Major Bibliographical References (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data: - preliminary determination of individual listing (36 X. State Historic Preservation Office CFR 67) has been requested - previously listed in the National Register - Other State agency - Federal agency - previously determined eligible by the National - Local government Register - University - designated a National Historic Landmark - recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey Name of repository: # _ recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 7 Page OMB No.
1024-0018 The Diners of Massachusetts MPS Four Sisters Owl Diner Lowell (Middlesex Co.), MA 7. Description Four Sisters Owl Diner, 246 Appleton Street, Lowell (1940, MHC #1014), originally the Monarch Diner of Waltham, Massachusetts, was manufactured as diner #759 by the Worcester Lunch Car Company. In 1951, the diner was moved to Lowell and subsequently expanded (see below). It is located on a heavily traveled route through a commercial and residential area in downtown Lowell. The diner occupies a level corner lot and is set back from the street with parking immediately in front (west side). This wood-frame diner displays the monitor roof and canted side walls that characterize the semi-streamliner form. The prefabricated section is nine bays across and approximately four bays deep.
The foundation is concrete, the monitor roof is metal, and the porcelain enamel wall panels are black with yellow and green detailing. A projecting center vestibule on the façade probably was constructed when the diner was moved to Lowell in 1951. Such an entry is a typical feature of diners that were constructed about the time the Owl Diner was moved. The entry in the northern (left) end is no longer used, but wood doorway trim is still visible on the interior. Windows have single-hung steel sash in wood surrounds. The factory-built diner has two additions. The one-story rear block, common to diners of this era, likely was constructed about 1951 when the diner was moved to Lowell. This block, which houses kitchen operations and restrooms, is of concrete construction and has a shed roof.
At the southern end of the factory-built diner is a one-story addition that houses a separate dining room with table seating. This addition, which is two bays across, has a flat roof, stone facing on the façade, and a concrete wall with no fenestration on the side elevation (fronting Favor Street). This addition was constructed after the end of the period of significance; Sanborn fire insurance maps indicate a construction date between 1952 and 1966. Neither the rear nor side addition compromises the integrity of the factory-built diner. The addition of the entry vestibule on the façade of the prefabricated diner partially obscures the signage lettered on the façade's porcelain enamel panels, which reads OWL DINER. At the street is a standing sign (ca. 1960) (non-contributing) that features both a rendering of an owl and the words OWL DINER executed in neon.
The building has the most intact original features of any semi-streamliner remaining in Massachusetts. [Gutman interview] Inside, the floor plan of the prefabricated diner is well preserved. The counter extends almost the full length of the diner, with a staff entrance at the southern end, near both the side addition and the hallway to the kitchen and restrooms. There are sixteen counter stools. Six booths, three on either side of the projecting entry vestibule, line the west (front) wall. The grill still is maintained in the back bar area, though cooking is also done in the rear kitchen addition. The diner's wood monitor ceiling is well preserved. Though the clerestory windows are no longer used for ventilation, they are still visible on the interior. Ceiling fans have been installed Interior finishes are largely tile, wood, and porcelain enamel.
The Four Sisters Owl Diner has an interior color scheme of black, tan, orange, and brown that is comparable to at least one other Worcester-built diner of the same era, the Miss Florence Diner in the Northampton village of Florence (99 Main Street, 1941, NR 1999). At the diner, the marble counter retains an apron of orange and black tiles with steel trim. The footrest has replacement black vinyl tile. Steel counter stools are painted black and have vinyl seats; the booths are entirely upholstered in vinyl. The diner has wood cladding on the end walls and orange and black tile with steel accents on the front wall beneath the windows. The patterned tile floor of smaller tiles has a narrow diamond border. Behind the counter, the back bar displays both wood and steel finishes (the steel has a sunburst motif), and there are orange enameled ice boxes.
(continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 7/8 2/1 Section number Page OMB No. 1024-0018 The Diners of Massachusetts MPS Four Sisters Owl Diner Lowell (Middlesex Co.), MA Archaeological Description The boundaries of one recorded ancient Native American site include the Four Sisters Owl Diner property, and locational criteria also support the presence of ancient sites in this area. Site 19-MD-53 is recorded as a village site located in the South Common locale. No additional data is known for that site. In the absence of site examination-level testing, boundaries of 19-MD-53 are symbolic, with a square referring to the general location of the original finds or location.
The site periphery may extend to the Four Sisters Owl Diner property or may be concentrated in the South Common area. The effects of urban development in the downtown commercial and residential area of Lowell have destroyed or obscured the natural environmental characteristics of the diner property. Original soils in the level to moderately sloping corner lot were likely well drained and may have been located within 1000 feet of wetlands that were modified to form the Pawtucket Canal and its extensions. In spite of the above information, however, the potential for locating significant ancient Native American resources on the Four Sisters Owl Diner Property is low.
The actual locus for site 19-MD-53 was recorded south of the diner in the South Common area, and the effects of diner construction, its additions, installation of utilities, and parking would have destroyed any ancient resources at this location. The potential for locating significant historic archaeological resources on the Owl Diner property is also low. While no specific historic buildings that predate the diner have been identified at this location, earlier evidence of historic land use in this area of downtown Lowell is not unexpected, especially from the mid 19" century and later. Given the lack of known sites, however, and the effects of construction of the diner, later additions, utilities and parking areas, all on the relatively small lot (less than one acre), a low potential exists for locating historic archaeological resources on the diner property. (end) 8.
Statement of Significance Four Sisters Owl Diner, Lowell (1940, MHC #1014) is unique in Lowell and uncommon in Massachusetts as one of very few surviving examples of the semi-streamliner form. The manufacturer, Worcester Lunch Car Company, was a major force in the design and construction of Massachusetts diners before World War II, and introduced the semi-streamliner model as an alternative to the streamliner diners that debuted in the late 1930s. The Owl Diner combines traditional and modern features of diner design about 1940, particularly with its well preserved interior, which is considered the best preserved of any semi-streamliner remaining in Massachusetts. The diner also is significant for its historic associations with diner operations in the cities of Waltham, its original location, and Lowell, where it was moved in 1951.
The diner's relocation to Lowell is typical of the portable nature of diners and has not adversely affected the diner's historic and architectural integrity. The Owl Diner maintains a roadside orientation and setting in its current location. Retaining integrity of design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, the Four Sisters Owl Diner meets Criteria A and C and Criteria Consideration B for a moved property of the National Register at the state and local levels. Originally, Owl Diner was known as the Monarch Diner and located at 789 Main Street (US Route 20) in downtown Waltham. John DeCola, a Lowell resident, managed the Monarch Diner in 1945, according to the Waltham directory of that year.
Countermen at the diner the same year were Louis DeCola, whose place of residence is not known, and Murray (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Page 2 OMB No. 1024-0018 The Diners of Massachusetts MPS Four Sisters Owl Diner Lowell (Middlesex Co.), MA DeCola, a Cambridge resident. At its location in Waltham, the diner was reportedly part of a chain of Monarch diners operating in the Boston area. [Four Sisters Owl Diner menu] In 1951, a new diner (now demolished) replaced this diner on the Waltham site, and this diner was moved to Appleton Street in Lowell, where it was renamed the Owl Diner. Members of the DeCola family, who owned diners north and west of Boston, likely were responsible for bringing this diner to Lowell.
Records of the Worcester Lunch Car Company from the mid-1930s to ca. 1946 show that at least four diners were built for "Decola," either as sole or part owner, during this period alone: the Paradise Diner (Worcester #727), a second Paradise Diner in Lowell (Worcester #749), the Monarch Diner in Waltham (later the Owl Diner in Lowell, Worcester #759), and Decola's Diner in Billerica (Worcester #794). That this diner served only six years in Waltham before being replaced with another, presumably newer, diner demonstrates the desire on the part of diner operators to keep their facilities up-to-date. By 1954, the Owl Diner was one of about sixteen diners operating in Lowell. At that time, the proprietor was Claude J. Harvey, who resided in Chelmsford, according to the Lowell directory. By 1964, the Owl Diner was operated by Arthur N. Papoulias of Lowell and Nicholas C. Zoukis of Chelmsford.
They continued to operate the diner until the early 1980s. Zoukis is listed as the sole proprietor in the city's 1982 directory. That same year, the current owners purchased the diner, after operating the former Peerless Diner in Lowell for six years. The Monarch/Owl Diner was then renamed Four Sisters Owl Diner. The diner is the latest of four Worcester-built diners in Lowell. Semi-streamliners are comparatively rare in Massachusetts today. Three such diners, all of them built by Worcester Lunch Car Company, have been moved out of the state since 1984. Among them was the former Peerless Diner in Lowell, which was moved in 1987 to Florida. Worcester Lunch Car Company introduced the "semi-streamliner" model of diner about 1940, as a more conservative alternative to the streamliner.
The semi-streamliner had the standard barrel or monitor roof and featured canted end walls rather than the curving walls of the streamliner. These semi-streamliners reportedly were more popular among prospective diner purchasers than the more distinctive streamliners. [Gutman, p. 115] In 1977, the neon standing sign at the Owl Diner was the subject of a watercolor painting by artist John Baeder (b. 1938 in South Bend, Indiana). Baeder was raised in Atlanta and studied art at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. During his early career as art director of a New York-based advertising agency, Baeder began collecting vintage postcards, eventually focusing his collection on roadside views of small-town America, including gas stations, motels, restaurants, and diners. Baeder's early paintings were based on these postcard images.
In 1972, after quitting his job in advertising, Baeder had his first art show at the O. K. Harris Gallery in Soho (New York City). By the time of his second show in 1974, Baeder was painting diners almost exclusively, partly due to a shift in his collecting activities from postcards to the color and black-and-white photographs he took of diners. He was labeled a photorealist painter, though he considers himself a representational landscape painter, representing an image of the landscape that impresses him.
[Diners, 103] In addition to Owl Diner, Baeder's works include several other diners in Massachusetts, among them Ted's Diner (1974, watercolor) in Milford; Casey's (1974, watercolor) in Natick; the former Alice in the Hat (1974, watercolor) in Worcester; Stella's (now Main Street Diner, 1975, watercolor) in Woburn; Sisson's (1975, watercolor) in Middleborough; Viv's (later Judy's Diner, pencil, 1976) in Malden, and Day and Night (1977, watercolor) in Palmer. The large number of his diner paintings led to the publication of his book, Diners (1978, revised and updated 1995). Other books by Baeder include Gas, Food, and Lodging: A Postcard Odyssey through the Great American Roadside (1982) and Sign Language: Street Signs as Folk Art (1996). He resides in Nashville, Tennessee. (end) Eour Sisters Owl Diner Name of Property 10.
Geographical Data Middlesex County, Massachusetts County and State Acreage of Property less than one acre UTM References (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet) 1. 19 Zone 310300 Easting 4723130 Northing 2. Zone Easting Northing Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.) Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.) 3. Zone Easting 4. Zone Easting _ See continuation sheet 11. Form Prepared By name/title Kathleen Kelly Broomer, consultant, with Betsy Friedberg, NR Director, MHC organization Massachusetts Historical Commission_ date _October, 2003 street & number 220 Morrissey Boulevard _ telephone (617) 727-8470 city or town Boston state MA zip code.
02125 Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: Continuation Sheets Maps A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location. A sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. Photographs Representative black and white photographs of the property. Additional items (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items) Property Owner (Complete this item at the request of the SHPO or FPO.) name The Shanahan Family 244 Appleton Street Northing Northing street & number telephone 978-453-8321 city or town Lowell _ state MA _ zip code. 01852 Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings.
Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.0. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Project (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503.NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Rev.
10-90) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 9/10 Page 1 OMB No. 1024-0018 The Diners of Massachusetts MPS Four Sisters Owl Diner Lowell (Middlesex Co.), MA 9. Major Bibliographical References Baeder, John. Diners. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1978. Diner Finder Deluxe: Massachusetts. Watertown, MA: Coffee Cup Publications, 1991. Gutman, Richard J. S. American Diner Then and Now. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1993. Interview with diner historian Richard Gutman, November 23, 1998 (see also below). MHC Inventory Form for Owl Diner, 246 Appleton Street, MHC #1014 (prepared by Elizabeth Durfee Hengen), 1981. Menu for Four Sisters Owl Diner, Lowell (includes history). Polk's Lowell (Massachusetts) City Directory: 1940 through 1982.
Polk's Waltham (Massachusetts) City Directory: 1945, 1955. Pryor, William Harlan. "Postcards from the road." Classic Automobile, Fall 1997 (via www.classicautomobile.com). Sanborn Fire Insurance Co., maps for Lowell, vol. II, 1952 (updated to 1966). Worcester Lunch Car Company Records, Record Group 1998.163, Box 2, Index cards of diners #701-799. Worcester Historical Museum (end) 10. Geographical Data Verbal Boundary Description The boundary of the nominated property is shown on the accompanying detail of the City of Lowell assessors' map #261, lot #244.. Boundary Justification The boundary includes the entire parcel that has been associated with the diner since its placement on the site in 1951.
(end) UNITED NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY NAME: Monarch Diner MULTIPLE NAME: Diners of Massachusetts MPS STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Middlesex DATE RECEIVED: DATE OF 16TH DAY: DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: 10/14/03 11/21/03 REFERENCE NUMBER: 03001207 DATE OF PENDING LIST: 11/05/03 DATE OF 45TH DAY: 11/28/03 REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: N DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: N LESS THAN 50 YEARS: PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: SAMPLE : SLR DRAFT: N NATIONAL: REQUEST: N COMMENT WAIVER: N VACCEPT RETURN ABSTRACT/ SUMMARY COMMENTS : Entered in the Natdonal Registei N N N RECOM./CRITERIA REVIEWER TELEPHONE DOCUMENTATION attached DISCIPLINE DATE comments Y/N attached SLR Y/N OWL DINER CONGRATULATIONS JEFF AND KELLY DINER Diners of mass. MPS Four sisters Owl Diner 246 Appleton Street loweu, middesexcounty, wass.
KK Broomer NCg: MHC September 2001 Ploto 1 0f2 X/24A PLEASE WATCH YOUR HEAD Diners of mass. MPS four sisters OWl Diver 246 Appleton Street 1asJ lowen, middlesx county. Wass. KkBvomer Neg: MHC Septmber 2001 Photo 2062 I/18 EOTEEI CHAS RECEIVED 2280 OCT | 4 2003 NAT. REGISTE The Commonwealth of Massachusetts PARK SERVICE PLACES William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Massachusetts Historical Commission October 8, 2003 Ms. Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places Department of the Interior National Park Service 1201 Eye Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed please find the following nomination form: Four Sisters Diner, 246 Appleton Street, Lowell (Middlesex), MA (The Diners of Massachusetts MPS) The nomination has been voted eligible by the State Review Board and has been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer.
The owner of the property in the Certified Local Government community of Lowell were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 60 to 90 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment. Sincerely, selay Fuedley etsy Friedbers National Register Director Massachusetts Historical Commission enclosure CC: Debra Grossman, Chair, Lowell Historic Commission Kathleen Broomer, Preservation Consultant The Shanahan Family Hon. Rita Mercier, Mayor, City of Lowell Matt Coggins, Lowell Planning and Economic Development Steve Stowell, Lowell CLG Coordinator 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 (617) 727-8470 - Fax: (617) 727-5128 www.state.ma.us/sec/mhc
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