andrew Satter with Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons at the opening reception on October 16, 2025
The exhibition will remain on view through November 14, 2025, during City Hall hours.
The Diner Store (left) next-door to Rosie’s Diner (right) at 14 Mile Road in Rockford, Michigan. circa 1990s photo by Fred Tienzivu
I last wrote a post about Rosie’s Diner back on November 1, 2023. At that time the diner had just been sold to Chuck and Dawn Perry of Millersburg, Missouri who planned on moving Rosie’s to Missouri and restoring and reopening it, along with the Silk City Diner last operated as a bar next door to Rosie’s. (See https://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/page/2/ and scroll down). Unfortunately, within a short time after I wrote that blog post, the Perrys lost momentum due to logistics and personal tragedy, and the diners never got moved.
To do a quick update for those who do not know, the diner was originally located in Little Ferry, New Jersey at the Route 46 traffic circle. It was purchased brand new from the Paramount Diner Company in 1946 by Ralph “Tex” Corrado Sr. and originally operated as the Silver Dollar Diner. Ralph Corrado Jr. took over from his dad Tex circa 1961 and was joined by his own son, Arnie Corrado, who was 12 years old at that time. Within three years they renamed it the Farmland Diner after their milk delivery source, Farmland Dairy.
Around 1970 they were approached by an ad agency to use the diner in a print advertisement for Benson & Hedges Cigarettes that subsequently appeared in TV Guide. This put the diner on a list that effectively placed the diner in the running to be used in many more ads, both for print and television. Due to its proximity to New York City, as well as the roomy interior, the diner became a go-to spot to film television commercials. In 1971, a guy named Dick Goodman who worked for Proctor & Gamble had the diner try out as a location for a Bounty Paper Towelscommercial that featured actress Nancy Walker. They were on a short list with other local diners and eventually won the shot at stardom. It led to a whole series of Bounty commercials. After this recognition, the diner was renamed Rosie’s Farmland Diner and eventually shortened to Rosie’s Diner. From then on, the diner used the tag line “Home of the Quicker Picker Upper”.
Ralph Corrado Jr., Nancy Walker and Arnie Corrado inside Rosie’s Diner circa 1970s. photo courtesy of Arnie Corrado
Rosie’s Farmland Diner, June 24, 1983 photo by Larry Cultrera
By 1989, after running the diner for 45 plus years, Ralph and Arnie Corrado sold the land under the diner to the auto glass repair shop next door. The business did not want the diner, leaving it up to the Corrados to sell the building. His offer to place “the most famous diner in America” in the Smithsonian Institutionwas rejected. At this time, Jerry Berta, steps into the picture. Berta, is a Michigan artist that produced ceramic replicas of classic diners. Berta has stated that early on in his career, the original Rosie’s was one of his inspirations, for creating his ceramic pieces.
Berta already owned one diner, the former Uncle Bob’s Diner a 1947 Jerry O’Mahony diner (moved from Flint, Michigan circa 1987) at that time located at his property on 14 Mile Road in Rockford, Michigan. Berta used that diner as a studio and gallery known as The Diner Store. On a subsequent trip to the New York City area toward the end of 1989, Jerry and some friends revisited Rosie’s Diner and found out that the New Jersey diner was for sale. To make a long story short, Jerry Berta bought the diner from Ralph and Arnie Corrado and relocated Rosie’s Diner in January 1990.
My connection with Rosie’s goes back to May 31, 1982, when I made my first visit to the iconic diner. I have subsequently made a few more visits through the 1980s and I was on hand in January 1990 at Rosie’s Diner on the last weekend of operation in New Jersey. The following link is from a video I posted to You Tube featuring all of my photos of Rosie’s Diner….https://youtu.be/2XlDiGzRM3I. The following are 2 of my photos from January 1990 of Rosie’s Diner being removed from New Jersey…
The front section of Rosie’s sitting in the Capri Inn parking lot, just around the corner from the diner’s long-time operating location prior to the move to Michigan. January 1990 photo by Larry Cultrera
The back section of Rosie’s off the foundation and sitting on a low bed trailer prior to being connected to the truck that will move it to Michigan. January 1990 photo by Larry Cultrera
Subsequently, after Rosies was back up and running, Berta purchased the former Garden of Eatin’ Diner (a 1952 Silk City) and moved it from Fulton, New York to the Michigan site in 1994 and called it The Deluxe Diner. A fourth (reproduction) diner was also built on site as an addition to the Silk City. Known collectively as Diner World or Dinerland USA, the location featured the Diner Store art gallery (in the O’Mahony car), Rosie’s Diner (the primary restaurant), The Deluxe Diner and a 3 1⁄2 acre food-themed mini-golf course designed by Berta, where guests could putt around a spilled coffee mug, a big burger and slice of pie, among other obstacles.
Dinerland USA, left to right -The Diner Store, Rosie’s Diner and The Deluxe Diner with the on-site addition. 1990s photo courtesy of Jerry Berta
The roadside attraction continued under Berta’s ownership, being operated by able management and staff until January 2006, when it was purchased by new owner/operators, Jonelle and Randy Roest. The Roests continued to run Rosie’s as a diner and reopened the Silk City car as a sports bar. The O’Mahony car was opened seasonally as an ice cream shop. The mini-golf course was not reopened. While under the Roests’ ownership, the location received TV coverage on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and the Travel Channel’s Diner Paradise. The Roests ended up closing it all on October 2, 2011. Soon after the property was sold through online auction to Aaron Koehn of nearby Koehn Chevrolet, with a winning bid of $125,000. In September 2014, he offered tours of the buildings as part of a car show that attracted an estimated 3,000 people.
As mentioned at the beginning of this post, 2 years ago it was announced that Rosie’s Diner and the adjacent Silk City diner had been purchased by Dawn & Chuck Perry of Millersburg, Missouri. Dawn was pretty active with her new Facebook page, The Original Rosie’s Diner and posted updates and been in contact with myself, Arnie Corrado and Jerry Berta for a time. Then all of a sudden, the Perrys went dark, there was no contact or updates!
Dawn Perry in front of Rosie’s Diner, 2023
No one knew what was happening until recently. I first heard thru my buddy Fred Tiensivu that there appeared to be some activity and that the diners were being readied for transport. Shortly after a news article appeared in my Google “Diner” news alert saying that the diners had been resold to a Car collector and restorer Brian Barnett of Hammondville, Alabama.
This past week, Dawn Perry finally broke her silence on her Facebook page, The Original Rosie’s Diner with this post… Hey guess what!?!? The Original Rosie’s Diner is Saved! And, oh how the Rumor mill has gotten out of hand! Haha! I know it’s been a long time since we updated anything, but yes, we have been busy still Saving Rosie’s!!… and no, we didn’t answer a lot of the inquiries, because, well, we just didn’t want to get ahead of ourselves, give anyone false hope, or give anyone else any reason to vandalizeher anymore by drawing attention! And no, we didn’t address the snide comments or BS people put on the page, and the messages, because well, my time is better spent on other things. BUT NOW… we can get on to the Much More IMPORTANT STUFF!!
We made a deal several months ago with Brian Barnett, the new owner of Rosie’s, that If he purchased the sign, he would also get Rosie’s Diner and the Bar Diner car (Free) at no additional cost to him. The only thing he had to do then was take the remainder of the responsibility (physically and financially) to remove, and move them, and you guessed it…. he did just that!
Brian started making phone calls and arrangements, and the new Save Rosie’s campaign was soon rolling! We couldn’t have been happier that someone else wanted to save her as much as we did, and even with all the initial and ongoing setbacks he had to go through, he made it and Rosie’s has left the long-term parking lot she’s been living in since 1991!
None of this has been easy for us, and this was not a decision we wanted to make, but due to us losing 3 family members within a few months, along with various and serious health issues, we decided that it would be best to let someone else breath life back into Rosie’s Diner!
We always pictured her bright and beaming, like she was in her hay-day, and that is how she will be when he completes her remodel!
At least with us getting the diner dried in, covered and cleaned up, we gave her a little more time until she was loaded onto the trucks heading for her new home in Alabama! We are so thankful for the support of most of you, and the continued following of the Rosies faithful that we gained through this! There have been several people that we became close to including and mostly, Dan Brown! Without his help, Rosie’s would be even more dilapidated! He took care of a Lot of boarding up when the vandals tore it up, and Always let us know if and when things were happening, and we gained a friend too!
Not to toot our own horn, but if we hadn’t gotten started on this project 2 years ago, Rosie’s may not have been able to be saved, and likely would have been demolished.
We had many people asking about taking the diners, just to come look at them and back out. We Also could have sold the sign to one of the Many different sign collectors for what we sold it to Brian for, but we really Only wanted to sell it to someone who also Wanted to Save Rosies like we did. So, we waited for the right one to come along, and boy, are we glad about that!
With all of our combined efforts, even though we aren’t the ones to take her on, Rosie’s will be saved and hopefully live a much longer, and amazingly successful life in Alabama!
Cheers to you Rosie’s! We loved the adventure, and know you’ll be blessed in your new home!!
Thanks for the support from our followers from the beginning, and please help the new owners, as they will soon take over the page! Respectfully and thankfully yours,Dawn & Chuck Perry
Meanwhile, Jerry Berta and I spoke a week ago and he sent the next 4 photos of the diner being readied for the move….
This shows the on-site additions removed for both the Silk City diner on the left and Rosie’s Diner on the right. October 21, 2025 photo by Jerry Berta
The cement “tipped over” coffee mug from the Mini Golf Course sitting next to Rosie’s. October 21, 2025 photo by Jerry Berta
with the former Diner Store in the foreground, Rosie’s can be seen in the background with the front section off the foundation and the rear section waiting to be moved. Also, the Silk City Diner can be seen just beyond Rosie’s in the distance. October 21, 2025 photo by Jerry Berta
The view showing the rear section of Rosie’s Diner still on the foundation… October 21, 2025 photo by Jerry Berta
I also spoke with Fred Tiensivu who sent 2 more photos showing the Silk City diner being readied for the move…
The Silk City diner on the low bed trailer ready to move. October 22, 2025 photo by Fred Tiensivu
Another view showing the Silk City diner on the trailer with the demolished on-site buildings in the background. October 22, 2025 photo by Fred Tiensivu
Fred also relayed Brian Barnett’s phone number to me, and I got a chance to speak with him yesterday afternoon (Sunday). I told him that I had seen recorded interviews where he mentioned that he almost bought a diner from Massachusetts 2 years ago but lost out to another interested party. Brian told me it was the Shawmut Diner of New Bedford and after that incident, he attempted to buy the former By-Pass Diner of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but that also did not work out.
It has been quite some time since my last post and I apologize. Since mid-February I have had some medical issues (i.e. infections and surgical procedure on my right foot) that have confined my movements to the first and second floors of the townhouse as well as not having permission to drive. As my condition progressed I was able to access my desktop PC is in the basement office for short bursts but finally got permission to drive a little over a week ago.
When I was hospitalized I received word on a pop-up photo exhibit of Andrew Satter’s Kitchenette Diner photos at CambrideSide, a Mall, residential and office complex in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some regular readers of this blog may recall I mentioned Andy Satter almost a year ago when he had one of the first exhibits of this group of photos in Danbury, Connecticut. https://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/2024/06/08/a-new-photo-exhibit-called-the-diner-project-opens-in-danbury-connecticut/
Left side of entrance to the pop-up exhibit “Walk-Ins Welcome”
Right side of entrance to the pop-up exhibit “Walk-Ins Welcome”
The opening reception of this latest exhibit was held on March 29th with the exhibit running through the end of May. I would like to take note that the CambridgeSide complex is very close to where the Kitchenette Diner operated for decades until it was bought and removed from its site at the corner of First and Rogers Streets. I recall driving past the diner in the early 1970s and thought the place looked abandoned – the lot had mature trees growing in front of the building and no signage. Was I surprised to learn in 1978 that the diner had been in continuous operation at that spot since the late 1930s. Below is the information of the exhibit posted at CambridgeSide’s Website.
Visit The Diner Project: Discovering a Time Past, But Not Forgotten, a special photography exhibition. Compiled by photographer Andrew Satter formerly of Cambridge and currently residing in New Paltz, NY, The Diner Project is comprised of black-and-white photographs taken between 1974 and 1977 at the iconic Russ’s Kitchenette Diner in East Cambridge. The photographs, many which have never been exhibited and were presumed lost nearly three decades ago, document an important and bygone period of Cambridge’s history and culture.
The diner, which was located on the corner of First and Rogers Streets in East Cambridge, was a beehive of daily activity from its opening in 1937 until its closing in 1978.
Documented through the eyes of then aspiring twenty-year old photographer Andrew Satter, viewers will be transported back through time and introduced to the diner’s staff: Russ the owner, Charlie the cook, and Geri the waitress, as well as many of its loyal customers — some for more than thirty years including police officers, truck drivers, clerks, letter carriers and construction workers.
In addition to the forty-one unique images on display in the exhibition, visitors have the option to watch two videos about the Diner Project: An Artist Talk with Andrew Satter, and Down Around Here, an award winning short documentary film about the diner by local filmmaker David Sutherland.
Visit the exhibition located on Level 2 across from T.J.Maxx from Sunday, March 30 through Saturday, may 31, 2025.
I was able to drive over to Cambridge on Sunday May 11th to finally check out the exhibit for myself and get some photos. It was kind of tough because of the lighting in the store where the exhibit was displayed and I could not avoid reflections of the overhead lights in the picture frame glass in my photos. I have included the photos in order as they appear.
In addition to the photos, a limited-edition book was published and I am grateful to Andy for sending me one along with some postcards of some of the photos…
Cover of the Walk-Ins Welcome limited-edition book
If you are local to the greater Boston area, I recommend that you try to get to see this exhibit before May 31st. The parking garage is under the complex, but you will have to pay to park. On-street parking is also available primarily on Sundays. During the week probably not so much.
As I do every year around Thanksgiving, I like to acknowledge the anniversary of snapping my very first 35mm photo of a Diner. I figure some long-time followers of this blog may know how my passion for diners started. But for any newcomers, I will rehash how this obsession began and has led me to this point in time!
I was born and raised in Medford, Massachusetts. At a young age, I was extremely observant of my surroundings and very much enjoyed riding in the family car in and around the greater Boston area. I noticed a lot of what was to me interesting buildings along the city streets and roadsides, of which commercial structures and businesses were primarily what caught my eyes as well as my imagination.
The Star Lite Diner – Worcester Lunch Car No. 817 Mystic Avenue, Medford, Massachusetts November 1948 photo from my collection
My first piece of knowledge about diners by my guess happened one day in 1958, when I was 5 years old. I was with my dad, Sebastian “Sam” Cultrera who was driving down Mystic Avenue in Medford. I recall asking him about this bright blue colored building that we passed, which I had noticed many times before. My question to him was if it was a railroad car, and he told me no, it was a diner – a restaurant that was built in a factory and that it was designed to look somewhat like a railroad car. At that time during the 1950s I had noticed there seemed to be many diners like the one on Mystic Avenue including at least two others in Medford. I recall going to one of those local ones in the early 1960s, a couple of years in a row – Carroll’s Colonial Diner with my family on Easter Sunday after church.
Carroll’s Colonial Dining Car – 1961 Swingle Diner Main Street, Medford, Massachusetts Early 1960s post card from my collection
Fast forward to the summer of 1965 when I was 12 years old, I started working with my dad at the store my family operated that sold meats and a limited amount of groceries. That store – the Blue Eagle Market was started by my grandfather and my dad in the early 1930s. That very first day that I worked there I discovered that my dad had a usual daily routine of stopping for breakfast on the way to the wholesale meat suppliers in Boston. One of our usual breakfast stops just happened to be the diner on Mystic Avenue that I had asked my dad about years earlier – the Star Lite Diner!
The Blue Eagle Market Main Street, Medford, Massachusetts 1977 photograph by Michael Rizza
I personally also frequented the Star Lite Diner for lunch on occasion. I would ride the delivery bicycle from the Blue Eagle to the diner which was about an 8 minute trip. Once there, I would play tunes on the jukebox and kibitz with the owners, Jim and Richie Theodore (father & son) and eat a great meal, sometimes a grilled cheese sandwich or even fried clam strips. My dad always asked me to bring him back an “Eastern Omelet Sandwich”. By the time I was in high school, my friends and I started frequenting Carroll’s Diner which was open 24 hours a day. This became a regular hang-out from the early to mid 1970s. You could find us there at virtually any time of the day or night.
All during the 1970s, up until 1979, I drove a succession of used vehicles. Even though they were mostly dependable, I limited my travels to mostly northern New England and up into the Capitol and Adirondack region of New York state. In April of 1979, I finally purchased my first brand new vehicle, a 1979 Chevy Van! At the time I had been working at Analogic Corporation In nearby Wakefield, Massachusetts for almost 3 years and been friends with my co-worker and now long-time friend Steve Repucci. The two of us hit it off immediately and managed to get in a few road trips prior to my obtaining the new van. After that purchase I felt comfortable to expand my travels without having to worry about vehicle break downs.
Also at this time, I had been thinking of taking the leap to 35mm photography. I always seemed to have an Instamatic Camera with me in my vehicles but never really considered photography as a major hobby until I met Steve Repucci. He had been using a 35mm camera since 1970 and when I saw some of the images he had captured over the years, I got truly inspired! For quite a few years now, I had been in the habit of going on solo early Sunday morning rides in my vehicle, especially with the new van.
One Saturday evening in late 1979, I was at a small get together at Steve Repucci’s house, he inquired whether I was going on my usual Sunday morning ride and wondered if I wanted company. I said sure, no one was usually up for something like that. So the next day began a weekly ritual of stopping at a diner before we embarked on the Sunday morning excursion. For the first two weeks we stopped at Genia’s Diner in North Woburn, close to where Steve was living.
Genia’s Diner – Worcester Lunch Car No. 834 Woburn, Massachusetts. It was actually operating as the Main Street Diner at this time but the sign had yet to reflect this fact. March, 1981 photo by Larry Cultrera
After those first two Sunday trips stopping in Woburn, we decided to go exploring and try different diners which would determine the direction of the little road trip. Sometimes we would actually know the location of a diner that we could start these trips with, while other times we just picked a road and hoped we would stumble upon a diner to eat at. We did this pretty much weekly until Labor Day weekend of 1980 when Steve moved down to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for a change of scene.
In July of 1980, around two months before Steve moved, I finally made the leap and purchased a used 35mm camera and started shooting scenic type shots to try to get the hang of using it, this would basically set me up for that fateful day when I would start documenting diners with my photographs. So on Labor Day weekend, there was a small crew of us who helped in the move. This was also my very first time traveling to Pennsylvania, which was to me the longest road trip I had done up until that point.
Not long after that first trip to Harrisburg, I went and purchased a copy of a new book entitled Diners of the Northeast by Donald Kaplan & Allyson Bellink. This book (along with subsequent purchases of two others; American Diner by Richard Gutman & Elliott Kaufman and Diners by John Baeder) really spurred me on and fanned the flames of my new obsession to start taking photos of diners. It was the weekend of Thanksgiving 1980 when I took my next trip to Pennsylvania to visit Steve. I believe that my brother Rick and friend Scott Drown made the trip starting out maybe around 2:00AM in the morning on Friday, November 28th. As I recall, we took I-84 from Connecticut out to Scranton, Pennsylvania. From there we headed south on I-81 to Harrisburg. It took quite a while in the mid-to-late morning to get thru this stretch of road as we hit some of the densest fog I have ever driven in. We finally made it to Harrisburg and pretty much rested up for the remainder of the day!
The next morning we went out for breakfast at the nearby By-Pass Diner on Herr Street in Harrisburg. I believe it was after we ate that I decided to finally take that first tentative photo of a diner!
The By-Pass Diner of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with my 1979 Chevy van in the shot! November 29, 1980 photo by Larry Cultrera
Now as first photos go, as luck would have it, this was not too shabby in my own humble opinion! In point of fact, I was just contacted recently by an independent film company out of the mid-west who have shot a film based in the 1980s called Dead Mail. They asked to license a photo of mine for use in the film. As it turns out, the photo they wanted was – the By-Pass Diner photo from 1980!
Every year on or around October 31st, I like to take note of the anniversary of the birth of this blog. In August of 2007, I retired the original Diner Hotline column I wrote for the Society for Commercial Archeology (SCA) since 1988. Shortly after, SCA member Brian Butko who knew I was interested in going in a slightly different direction with Diner Hotline suggested I start a blog. So on October 31, 2007, the very first post went live at www.dinerhotline.com!
Well in this anniversary post, I’m going to blog about a short road-trip Denise and I went on one month ago. I talked a little about this trip on yesterdays post that featured my last visit to the Olympia Diner of Newington, Connecticut. The Olympia Diner was our planned breakfast stop on the way to New Haven. I had not been to New Haven since the late 1990s if I recall correctly. In fact, New Haven was always a pass thru destination on quite a few road-trips in the 1980s when I was documenting diners in the Nutmeg State. Over those years, I never spent any time in the city, just stopping to photograph diners as I was driving thru!
In the last 10 years or so I had become aware of New Haven’s legendary history in relation to one of my favorite foods – PIZZA. I had heard of places like Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napolitana and Sally’s Apizza (pronounced Ahbeetz). A number of years ago, the Boston area got its first Frank Pepe location when a spot was opened at the Chestnut Hill Mall in Newton. Denise & I checked it out shortly after they opened and saw what all the fuss was about and we were hooked!
Since that first Massachusetts location opened, two more followed with one at the Burlington Mall (our go-to spot) and more recently, one in Watertown. A couple of years ago I had caught a documentary on streaming TV called “Pizza, A Love Story” which was all about New Haven style Pizza! The documentary mostly talked about what is known locally as the Holy Trinity of New Haven Pizza – Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napolitana, Sally’s Apizza and Modern Apizza. I also bought a book I had heard about a few months back titled “Pizza in New Haven by Colin M. Caplan, who had something to do with the documentary as well.
Also fairly recently, Sally’s Apizza has started to expand and opened their first Bay State location in Woburn, Massachusetts earlier this year. Denise and I made a visit to check it out. We liked their version but both of us decided we were more of a fan of Frank Pepe’s than Sally’s.
So in the back of my mind, I was formulating a future trip down to New Haven to at least try Modern Apizza so I could say I have tried all three places. Now I know that some purists would say that the newer stores of Pepe’s and Sally’s do not quite measure up to the original locations as far as the product is concerned. But in my humble opinion, I truly believe it cannot be too far off from both of the New Haven location’s product.
Toward the end of the Summer, Denise and I were talking about the possibility of taking a short road-trip and after I heard about the Olympia Diner being for sale and in danger of demolition, I thought that maybe we could kill two birds with one stone and as previously mentioned in the beginning of this post, stop at the Olympia in Newington on the way down to New Haven.
If you read the previous post from yesterday, on Sunday September 29, 2024 we did indeed stop at the Olympia Diner for a mid-morning breakfast with 3 friends whom I made arrangements to meet there. After we left Newington, we continued to travel down the Berlin Turnpike which is designated Routes 5 & 15 until they split in Wallingford, then we continued on Route 5 to New Haven. We made it down to the place we had reservations to stay for two nights in the early afternoon, the Hotel Marcel. This place is located in an architecturally significant building that was originally built for the headquarters of Armstrong Rubber in 1969.
The Hotel Marcel – New Haven Connecticut September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera
Designed in the brutalist Bauhaus style by Architects Marcel Breuer and Robert F. Gatje, Pirelli Tire took over the building in 1988 and then resold it in 1999. From the late 1990s into the late 2010s, the building was predominantly vacant. The building was listed in the Connecticut Register of Historic Places in 2000, and in the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.
Armstrong Rubber Headquarters. Photo from New Haven Redevelopment Agency
As the black & white photo above shows the building as it was originally built. The smaller lower section (as seen in my color photo) had another warehouse wing that went further back, comprising 64,000 more square feet which was demolished after IKEA took over the property in 2003. Conversion to a hotel commenced in 2020, leading to the Hotel Marcel’s opening in May 2022. Since its renovation into a hotel, the building operates as a zero-energy building, generating enough renewable energy to sustain its operations.
After we checked in, I went back out to visit another diner I had photographed in 1993. This was the New State Diner which was closed in Ansonia, Connecticut when I photographed it. It had been moved to New Haven not long after I saw it and became the New Star Diner.
New State Diner – Ansonia, Connecticut April 24, 1993 photo by Larry Cultrera
The New Star Diner was closed when I got there, but the owner was actually on the roof doing some maintenance on the roof top sign.
New Star Diner – New Haven, Connecticut September 29, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera
Denise and I planned to have a late lunch/early supper at Modern Apizza when the restaurant opened at 3:00 PM. Earlier in the week I had contacted New Haven resident Mike Urban, a writer who has done pieces for Yankee Magazine and is also an author of books like New England Diner Cookbook and Unique Eats and Eateries of Maine. I have known and been friends with Mike for a number of years (but we never met face to face). I mentioned how we were going to be in New Haven and wondered if he wanted to meet at Modern Apizza for a meal. Mike actually had plans initially to be away on the weekend but the plans fell thru and he said he would meet us.
Modern Apizza – New Haven, Connecticut September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera
We had a great time meeting with Mike. Denise and I split a small cheese pizza which was fantastic and Mike got a calzone which was large enough that he took some home. The next morning I had plans of eating breakfast at Cody’s Diner which was right around the corner from the hotel. Cody’s was originally the Hi-Way Diner, a 1950s Mountain View diner which I had photographed in 1983.
Hi-Way Diner – New Haven, Connecticut May 29, 1983 photo by Larry Cultrera
Back in 1994, the Hi-Way Diner by then operating as Cody’s Diner had a devastating fire. The interior was almost completely destroyed. The owners opted to rebuild the diner from the floor up. The original terrazzo floor and counter base as well as the base for the booth benches remained and everything else was completely new.
Cody’s Diner – New Haven, Connecticut September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera
We drove over to Cody’s which was advertised as being open 24 hours a day. But when we got there we noticed there was a sign on the door stating they were closed for a vacation! So we changed plans and found a place in a West Haven strip mall called the Elm Diner that would be open at 6:00 AM. Even though it was an on-site diner, it had some details that made me believe that possibly DeRaffele Diners may have done some work to make it look like a factory-built diner, especially on the inside. Unfortunately, it was still not light enough out to get photos, but the breakfast was fine.
A little later in the morning, I went out and took some photos of the original Sally’s Apizza, Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria, as well as Modern Apizza (see photo above).
Sally’s Apizza – New Haven, Connecticut September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera
Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napolitana – New Haven, Connecticut September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera
We continued exploring New Haven and proceeded to the area encompassing Yale University. I went in search of the former Elm City Diner which I had photographed in 1983.
Elm City Diner – New Haven, Connecticut May 29, 1983 photo by Larry Cultrera
I already had the knowledge that the Elm City was now operating as Tandoor New Haven serving Indian Cuisine. From the outside, the diner still looked the same minus the old neon sign.
Tandoor New Haven – New Haven, Connecticut September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera
We ended up taking a break back at the hotel before going out for lunch. I did a little research and found the Westville Diner located appropriately in the Westville section on the northern edge of the city. This was a 1990s vintage diner more than likely built by DeRaffele Diners, where we had a very good meal.
Westville Diner – New Haven, Connecticut September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera
Westville Diner – New Haven, Connecticut September 30, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera
That was pretty much it for Monday, so we checked out of the hotel early the next morning for the ride home. We retraced our route back up Route 5 and stopped for breakfast at the Athens II Diner. I had actually photographed this one in 1983 when it looked entirely different. At that time it was a 1970s Mediterranean Mansard style with arched windows built by Kullman Diners, called the Red Bull Diner.
The Red Bull Diner – North Haven, Connecticut May 29, 1983 photo by Larry Cultrera
I had spied this coming south on Route 5 two days before and saw that the diner had gotten an extreme makeover, which happened I believe in the 1990s or early 2000s.
The Athens II Diner – North Haven, Connecticut October 1, 2024 photo by Larry Cultrera
After breakfast, other than stopping briefly again in Newington to get new daytime photos of the Olympia Diner in bright sunlight (see the previous post), we made it thru the tail end of the morning rush of traffic in the Hartford area and got home by around 11:00 AM. All in all, it was a decent little road-trip and I finally after all these years got a good feel for traveling around the city of New Haven!
Front view of the reproduction 1950s postcard of the Olympia Diner from my collection
Back view of the reproduction 1950s postcard of the Olympia Diner from my collection
This past August when news outlets announced that the Olympia Diner of Newington, Connecticut was being put up for sale, I was immediately concerned as I have had a long-time fascination with this iconic 1954 vintage Jerry O’Mahony diner. The reports mentioned that the current ownership wanted to retire and that their children were not interested in continuing to operate the business. Within the last few weeks it was reported that a buyer may have been found , namely Arista Development of Norwood, Massachusetts, who submitted their plans for the diner and surrounding property at the intersection of the Berlin Turnpike and Pane Road to Newington’s Plan and Zoning Commission.
The Plan and Zoning Commission were due to take up the application at the panel’s Oct. 23 meeting. Arista Development’s filings with the town say only that the company wants to redevelop the property with a new restaurant in the place of the diner, but they don’t indicate what will happen to the diner building. This sounds ominous for the future of this classic stainless steel clad eatery. Unless someone steps forward with a plan to possibly move the diner out of harms way, demolition would certainly be on the table.
I first learned about this diner when I purchased the newly published guidebook “Diners Of The Northeast” by Donald Kaplan & Alan Bellink in the Autumn of 1980.
Cover of Diners Of The Northeast
I also saw a partial image of the diner on the cover of the 1979 book “American Diner” by Richard Gutman & Elliott Kaufman, which I purchased not long after Diners Of The Northeast.
The cover of American Diner with a photo of the Olympia Diner
In Diners Of The Northeast, Kalpan & Bellink of course mentioned the immense size of this diner as being one of the longest they had seen. They also mentioned the enormous Neon Sign on the roof. They said and I quote “If you’re lucky enough to pass by after a rainstorm, you’ll see the sign reflected in the wet pavement of the parking lot.”
I remembered this piece of advice upon my first visit to the diner on November 27, 1981. It was around 5:30 in the morning and it was raining out. I decided to try taking my very first photos of the diner and determined that they would be my earliest attempt at time exposure photography. I parked my 1979 Chevy van at the extreme outside edge of the parking lot with the passenger side of the vehicle facing the front of the diner. I attached my 35mm camera to a tripod borrowed from a friend (I did not own one at that time) and set it up inside the van with the sliding door opened to get my shots without getting the camera wet from the rain. Being a novice, I was extremely excited to see that all 4 of the images when they came back from processing were pretty decent. But of the 4 images I determined that the 3rd one to me was the money shot as seen below…
November 27, 1981 – The 3rd of 4 time exposure photos of the Olympia Diner by Larry Cultrera
I did manage to get one daytime photo on the way back from the Pennsylvania road trip we were on a couple of days later.
November 29, 1981 daytime photo of the Olympia Diner by Larry Cultrera
I revisited the diner over the ensuing years, and got a few more photos…
June, 1983 photo, (by this time I was shooting 35mm slide film) of the Olympia Diner by Larry Cultrera
November 25, 1983 slide of the Olympia Diner by Larry Cultrera. A second attempt at time exposure, not as dramatic as the first attempt.
There was a long gap until my next shots of the Olympia Diner, when on October 19, 2002 I traveled down to Newington to visit one of the first Krispy Kreme locations to open in New England, just up the road from the Diner. By this time I was already using a digital camera along with my 35mm film camera. These next 2 photos are from that visit.
October 19, 2002 digital photo of the Olympia Diner by Larry Cultrera
October 19, 2002 digital photo of the Olympia Diner by Larry Cultrera. That’s my 1999 Jeep Wrangler in the shot….
So after I heard the news recently about the possible sale of the diner, I decided I wanted to visit it at least one more time before something happened to it. On Sunday September 29, 2024 Denise and I drove down to Newington on the way to New Haven, where we planned to spend a day and a half exploring (more on the New Haven visit in the next blog post). I made arrangements to meet up with long-time friend Greg Mattesen as well as another friend Gina Pulaski (who I had yet to meet in person) and her husband Jeff at the diner around 10:00 AM for a late breakfast. We all got there within minutes of each other and held down the large left rear corner booth of the diner for at least an hour. I actually got there about 5 minutes ahead of the others and managed to get a few exterior shots, but due to the overcast weather, the photos came out just okay.
September 29, 2024 exterior photo of the Olympia Diner by Larry Cultrera
I also got some interior shots (my first ever for this diner) when we were finished eating.
September 29, 2024 interior photo from the end we sat in looking down the length of the diner.
September 29, 2024 interior photo from the opposite end looking back down the length of the diner.
September 29, 2024 photo of the small dining-room in the right rear back section of the diner. Just beyond the newer large dining-room that was built within the last 25 years on to the back of the diner is visible.
September 29, 2024 photo of the small dining-room in the right rear back section of the diner, looking toward the front section.
We retraced our route on the way home from New Haven the following Tuesday morning, the sun was shining brightly and I knew that the light would be just right to finally take the daytime photos I always wanted of the Olympia Diner.
October 1, 2024 – I finally got the perfect daytime photo of the Olympia Diner. by Larry Cultrera
I am certainly glad I got to experience this iconic diner this one last time, at least at this location. I certainly hope that by some miracle, someone can save this place and that it does not get demolished!
Photo from The Henry Ford, courtesy of Brian Butko
The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation has launched a new exhibit honoring my long-time friend Richard Gutman. Dick co-authored along with Elliott Kaufman, the first comprehensive history book on Diners back in 1979, entitled American Diner.
On September 17, 2019, the Henry Ford announced the acquisition of the largest collection of diner materials in the country, put together by the leading expert on the subject, Richard J.S. Gutman. The collection of thousands of 2D and 3D artifacts includes historic photographs, slides, drawings, manufacturers’ catalogs, postcards, menus, tables, stools, tableware, promotional giveaway items, clothing and more, from diners across the United States. Along with the John Margolies collection, acquiring this collection positions The Henry Ford as the go-to research venue for materials related to roadside architecture and design in the United States.
Gutman grew his collection in the course of his research for four books, numerous articles, three major exhibitions, and multiple restoration and consulting projects. In addition, he was instrumental in the move and restoration of The Henry Ford’s own Lamy’s Diner, which is now used as a dining experience inside Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation®, and also the reconstruction of the Owl Night Lunch Wagon, the last surviving lunch wagon in existence, located in Greenfield Village.
“Through Richard’s efforts, the American diner is now generally recognized as an icon of roadside architecture and entrepreneurial enterprise,” said Patricia Mooradian, president & CEO of The Henry Ford. “With this acquisition we are able to build upon the wonderful foundation that he helped us create many years ago and provide unprecedented access to those seeking inspiration from a design, manufacturing or start-up perspective.”
Richard began his fascination with diners while he was studying architecture at Cornell University. After discussing the unique building type with his British cohorts who had never seen anything like them before, he was motivated by their curiosity to learn more. His collection began as part of his thesis and started with a slide collection of still extant roadside diners that grew into a library of more than 7,000 images. Often referred to as The Diner Man, he has contributed to virtually every published media piece on diners over the last 30 years, and his expertise and insight continue to be called upon today.
“My long-standing relationship with The Henry Ford led me to the conclusion that this was the place where I wanted my collection to reside,” said Gutman. “As I have gone through the material in preparation for its move, I’ve been delighted to see the scope that it represents. There are so many ideas and countless connections waiting to be discovered by those who are also fascinated by the subject.”
The materials in this collection will contribute to resources for current and future Lamy’s dining experiences, along with potential opportunities for related exhibits and programs. The collection is currently at The Henry Ford and being digitized for online accessibility.
This exhibit was opened to the public on May 25, 2024 and runs through March 16, 2025. Although I would love to revisit The Henry Ford, I do not foresee that happening in the near future. But my good friend, Brian Butko did make a trip out to visit the Henry Ford toward the end of July, so I thought I would reach out to him for some images and insights to his visit….
Brian Butko:We visited The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village last week with a goal of seeing the “Dick Gutman, DINERMAN” exhibit.
The exhibit is in a rectangular gallery in the back of the gigantic main hall. A central “island” allows that the exhibit to run on the walls along with the four sides of the island. An adjoining changing exhibit gallery features thousands of Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments.
Diner Artifacts from Dick Gutman’s collection on display include: A cashier’s stand, hat rack and menu board from the Worcester Lunch Car Company as well as a table and Formica panel from a Fodero Diner. Photo courtesy Brian Butko.
The DINERMAN exhibit is a dream come true for diner fans. There are photos, paintings, menus, models, artifacts, and videos. Within seconds of walking in, it was comforting to hear Dick’s voice, and in fact, he shows up again on the other side of the gallery. In between, there’s a 1991 slideshow video made for the Silver Diner chain that is a quick but comprehensive history of diners, much of it familiar to us fans but still great to see with accompanying images. On the island wall 180 degrees behind it, another video plays in front of diner stools.
An photo of the Fenway Flyer Diner of Boston shot by Dick Gutman in the early 1970s on display. Photo courtesy of Brian Butko.
The walls are lined with photos and artwork, notably some stunning artwork by John Baeder. Below these, cases are filled with historic photos and ephemera. It was fun to see the small ceramic diner models that some of us collected 30 years ago.
Diner Manufacturer catalogs from Dick Gutman’s collection on display. Photo courtesy of Brain Butko.
Overall the exhibit is not so large that you’ll be there for hours, but you can still spend a great deal of time perusing the many objects and their captions. Afterwards we headed back to the front of the hall to Lamy’s Diner for a light lunch/early dessert. There are tables adjacent but we asked to sit inside, which takes a bit longer.
Display poster containing info of the Owl Night Lunch and Lamy’s Diner at the Museum. Dick Gutman’s expertise and knowledge were tapped for these two artifacts restorations. Photo courtesy of Brian Butko.
Exterior view of the Owl Night Lunch Photo courtesy of Brian Butko.
Exterior view of Lamy’s Diner Photo courtesy of Brian Butko.
Interior view of Lamy’s Diner Photo courtesy of Brian Butko.
View showing the dining area outside Lamy’s Diner Photo courtesy of Brian Butko.
LAC: I personally have seen quite a bit of Dick Gutman’s collection over the last 43 years but can say with some certainty that I have just scratched the surface. I highly suggest that if you can, take a trip and visit The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, 20900 Oakwood Boulevard, Dearborn, Michigan! It is definitely worth a day or two of exploring. I suggest you get there sooner rather than later to check out Dick Gutman, DINERMAN, that exhibit will be on display until March 16, 2025. https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/henry-ford-museum
Many thanks to Brian Butko for sharing a little of his experience in visiting the exhibit with his words and photos.
I was contacted by Andrew Satter via Linkdin back in March. Andy is the Founder & CEO at Andrew Satter & Associates, Inc. Executive Leadership Coach and Strategic Thinking Partner for C-Suite Executives and Startup Founders / CEO’s. He told me about a project he was initiating to resurrect a large group of black and white photos he shot back in the mid-1970s. He was in the planning stages for future photo exhibitions of these compelling images which had not seen the light of day for decades.
Andrew Satter, photo from Linkdin.
He shot these photos during the period he attended a Film & Photography school called Imageworks for a short time and after at Boston College where he continued his education . Andy explained that back then he had lived in Cambridge for a time and had become a regular customer of Russ Young’s Kitchenette Diner. During this time he started taking candid black & white photographs of his visits to the diner and they stand out as an intimate look at the daily interactions of the people who worked or patronized this diner, not realizing that he was capturing the end of an era and by 1978 or so, the diner would be closed and moved.
In my recent post about Remembering Douglas A. Yorke, Jr., I mentioned that I was possibly the last member of the Society for Commercial Archeology to speak with him prior to his accident on Easter Sunday and subsequent passing away from his injuries eleven days later. The reason I had phoned Doug on Good Friday was to give him a heads-up that I had mentioned his name to Andrew Satter whom I had just met with a day prior. During our meeting, I had imparted to Andy the info about Doug’s March, 1977 article in Yankee Magazine, where he wrote about The Kitchenette Diner in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I told Doug about Andy’s archive of black & white photos he shot of the diner and that he may be contacted by Andy. Unfortunately Andy did not have time to contact Doug before that Easter Sunday accident. Just for reference, I thought I would include three photos that Doug Yorke sent me a few years back of the Kitchenette Diner…
Kitchenette Diner – Cambridge, Mass. 1977 photo by Doug Yorke
Kitchenette Diner – Cambridge, Mass. 1977 photo by Doug Yorke
Russ Young & Charlie Diamandis at the Kitchenette Diner 1977 photo by Doug Yorke
Well I am happy to report that Andy Satters’ photos of the Kitchenette Diner will be shown for the first time from June 23rd thru to the end of July in Danbury, Connecticut. Andy also hopes to have a showing in the Boston/Cambridge area in the near future.
The Diner Project (1974–1977) A COMMUNITY LOST TO PROGRESS Photography by Andrew Satter
THE DINER PROJECT is an exhibition of forty-two black-and-white photographs taken in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the mid-1970s—a time in American labor history when a blue-collar job could support a family and was yours for a lifetime.
Enter and meet the staff and regulars of Russ’s Kitchenette Diner, a tightly knit community that embraced joy and laughter in the face of encroaching urban renewal, shifting race relations, and upheaval in America’s place in the world.
OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, June 22, 2024, 3:30-5:30 pm Mothership on Main 331 Main St., Danbury, CT 06810 ON VIEW: Jun 23–Jul 28, 2024 HOURS : Tue–Sun, 7:30am–3:00pm EMAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: http://www.satterphoto.com
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