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Postcard
ca. 1950s: Kummerlowe Archive |
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Canton,
Massachusetts |
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2786 Washington St |
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Like
dozens of other Howard Johnson's location in the Bay State,
the original Canton Restaurant dating from the 1930s was
replaced by a new model in the late 1940s. Pictured here,
the new building served as a prototype for the growing chain.
Researcher Nate Coggeshall-Beyea has identified several
locations that were based on the circa 1940s Canton Restaurant.
Moreover the Howard Johnson Company itself listed locations
in its in-house publications as being "Canton-types."
A
successful unit, design elements and efficiencies of operation
developed at Canton were widely adopted by Howard Johnson's
for both its licensed and Company operated units. |
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Images
ca. 1949: Life Magazine Ad:
Kummerlowe Archive |
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Left:
While Canton featured its Dairy Bar on the left, other Canton-types
were built with a reverse layout and later models were tweaked
to have only two dormers.
It is not known if the attic space was functional in the Canton-type
buildings.
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Right:
By October of 1949 new Canton-type Restaurants featured updated
dining room furnishings including a new and innovative type
of table that could be enlarged by a sliding panel. |
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Howard
Johnson's Restaurant Update, Franchised Restaurant Newsletter No.
10:
Larry Passaro |
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Fast
Forward to January 1990:
At
the end of the Howard Johnson Company's existence in 1985,
Canton had been a licensed location. Some time after the creation
of Franchise Associates Incorporated (FAI), the unit became
the first to be owned and operated by FAI. Not
having received a substantial update since the 1960s FAI decided
to remake Canton yet again into a prototype Howard Johnson's
Restaurant (it is unlikely that FAI managers knew that it
had held the prototype distinction long before). The Canton
Restaurant project would serve as FAI's only real attempt
to regain HoJo's former luster. |
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Addison,
a San Francisco based design firm was charged with creating
a new look for Canton and the chain. Most significantly, the
firm was responsible for putting the apostrophe 'S' back into
the Howard Johnson name as well as creating the capital entry
arch. |
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Above:
Stripped of its neo-classical and art deco appeal, Canton
was gutted and remade to resemble a circa 1980s Mansard style
HoJo's. |
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FAI
images 1991: Walter Mann |
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Canton's
refreshed interior featured second level seating, brass
and wood accents as well as special etched glass Simple
Simon and the Pieman panels.
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whole design was referred to as "high-tech,"
and included an expansive Dairy Bar with a walk up area
highlighted by neon. |
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Photos
May 2, 1999: Bob Koenig |
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