Nomination for Casey's Diner

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (Rev. 10-90) OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service RECEIVED 2280 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form AUG - 9 1999 NAT. REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES NATIONAL PARK SERVICE This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties ant districts. See instructions in How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking "X" in the appropriate box or by entering the information requested. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions.

Place additional entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items. 1. Name of Property historic name Casey's Diner (The Diners of Massachusetts MPS) other names/site number N/A 2. Location street & number_ 36 South Avenue _ not for publication city or town Natick - vicinity state_Massachusetts _codeMA county_ Middlesex code_ zip code_ 01760 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1986, as amended, I hereby certify that this & nomination - request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60.

In my opinion, the property A meets - does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant J natiopally statewide - locally. (- See continuation sheet for additional comments.) Audit B. MeDononsh Signature of certifying officia/Title Jadith B. McDonough, Executive Director 729/99 Massachusetts Historical Commission, State Historic Preservation Officer State or Federal agency and bureau in my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. (OSee continuation sheet for additional Comments.) Signature of certifying official/Title Date State or Federal agency and bureau 4. National Park Service Certification 1, hereby certify that this property is: entered in the National Register - See continuation sheet. - determined eligible for the National Register - See continuation sheet.

- determined not eligible for the National Register - removed from the National Register - other (explain): Heiat Ball Date of Action 9.22.99 Casey's Diner Name of Property 5.

Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply) X private _ public-local _ public-State -public-Federal Natick, Middlesex County, Massachusetts County and State (Check only one box) X building(s) _ district - Site _ structure _ object Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Contributing Noncontributing 1 0 0 0 1 0 _building _sites _structures objects _Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register 1 (as part of Natick Center Historic District) Name of related multiple property listing (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing.) Twentieth-Century Commercial Architecture: The Diners of Massachusetts 6.

Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions) COMMERCE/TRADE/restaurant Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions) COMMERCE/TRADE/restaurant 7. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions) Other: Lunch Wagon/Lunch Cart Materials (Enter categories from instructions) foundation_concrete walls steel panels roof other metal wood Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) 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 1 OMB No. 1024-0018 The Diners of Massachusetts MPS Casey's Diner Natick (Middlesex Co.), MA 7.

Description Casey's Diner, 36 South Avenue, Natick (MHC #116) is a well preserved survival of the early 1920s, "ten-stooler" lunch car manufactured by the Worcester Lunch Car Co. The diner is located in Natick's town center and historic downtown business district, on a secondary artery that runs between and parallel to East Central Street (Route 135) and the former Boston & Albany Railroad tracks, now a Conrail and commuter railroad line. Set back from the street with parking immediately in front (south) and on the east side, the diner occupies a level lot in an area of mixed uses. Built in 1922 [Gutman, p. 250] as a lunch cart on wheels, Casey's has been a more or less stationary building on a permanent foundation since the late 1920s or early 1930s. In 1977 Casey's was listed in the National Register as part of the Natick Center Historic District.

At the time, the diner was located on its first foundation at 8 Washington Street. The same year, Casey's was moved around the corner, a distance of about three blocks, to its current site on South Avenue. When the diner was moved to its current location, the original wheel axles reportedly were greased and new tires were mounted, allowing the diner to be towed to its new location. The diner's removal from Washington Street to South Avenue placed the building outside the boundaries of the Natick Center Historic District. Nine bays wide and approximately three bays deep, Casey's is wood frame with a metal barrel roof and exterior cladding of galvanized steel panels painted yellow. The four-pane band of clerestory windows centered on the roof is uncommon for the diner's small size.

The concrete foundation dates to the diner's 1977 relocation, as does a one-story, flat-roofed addition of concrete block to the rear. The diner retains its original entries on the façade and west side, each containing glazed wood pocket doors. There is a Colonial Revival-style, barrel-roofed entry porch on the façade, dating to the 1920s. Prior to the 1977 move, a solid balustrade of rusticated concrete block supported the porch, which features engaged Doric columns framing the main entry. Following the 1977 move, the concrete balustrade was replaced with wood handrails and turned balusters. On the east (right) elevation, a window has been widened for take-out use. The two windows flanking the entry retain etched frosted glass. There is no mounted or painted signage.

Inside, Casey's is the quintessential Worcester lunch car with certain contemporary, and comparatively minor, modifications. Original features include the quartered oak counter and counter apron, brass foot rest, ten oak stools, narrow "stand-up" counter along the inside front (south) wall, wood-paneled barrel ceiling, and hexagonal tile floor. The steel backbar was added later. Perhaps the most significant contemporary alteration is the addition of the rear storage area, which is connected to the grill/prep area by a door at the western end of the historic diner's rear wall. The addition does not compromise the historic integrity of the diner. Archaeological Description While no prehistoric sites are recorded on the nominated property, sites may be present. Six sites have been recorded in the general area (within one mile), all of which border nearby wetland locales.

In general, environmental characteristics of the property, especially its location on a level to moderately sloping plain in the town center and historic business district over 1000 feet from the nearest wetlands, are not locationally favorable for most types of prehistoric sites. Given the above information and the size of the property (less than 0.25 acres), a low potential exists for the recovery of prehistoric resources on the property. There is also a low potential for the recovery of historic archaeological resources on the Casey Diner property. The diner was on wheels until placed on a permanent foundation at 8 Washington Street in the late 1920's or early 1930's. In 1977, the diner was moved from its original site to its current location on South Avenue. No archaeological resources that predate the diner have been identified at the South Avenue site.

(end) Casey's Diner Name of Property 8. Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register listing.) X A Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. _ B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. X C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. _D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. Criteria Considerations (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.) Property is: A owned by religious institution or used for religious purposes. X B removed from its original location.

_C a birthplace or grave. _ D a cemetery. _E a reconstructed building, object, or structure. _ F a commemorative property. _ G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past 50 years. Narrative Statement of Significance (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) Natick, Middlesex County, Massachusetts County and State Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) Architecture Commerce Period of Significance 1922-1949 Significant Dates 1922 1927 Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) N/A Cultural Affiliation N/A Architect/Builder Worcester Lunch Car Company 9.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

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 - Other State agency - previously listed in the National Register -Federal agency _ previously determined eligible by the National _ Local government Register - University _ designated a National Historic Landmark Other _ 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 8 1 Section number Page OMB No.

1024-0018 The Diners of Massachusetts MPS Casey's Diner Natick (Middlesex Co.), MA 8. Statement of Significance One of the oldest operating diners in Massachusetts, Casey's Diner is unique in Natick and very unusual in Massachusetts as an early and well preserved example of the "ten-stooler" lunch car manufactured by the Worcester Lunch Car Company. The Worcester company was the state's premier diner builder and a major force in the design and construction of Massachusetts diners prior to World War II. Casey's also is locally significant for its association with the Casey family, which has maintained a lunch cart/diner operation in Natick over three generations.

The diner's relocation in 1927 from the neighboring town of Framingham to Natick, and in 1977 from one downtown Natick site to another, is characteristic of the portable nature of diners and has not adversely impacted the diner's historic and architectural integrity. Retaining integrity of design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, Casey's meets Criteria A and C and Criteria Consideration B of the National Register of Historic Places at the state and local levels. Further investigation of diners in a national context is needed to confirm whether Casey's also meets the National Register criteria for significance at the national level. Frederick A. Casey started in the lunch cart business in the early years of the 20th century, operating a four-stool lunch wagon owned by George and Ida Brooks.

The lunch wagon, built about 1885, was known originally as the Brooks' Café and later as the Park Café. According to Gutman, for seventeen years Casey did the three p.m. to one a.m. shift, which ended when the last train pulled into Natick Center [p.76]. In 1921 Casey purchased the wagon and continued to operate it on the South Main Street side of Natick's town common, opposite Pond Street. Records of the Worcester Lunch Car Co. show company employees made trips to Natick in 1921 and 1923 to work on Casey's, repairing the wagon's steps and door, building a shelf, and building cigarette cases. A photograph of the old wagon is displayed in the diner today. The 1923 Natick directory shows one other lunch wagon in town, located at 15 Summer Street and operated by Joseph L. O'Brien. This wagon, like Casey's, was located in the downtown business district.

Casey sold the original wagon to the Stanley family, gypsies who lived in Natick, and in 1927 purchased a second-hand Worcester lunch car, formerly Mulligan's Diner in Framingham [Gutman, p. 76]. Casey subsequently installed the diner at 8 Washington Street, northeast of the town common and across the street from the public library. The 1931 directory shows Casey residing at the same address, in the house immediately adjacent to the diner. (The site of the diner and house is now a bank parking lot.) Account books of the Worcester Lunch Car Co. show that employees made three trips to the "Natick diner" in 1932, including one twelve and one-half-hour trip on June 11th described as "Going to Natick to level car." This entry suggests the lunch car may have been maintained on wheels before placement on a permanent foundation in 1932.

When the diner was moved to its current location in 1977, the original wheel axles reportedly were greased and new tires were mounted, allowing the diner to be towed to its new location [Evers]. Casey's matches the "10 x 20-1/2 Worcester Dining Car" model described in a sales brochure for Worcester Lunch Car Co., dated ca. 1926-1927. At that time, the 10-foot by 20½-foot car was the smallest model offered by the Worcester manufacturer. At least six ten-stool diners from the 1920s and 1930s have been identified in Massachusetts; some have been completely gutted and converted to other uses. Casey's, by contrast, retains a high percentage of original building fabric. Frederick Casey ran his business for over twenty-five years, serving lunch, dinner, and night-owl customers until he retired in the mid-1950s. He reportedly always described the current diner as a lunch cart [Gutman, p.

76], and his occupation appears in the town's resident lists as "lunch proprietor." Casey's son, Joe Casey, contracted Worcester (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 8/9 Page 2/1 OMB No. 1024-0018 The Diners of Massachusetts MPS Casey's Diner Natick (Middlesex Co.), MA Lunch Car Co. to make some interior improvements in 1958, such as removing the old ice chest and installing a sandwich board. Over the years, the diner's hours have been cut back, reflecting the loss of late-night social and entertainment activities in downtown Natick. The diner is operated today by a third generation of the Casey family. At its Washington Street location, Casey's was the subject of a 1974 watercolor painting by John Baeder. Baeder (b.

1938 in South Bend, Indiana) 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] Baeder's works include several other diners in Massachusetts, among them Ted's Diner (1974, watercolor) in Milford; 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 (now Judy's Diner, 1976, pencil) 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) 9.

Major Bibliographical References Gutman, Richard J. S. American Diner Then and Now. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1993. Diner Finder Deluxe: Massachusetts. Watertown, MA: Coffee Cup Publications, 1991. MHC Inventory Form, Casey's Diner (recorded by Stephen N. Evers), May 4, 1978. Serving the World with Worcester Dining Cars (promotional brochure). Worcester, Mass.: Worcester Lunch Car Company, no date (ca. 1926-1927). American Antiquarian Society. Schaller, Anne K. and Janice A. Prescott. Images of America: Natick. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 1998. Natick directories: 1920, 1923, 1931, 1935, 1943, 1946. Town of Natick List of Residents, various years. Worcester Lunch Car Company Record Books: 1914-1967. Account books of lunch car construction, 1914-1928 and 1932-1935. Worcester Historical Museum. Baeder, John. Diners. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1978.

Pryor, William Harlan. "Postcards from the road." Classic Automobile, Fall 1997 (via www.classicautomobile.com). (end) Casey's Diner Name of Property Natick, Middlesex County, Massachusetts County and State 10. Geographical Data Acreage of Property less than one-quarter acre - UTM References (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet) 1. 19 306640 4683940 Zone Easting Northing 3. Zone Easting 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.) 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 _July 1999 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 Frederick P.

Casey Northing Northing street & number 15 Kelsey Road telephone 508-655-3761 city or town Natick state MA zip code 01760 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 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 10 Page 1 OMB No. 1024-0018 The Diners of Massachusetts MPS Casey's Diner Natick (Middlesex Co.), MA 10. Geographical Data Verbal Boundary Description The boundary of the nominated property is shown on the accompanying detail of the Town of Natick assessors' map.

Boundary Justification The boundary includes the entire parcel that has been associated with the diner since its placement on the current site in 1977.

(end) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY NAME: Casey's Diner MULTIPLE NAME: Diners of Massachusetts MPS STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Middlesex DATE RECEIVED: DATE OF 16TH DAY: DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: 8/09/99 9/09/99 DATE OF PENDING LIST: DATE OF 45TH DAY: REFERENCE NUMBER: 99001122 REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: N OTHER: N REQUESA: N DATA PROBLEM: NLANDSCAPE: N LESS THAN 50 YEARS: PDIL: SAMPLE: PERIOD: PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: N SLR DRAFT: N NATIONAL: COMMENT WAIVER: N VACCEPT RETURN REJECT 9/22/99 DATE ABSTRACT/ SUMMARY COMMENTS : Interod in tlse Metronal Register RECOM./CRITERIA REVIEWER TELEPHONE DISCIPLINE DATE DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N N N N Open casey's Diner 36 Natich, hüddlesex countu, mass.

ViRWNE 1998 PloTo: KK Baromer Neg: casey's Diner 36 south Avenue Natick, middlesex couuty, mass. Internior vieWE 1998 Ploto: KKBroomer Neg: MHC