Click any image to see larger.
 |
Photo from inside of a c.1920 Soda Fountain. A Soldier in WWI era uniform sits at the counter while a "Soda Jerk" looks on. Of particular interest in this picture is the Leaded Glass Coca Cola ball shaped light fixture behind the two people. These are extremely rare today, due to their fragile nature. I've been told that only 10 examples are known to have survived to present day.... and if you know anything about Coca Cola collectibles, it won't surprise you to hear that they sell for around $10,000 each!
Also of note is the large dark wooden structure to the left in the photograph. This is a Wurlitzer Bijou "Orchestra", which was the forerunner to todays jukebox. This grand old instrument was similar to a player piano, in that it read paper music rolls. It held multiple selections, and played a 44 note piano, Mandolin, 21 violin sound pipes, 21 flute sound pipes, a Xylophone, and a Snare Drum!! All of this was housed in a unit that weighed approximately 1200lbs.
|
Three laughing girls work the soda fountain in this 1940's era photograph. The twin soda dispensers are nice and shiny, and the snappy looking Coca Cola cooler stands ready at the end of the counter. Beneath the cooler was storage room for bottle cases, and empties.
 |
A Texas Soda Fountain from the late 40's. Borden and Dr. Pepper were the King and Queen of Soda Fountains in Texas, as you can see from the displays. Also present in the picture is a cathedral style wooden tube radio on the shelf above the smiling, motherly proprietress. You could also purchase Travis Club Tobacco products from the humidor, and all Sodas were a whopping 10 cents!
 |
This is a lunch counter style soda fountain located inside a regular store. This was a popular marketing idea in the 50's, and many department stores and chain stores kept their own lunch counters and/or soda fountains. Below is a picture of the menu from a Woolworths Store Lunch Counter from 1956. You could get a toasted three decker sandwich for 45 cents, a slice of apple pie with ice cream for 20 cents, and a "Super Jumbo Bannana Split" for 39 cents!
I just noticed something..... they don't even bother to put a "Cent" symbol on keyboards any more...... that says alot about inflation, doesn't it?
 |
