The Agawam Diner is an historic

diner A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...

at 166 Newburyport Turnpike (

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, ...

) in

Rowley, Massachusetts Rowley is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,161 at the 2020 census. Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Rowley. History The area was inhabited by the Agawam people under sachem ...

. It was manufactured in 1954 and moved to this location in 1970 after first being in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

. It is the town's only diner and one of only six in the state manufactured by the

Fodero Dining Car Company The Fodero Dining Car Company (1933–1981) was a diner manufacturer located in Newark, New Jersey, Newark and later Bloomfield, New Jersey. It was founded by Italian immigrant Joseph Fodero, who formed the company after constructing diners with T ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1999.

Description

The Agawam Diner stands in the area of Rowley known as Kent's Corner, on a lot of at the southwest corner of Newburyport Turnpike and Haverhill Street (

Massachusetts Route 133 Route 133 is a east–west Massachusetts state route that runs from Route 38 and Route 110 in Lowell to Route 127 in Gloucester. Route description Route 133 begins at the junction of Route 38 and Route 110 in Lowell, where Route 110 ...

). It is a single-story building, six bays wide and seven deep. Its exterior is finished with a combination of horizontal and vertical metal banding and has rounded corners. At the center of its main facade is a projecting entry vestibule with entrances at the sides. The stairs leading to the entrances are sheltered by removable canvas awnings. The interior is divided roughly in half, the front half housing the dining and service area and the rear the kitchen. The dining area includes booths along the front wall and stools at the counter separating the dining and service areas.

History

The Galanis family opened a diner on this site in 1947, in a structure manufactured by the

Worcester Lunch Car Company Worcester Lunch Car Company was a manufacturer of diners based in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, from 1906 to 1957. History In 1906 Philip H. Duprey and Grenville Stoddard established the Worcester Lunch Car and Carriage Manufacturi ...

. It was one of three locations operated by the Galanises; the others were in

(opened 1940) and Peabody. In 1954, the Galanises purchased two diners from the

Bloomfield, New Jersey Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and an inner-ring suburb of Newark. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 53,105, an increase of 5,790 (+12.2%) from the 2010 census cou ...

. One was placed at Ipswich, replacing a Worcester diner the family sold, and the other was placed in Peabody. The Peabody diner closed in 1960, and the Ipswich one in 1970. The Galanises then opted to sell the diner at Rowley and moved the Ipswich diner to its location. The diner is named for a local Indian tribe.The Diner
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References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Commercial buildings completed in 1954 Restaurants on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Rowley, Massachusetts Tourist attractions in Essex County, Massachusetts Diners in Massachusetts Diners on the National Register of Historic Places Restaurants established in 1940 National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts U.S. Route 1

Description

History

See also

References