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 Wilson's Diner Waltham (Middlesex Co.), MA 7. Description Wilson's Diner, 507 Main Street, Waltham is a very well preserved and late example of the traditional barrel-roofed diner form in Massachusetts. Manufactured in 1949 as #819 by the Worcester Lunch Car Company, Wilson's Diner displays the form for which the company is best known. It is the only diner in Waltham. The diner is located on U. S. Route 20 at the eastern edge of Waltham's downtown business district. Surrounding development is a mix of commercial and residential uses. The diner is immediately adjacent to the sidewalk and has a paved parking area to the west. A concrete block kitchen wing connects the rear of the diner to the southeast corner of the house at 509 Main Street.
While the house to the rear is sizable in scale, the diner's physical connection to the house is not immediately apparent when the diner is viewed from the street. For the purpose of this nomination, the house is a noncontributing building. Wilson's Diner is ten bays wide and three bays deep, on a brick foundation, with a rounded hipped roof clad in rubber membrane, and porcelain enamel wall panels in light blue and pale yellow. Integral entries with short staircases are located at either end of the diner. These entries retain original stainless steel doors with sunburst motifs. Windows have single-hung sash and transoms above. Signage for the diner appears on the wall panels and in a rooftop-mounted sign.
Running along the east side of the concrete block kitchen wing is a long, narrow, wrought iron porch on a high concrete foundation; this porch, which provides exterior access to the kitchen wing, was built sometime after 1950 and before 1972 [Sanborn maps]. This porch does not compromise the integrity of the diner and is not clearly visible from the street, due to the narrow distance between the diner and a fast-food restaurant on the adjacent property to the east. Remarkably intact on the interior, Wilson's Diner has a full-length marble counter with center staff entrance. Seating includes eighteen steel counter stools with blue porcelain enamel accents, and wooden booths at the windows along the south (front) wall.
The light blue and pale yellow color scheme of the exterior is carried to the interior in the tiling of the counter apron, floor, and south wall, all of which also display accents in steel and black tile. The end walls and most cabinetry have a wood finish, the barrel ceiling is Formica, and the back bar is steel. Centered on the steel hood behind the counter is a steel-rimmed clock that reads WORCESTER DINERS. The seat coverings of the stools and booths were recently replaced with bright blue vinyl. Archaeological Description While no prehistoric sites are located on the nominated property, it is possible that sites are present. One site is recorded in the general area (within one mile) of the diner.
In general, however, environmental characteristics of the property, especially its distance of over 1000 feet from the nearest wetlands, are not locationally favorable for most types of prehistoric sites. Most prehistoric sites in the region are located in close proximity to streams, ponds and wetlands within the Charles River drainage. Given the above information, the small size of the parcel (less than 0.5 acres) and installation of the diner, addition, paved parking area, adjacent house and utilities, a low potential exists for locating prehistoric resources on the property. A low potential also exists for locating historic archaeological resources on the Wilson Diner property. No potential historic period archaeological resources have been identified for the property prior to installation of the diner and the related facilities listed above.
No information is also currently available for the non- (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 7/8 Page 2/1 OMB No. 1024-0018 The Diners of Massachusetts MPS Wilson's Diner Waltham (Middlesex Co.), MA contributing residence connected to the rear of the diner, however, the small size of the parcel and construction impacts from extant structures and related facilities precludes the possibility of surviving archacological resources on the property. (end) 8. Statement of Significance Wilson's Diner is a fine and late example of the traditional barrel-roofed diner produced by the Worcester Lunch Car Company, the state's premier diner builder and a major force in the design and construction of Massachusetts diners prior to World War II.
As a postwar example of the Worcester company's handcrafted work, Wilson's Diner illustrates the diner form most closely associated with the history of Massachusetts diners since the 1920s. Locally Wilson's also is significant for its associations with Chester and Alice Wilson, whose interest in serving Waltham residents and travelers on U. S. Route 20 produced not only Wilson's Diner but also a "tourist home" across the street. Wilson's Diner retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. For its clear associations with a burgeoning automobile culture in Waltham and in Massachusetts following World War II, as well as its form and its high degree of architectural integrity, Wilson's Diner meets Criteria A and C and Criteria Consideration G of the National Register of Historic Places at the state and local levels.
The Worcester Lunch Car Company delivered Wilson's Diner to Waltham on March 24, 1949. Chester M. and Alice Y. Wilson, the original proprietors, settled in Waltham in the mid-1940s, according to city directories, when they took up residence at 480 Lexington Street. They first opened Wilson's Diner in 1946 at 3 Carter Street, a property located south of the common in the city's downtown business district. The Carter Street building (now demolished) had existed since at least 1939, and had served as a restaurant or lunchroom under at least two prior owners. When the Wilsons relocated their diner business to Main Street in 1949, the immediate vicinity encompassed several stores, houses, a shoe repair business, the St. Joseph's church complex, offices, and a rest home.
City directories indicate the only other diner operating in Waltham at the time was the Monarch Diner at 789 Main Street (removed or demolished). By 1955, a third diner - Banks Square Diner - was operating in the storefront commercial block at 979 Main Street. At that time, the city also had nine eating establishments with "lunch" or "luncheonette" in their names. Between 1955 and 1958, the Wilsons opened Tourist Haven, a tourist home at 500 Main Street directly across the street from the diner. The house survives and now has storefront additions at the ground floor. The Wilsons were associated with Tourist Haven until at least 1969, according to directories. However, they apparently sold the diner business by 1960, at which point Fred Marcell of West Newton became the proprietor. Marcell may be the same as J.
Fred Marcell who is listed in the 1960 city directory as the owner of Waltham Compass Company and City Hall Jewelers, both in Waltham. About 1964, the business was sold to Costas J. Moraites of Medford, who operated the diner through the 1960s under the name of John & Nicholas Inc. Wilson's Diner is the only diner extant in Waltham. One of the later examples of a Worcester lunch car in Massachusetts, Wilson's Diner suggests a desire on the part of the Wilsons for the traditional diner form to house their business. This traditional form failed to compete successfully, however, with the larger stainless steel diners then available from several out-of-state manufacturers. The Worcester company sold its last new diner in 1957, eight years after delivering Wilson's Diner, and closed in 1961. (end) Wilson's Diner Name of Property Waltham, Middlesex County, Massachusetts County and State 10.
Geographical Data Acreage of Property less than one-half acre UTM References See continuation sheet. (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet) 1. 19 316310 4694860 Zone Easting 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 Zone Easting _ See continuation sheet 11.
Form Prepared By name/title organization Kathleen Kelly Broomer, consultant, with Betsy Friedberg, NR Director, MHC Massachusetts Historical Commission date July 1999 street & number 220 Morrissey Boulevard city or town Boston state_Massachusetts telephone (617) 727-8470 _ zip code_02125 Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: Continuation Sheets Northing Northing 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 Veronica Wilson street & number 78 Lincoln Street telephone 781-899-0760 city or town Waltham _state MA_ _ zip code_ 02454 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 9/10 Page 1 OMB No. 1024-0018 The Diners of Massachusetts MPS Wilson's Diner Waltham (Middlesex Co.), MA 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. Polk's Waltham City Directory (1939, 1943, 1948, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1969). Boston: R. L. Polk & Co. Publishers, years as noted. Worcester Lunch Car Company Record Books: 1914-1967. File cards with information for service, ca. 1950s. Worcester Historical Museum. Sanborn fire insurance maps for Waltham: 1938 (corrected to 1950), 1972. Waltham building department, building permits. (end) 10. Geographical Data Verbal Boundary Description The boundary of the nominated property is shown on the accompanying detail of the City of Waltham's assessors' map. Boundary Justification The boundary includes the entire parcel that has been historically associated with the diner.
(end) UNITED NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY NAME: Wilson'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 REFERENCE NUMBER: 99001126 ATE OF 45TH DAY REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: N DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: N LESS THAN 50 YEARS: OTHER: PDIL: PERIOD: PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: REQUEST: N SAMPLE: N SLR DRAFT: N NATIONAL: COMMENT WAIVER: N VACCEPT RETURN ABSTRACT /SUMMARY COMMENTS: _RBUBOT 9/22/ISDATE Intared in the lational Hegisten RECOM. /CRITERIA REVIEWER TELEPHONE DISCIPLINE DATE DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N BREAKFAST - LUNCH - DINNER Wilson's DINER BTT Wilson's Diner 507 main street wathram, middlesex County, mass.
HE Vie Nw 1998 Photo: kkBroomer Neg: MHC Vilson's Diner 507 main Street watram, middlesex county, mass. Interior view E 1998 Photo: KkBroomer Neg: MHC
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