The Chadwick Square Diner or Worcester Lunch Car Company Diner #660 or Ralph's Chadwick Square 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 95 Prescott Street (rear) in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

. Although the building faces Grove Street, it is attached to one of the 19th century Washburn and Moen Works buildings which fronts on Prescott Street. The diner is a rare early version of a

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

-inspired design, and may be the only one of its type in the state. It is long and deep, with twelve window bays. It has a monitor-style roof with clerestory windows, and entrances at the ends under roof overhangs. The northern entrance now serves as an emergency exit, while the south entrance now serves as the main entrance to the nightclub in the attached building. The interior is exceptionally well-preserved, retaining many of its original finishes. The diner was built by

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 ...

in 1930 for Robert and Mamie Gilhooly of Worcester, who operated it at 414 Grove Street. The neon "G" on the front of the diner stands for Gilhooly. It was first located in the Chadwick Square section of Worcester and was a popular place. Robert Gilhooly died in 1955, after which the diner was purchased by his cousin Mary Ryan Clingen and her husband James Clingen of Cherry Valley. It was then moved near to the Worcester-

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

line, and was operated at 1546 Main Street by their son-in-law and daughter, Ralph and Eileen Dryden. The diner was later sold to Ralph Moberly and moved to its present location in 1979. 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 2003.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Restaurants on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Diners on the National Register of Historic Places Diners in Massachusetts Restaurants in Worcester, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Worcester, Massachusetts 1930 establishments in Massachusetts Restaurants established in 1930

See also

References