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 Section number 7 Page 1 OMB No.
1024-0018 The Diners of Massachusetts MPS The Rosebud Somerville (Middlesex Co.), MA 7. Description The Rosebud, 381 Summer Street, Somerville (1941, MHC #209) is a fine example of a semi-streamliner diner produced by Worcester Lunch Car Company. The diner is located at the southern end of Davis Square, a neighborhood business district in the western part of the city. Situated directly at the sidewalk, the diner fronts a small park at the junction of Summer Street and Elm Street. The immediate area is known as Cutter Square. There is no on-site customer parking for the diner. Eight bays wide and three to four bays deep, the Rosebud at first suggests a traditional rail car diner form with its monitor roof and long band of clerestory windows. The canted end walls, however, are character-defining features of the more modern semi-streamliner form.
The Rosebud has a steel frame, a brick foundation, black porcelain enamel wall panels, and a metal roof. Entries are located in the narrow ends of the diner. Windows have leaded glass in the transoms above the single-hung steel sash. There are fluted stainless steel jambs between the windows and at the rounded corners. The clerestory windows incorporate some colored glass, mostly visible on the interior. The prefabricated diner is attached at the rear to a one-story, side-gabled building (constructed mid- to late 1930s) with brick veneer walls and two exterior end-wall chimneys. For the purpose of this nomination, the brick building, which preceded the diner on this site, is a noncontributing building. A much larger one-story, flat-roofed rear addition (ca. 1960s), constructed of concrete block with brick veneer, occupies most of the remaining building lot behind the diner.
Both the side-gabled building and the rear addition are unobtrusive and do not compromise the integrity of the 1941 diner. Signage for the diner takes several forms. The porcelain enamel panels read Rosebud in Gothic lettering and Booth Service at either end. Somerville artist Albert Lenoir may have executed the pink roses painted onto the panels. Mounted on the roof is a pink neon sign bearing the diner name in cursive lettering, resting on an internally lit box sign that reads Est. 1941 - Food & Spirits - Est. 1941. There also is a noncontributing standing sign (ca. 1960s) on the sidewalk, consisting of a box sign in a neo-colonial frame and an arrow pointing to the entrance of the former alehouse and grill in the rear addition. On the interior, the Rosebud displays the combination of wood and tile finishes that characterize diners built by the Worcester Lunch Car Company.
The slants of the end walls that help define a Worcester semi-streamliner from the exterior are barely discernable on the interior. A largely historic plan has been modified to accommodate contemporary uses. There is a full-length counter with a staff entrance at the northwestern (left) end, sixteen steel counter stools, and six booths along the southwestern (facade) wall. Booths and tables are wood. The historic back bar and food preparation area has been converted for use as a bar and displays wood and mirrored walls. The counter apron is tiled in blue with accents executed in black tile and stainless steel; a similar finish appears on the walls below the windows. Above the tile, the walls are wood. The floor displays a complex geometric pattern in blue, pale blue, and yellow tiles.
The monitor ceiling incorporates colored glass in some of the clerestory windows and heating, ventilating, and cooling vents in others. The kitchen remains in its historic location at the rear of the prefabricated diner, though the kitchen entrance is now located off a hallway that extends off the northeast corner of the diner. (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB No. 1024-0018 National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 7/8 Page 2/1 The Diners of Massachusetts MPS The Rosebud Somerville (Middlesex Co.), MA Through a four-year restoration project, still ongoing, repairs have been made to the Rosebud and unsympathetic alterations of recent decades have been reversed. Asphalt shingles covering the band of clerestory windows on the monitor roof have been removed.
The diner's porcelain enamel panels have been repaired and replaced as necessary, and the neon sign rejuvenated. Inside, the tile floor has been repaired, and the historic back bar area behind the counter now incorporates a bar for alcoholic beverages. Renovation of the former club space to the rear of the diner is underway, and is expected to expand capacity by 250 seats. In this space will be a modern alehouse and restaurant with a microbrew bar, offering a menu different from that of the diner. Archaeological Description No prehistoric sites are known on the property or in the general area (within one mile). In general, environmental characteristics of the property, especially its location on a level plain over 1000 feet from wetland resources, are not locationally favorable for most types of prehistoric sites.
Given the above information, the small size of the parcel (3994 square feet) and the installation of the diner, a 1930's addition, a 1960's addition, associated utilities and a previous hamburger restaurant on the property, a low potential exists for the recovery of prehistoric resources. There is also a low potential for locating historic archaeological resources on the Rosebud Diner property. Jaunty Jack's, a hamburger restaurant, is the only historic land use identified for the property prior to the installation of the Rosebud Diner. Any archaeological survivals of that resource that remain after the installation of the Rosebud Diner and its two later additions has limited research potential because of its recent age and probable loss of integrity. (end) 8.
Statement of Significance The Rosebud is unique in Somerville and uncommon in Massachusetts as one of very few surviving examples of the semi-streamliner diner form. The manufacturer, Worcester Lunch Car Company, was the state's premier diner builder and introduced the semi-streamliner form as an alternative to the streamliner diner designs that debuted in the late 1930s. Worcester Lunch Car Company was a major force in the design and construction of Massachusetts diners before World War II. In its form and finishes, the Rosebud combines traditional and modern features of diner design in the early 1940s. The Rosebud also is significant for its historic associations with Davis Square, a neighborhood business district in Somerville, and is an important survival of the city's pre-World War II development.
Retaining integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, the Rosebud meets Criteria A and C of the National Register of Historic Places at the state and local levels. The first owner of the Rosebud was Charles Peveloris. Peveloris named his 1941 diner after the sled in the movie Citizen Kane, which was released the same year the diner opened. [Hodges] Previously, a hamburger restaurant known as Jaunty Jack's operated on the site. The 1940 Somerville directory shows Charles Gow as the proprietor. The restaurant occupied the one-story block that now houses the kitchen attached to the rear of the diner [Nanian]. According to Sanborn fire insurance maps, this building was constructed in the mid-to late 1930s. The 1940 Somerville directory shows there were about one hundred twenty-five eating establishments in the city at that time.
They included restaurants, grills, lunchrooms, luncheonettes, spas, cafés, and tearooms, as well as eight diners. (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 The Rosebud Somerville (Middlesex Co.), MA In 1958, Peveloris sold the Rosebud to Evangelos "Galley" Nichols. Nichols initially maintained the Rosebud as a bar, then reopened the kitchen in 1964. He later built a club at the rear of the diner. This club, originally known as the Surrey Room, offered lounge jazz and later disco dancing. Eventually the diner and adjoining club housed a Mexican restaurant when Nichols leased the property to another enterprise.
In 1991, Nichols assumed control of the business again, and embarked on four years of renovation and interior restoration work on the diner. The diner re-opened in 1995. Exterior restoration is ongoing. Bill Nichols, son of Galley Nichols, and Bill's wife, Helen, now manage the diner. Diner historian and consultant Daniel Zilka worked with the diner's proprietors on the most recent restoration. The Rosebud is located in Cutter Square, at the southern end of the neighborhood business district in the western part of Somerville known as Davis Square. An important transportation and commercial center since the third quarter of the 19th century, Davis Square was principally developed by the late 1930s. About the time the Rosebud opened, Cutter Square in the immediate vicinity of the diner encompassed a mix of residential and commercial uses.
Among the businesses here were a furniture shop, curtain shop, bakeries, a shoe repair shop, and clothing stores. One of only seven semi-streamliner diners still in existence [Hodges], the Rosebud illustrates a form of diner that is rare in Massachusetts today. Worcester Lunch Car Company introduced the semi-streamliner model as an alternative to the streamliner diners that were built beginning in 1939 by J. B. Judkins Company and others. The semi-streamliners reportedly were more popular among prospective diner purchasers than the streamliners [Gutman, 115], which were aerodynamically contoured diners that featured curved, "shovel-nosed" ends.
In building the semi-streamliner, the Worcester Lunch Car Company combined the full-length monitor roof seen on the earlier streetcar-inspired diners with canted end walls, a new design feature that reflected the impact of, and offered a more conservative alternative to, the streamliner design. The Rosebud is one of the best examples of a semi-streamliner remaining in Massachusetts. The best preserved semi- streamliner in the state is Four Sisters Owl Diner, 246 Appleton Street, Lowell (1940, Worcester Lunch Car Company #759, MHC #1014), originally the Monarch Diner in Waltham.
In recent years, three other Worcester semi-streamliners have been moved out of state: the Hudson Diner (1946, originally known as Lamy's), moved in 1984 from Hudson to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan; the Peerless Diner, formerly located in Lowell and moved in 1987 to Florida; and the Ross Diner (1946), formerly located in Holyoke and moved in 1992 to Queechee, Vermont. [Gutman interview; Cultrera] In addition to the Rosebud, there are only two prefabricated diners in Somerville today. Like the Rosebud, Buddy's Truck Stop, 113 Washington Street (1920s, MHC #303), was built by Worcester Lunch Car Company. This small 10- stooler diner displays an earlier barrel-roofed diner form and stainless steel exterior panels added in the 1970s. Kelly's Diner, Broadway and Rogers Avenue, Ball Square (ca. 1947, O'Mahony) was moved to Somerville in 1996.
This stainless steel diner is the former Frank's Place from Hares Corner, Delaware. [Cultrera; Gutman] The Rosebud is one of several single-building local historic districts in the City of Somerville. (end) The Rosebud Name of Property Somerville, Middlesex County, Massachusetts County and State 10. Geographical Data Acreage of Property 3994 square feet UTM References See continuation sheet. (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet) 1. 19 325400 4695540 Zone 2. Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing /erbal Boundary Descriptio Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet. Zone Easting 4. Zone Easting _ See continuation sheet Northing Northing Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.) 11.
Form Prepared By name/title Kathleen Kelly Broomer, consultant, with Betsy Friedberg, NR Director, MHC organization Massachusetts Historical Commission street & number_220 Morrissey Boulevard _ date_ July, 1999 _telephone (617) 727-8470 city or town Boston stateMassachusetts _ zip code_02125 Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: Continuation Sheets 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 Evangelos Nichols street & number 381 Summer Street telephone 617-666-6015 city or town.
Somerville state MA _ zip code 02143 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 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 1 Page OMB No. 1024-0018 The Diners of Massachusetts MPS The Rosebud Somerville (Middlesex Co.), MA 9. Major Bibliographical References Interviews with John Nanian, author of a historic structure report on the Rosebud, December 9, 1998 and January 1999. Interview with diner historian Richard Gutman (see also below), November 23, 1998. Information on Somerville diners provided by Michael Steinitz, Survey Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission, January 1999. Hodges, Jane. "Sentiment, with a side of bacon [Rosebud Diner]." The Boston Phoenix. January 30, 1998, pp.
4-5. Norman, Marjorie. "This 'Bud's for food!" Roadside Magazine, November 1998. Gutman, Richard J. S. American Diner Then and Now. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1993. -. "The restoration of Lamy's Diner at Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan." Roadside Magazine, Spring 1991. Cultrera, Larry. "Diner hotline [re: Ross Diner]." Society for Commercial Archeology NewsJournal, Fall 1992, p. 17. "Diner hotline [re: Kelly's Diner]." Society for Commercial Archeology NewsJournal, Spring 1996, p. 19. Diner Finder Deluxe: Massachusetts. Watertown, MA: Coffee Cup Publications, 1991. Manning's Somerville Directory: 1940. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Somerville: 1933, 1934 (corrected to 1950), 1989. MHC Inventory Form, Rosebud Diner (recorded by Carole Zellie, Gretchen Schuler) for Somerville Historic Preservation Commission, March 1988. (end) 10.
Geographical Data Verbal Boundary Description The boundary of the nominated property is shown on the accompanying detail of the City of Somerville's assessors' map. Boundary Justification The boundary includes the entire parcel that has been historically associated with the diner.
(end) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY NAME: Rosebud, The 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 REFERENCE NUMBER: 99001125 DATE OF PENDING LIST: 8/24/99 DATE OF 45TH DAY: 9/23/99 REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: N OTHER: PDIL: REQUEST: N SAMPLE: DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: N PERIOD: N SLR DRAFT: N LESS THAN 50 YEARS: PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: NATIONAL: COMMENT WAIVER: VACCEPT N RETURN ABSTRACT/ SUMMARY COMMENTS : REJECT 9/22/9are Eatered in the Metionel Register N N N RECOM./CRITERIA REVIEWER TELEPHONE DISCIPLINE DATE DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N BOOTH SERVICE Rosebud - FOOD & SPIRITS EST.S 1941 Roscbud ® BOOTH SERVICE Rosebud Diner 381 summer Street somerville, middlesek County, mass.
ViCWN 1998 Photo: KK Broomer Neg: MHC Roslud Diner 381 summer Street Somerville, middlesexCounty, mass. Interior view Nw 1998 Photo: kkBroomer Neg: MHC
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