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University MicrtiFilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 40106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1329089 Alexander, Eleanor A UNIQUELY AMERICAN WATERING HOLE: THE DRUG STORE SODA FOUNTAIN AT THE TURN OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY University of Delaware (Winterthur Program) M.A. 1986 University Microfilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 Copyright 1987 by Alexander, Eleanor All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PLEASE NOTE: In all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with thisdocument have been identified here with a check mark V 1. 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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A UNIQUELY AMERICAN WATERING HOLE; THE DRUG STORE SODA FOUNTAIN AT THE TURN OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY By Eleanor Alexander A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Early American Culture June 1986 Copyright 1986 Eleanor Alexander All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A UNIQUELY AMERICAN WATERING HOLE: THE DRUG STORE SODA FOUNTAIN AT THE TURN OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY By Eleanor Alexander Approved Kenneth L. Ames, Ph.D. Professor in charge of thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee Approved:. ____________________AJ ^ V - Barbara McLean Ward, Ph.D. Director, Winterthur Program in Early American Culture Approved:_____________________________________________ R. B. Murray, Ph.D. University Coordinator for Graduate Studies Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ©1987 ELEANOR ALEXANDER All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. BEGINNINGS FROM TINY BUBBLES ................1 NOTES....................................... 11 CHAPTER II. FROM MEDIOCRE TO MAGNIFICENT...............14 NOTES....................................... 65 CHAPTER III. GOBLETS OF GOODNESS......................... 74 NOTES....................................... 89 CHAPTER IV. "VIRTUES OF SODA FOUNT"..................... 95 NOTES...................................... 110 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................ 114 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Early gooseneck fountain with flavoring and crushed fruit j a r s .........................49 2. Fancy gooseneck fountain ...................... 50 3. Urn fountain, generally in use 1830s-1870s . 51 4. Basic column fountain circa 1840s............... 52 5. Column fountain sold by a Philadelphia Company in 1858............................... 53 6. Gustavus Dows's marble box fountain circa 1859 .................................... 54 7. James Tufts's original Cottage fountain, 1869. 55 8. James Tufts's French Cottage fountain originally made in 1870, in the Magnolia Drug Store (Georgia, 1890s).. ........ 56 9. Elaborate cottage-style fountain popular during the 1870s-1880s ....................... 57 10. The Nonpareil cottage-style fountain manufactured in Boston, 1878 ................. 58 11. James Tufts's Centennial fountain, 1876. 59 12. Basic marble wall fountain in the James & Allen Drug Store (Chattanooga, 1890s).......... 60 13. The Riverside fountain, believed to have been the largest fountain in the world in the early 1890s ............................. 61 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 14. Double wall fountain in a Georgia pharmacy, 1980s................................. 62 15. Modern counter service fountain in Riker’s Drug Store (New York, circa 1908)............. 63 16. Domed square fountain in Hedgeman's Pharmacy (New York, circa 1906)............... 64 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER I BEGINNINGS FROM TINY BUBBLES Ah, that little soda fountain in the little village store You remember it, I reckon from amidst your childhood lore? As an altar, mystic onyx, at which thirsty souls would bow— Marble, glass (and also pewter)— mean compared with founts of now. Ah, the grand anticipation when we shyly sidled in And surveyed the magic frontage as we dangled happy shin. While the keeper of the Altar (Mr. Brown or Mrs. Jones) Queried: "Well, what flavor?" in not overpatient tones. Choc'late, strawberry, or ginger? Cherry— huh! or sass'prilla! Ever taste the combination, mingled lemon and vanilla? 'Twas a gamut quite sufficient for the strictest epicure, And the wildest dreams of childhood Might no finer [drink] conjure. The soda fountain, an ornate dispenser of myriad treats, was a nineteenth-century American innovation that became a financial and social success. Although the apothecary existed in many countries, only this nation's drug stores incorporated the fountain as an essential merchandising component. Introduced in the early 1800s as 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 a marketing aid to shore up flagging profits, the drug store soda fountain evolved into a uniquely American social institution. The fountain was both an apparatus for advertising and dispensing what was commonly called soda water, and a gathering site for good soda and good times. To fulfill these simultaneous roles, the fountain changed forms, evolv­ ing from simple but attractive structures to architectural masterpieces often grand in scale. Fountains appealed to the eye and imagination. They were expressly designed "to tempt a thirsty mortal or make a mortal thirsty."2 Some early fountain forms literally embodied this notion. Shaped like swans or water-bearing vessels, they inspired customers to buy soda water. This artificially carbonated beverage was invented in Europe, probably during the eighteenth century. Sold generally as an unflavored bottle tonic, it was a viable commodity there. But American ingenuity transformed soda water into an epicurean delight. Sweet flavored drinks and complex concoctions made