Al Mac's Diner-Restaurant

Last updated

Al Mac's Diner--Restaurant
Invalid designation
Al Mac's Diner-Restaurant Fall River MA 2012.jpg
USA Massachusetts location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location135 President Ave., Fall River, Massachusetts
Coordinates 41°42′58.3″N71°09′14.3″W / 41.716194°N 71.153972°W / 41.716194; -71.153972
Built1953 (1953)
ArchitectDeRaffele Diners
Architectural styleArt Deco or Streamline
MPS Diners of Massachusetts MPS
NRHP reference No. 99001119 [1]
Added to NRHPDecember 20, 1999

Al Mac's Diner-Restaurant is an historic restaurant building at 135 President Avenue in Fall River, Massachusetts. It is an example of the stainless steel diners in Massachusetts, with rectangular massing, a flat roof, a projecting center entry vestibule, and rear kitchen wing.

Contents

The diner was built in 1953 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

History

Al McDermott (the Al Mac of the diner's name) started his business providing food and drink to Fall River mill workers from a horse-drawn wagon in 1910. McDermott opened several diners along the Northeast, including this one in 1953. [2] The diner's original location was where Brightman Street Bridge sits currently.[ citation needed ] Then it was moved to the current site of Bicentennial Park; later it was moved directly across Davol Street. [3]

The diner was closed in July 2012, due to the tough economic climate. [4] [5] After extensive cleaning and repair, the diner re-opened early 2013 under new management, with owner Robert Dunse as the chef, and Zachary Tenen as sous chef. [2]

In 2019, The Dunse family sold the business to Cliff Ponte, current president of the Fall River City Council/former acting mayor, and his family. The local businessman and politician hired his father, Cliff Ponte Sr., to run the business. Ponte has cleaned up and refurbished the diner.

Campaign stop

Al Mac's is a favorite stop for politicians on and off the campaign trail. [6] This list includes Gov. Deval Patrick, Senate President William Bulger, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, and the late Senator Ted Kennedy. Kennedy in particular paid many visits to the diner over his long service as a U.S. senator from Massachusetts. Coakley stopped at Al Mac's on Election Day during the 2010 Senate special election in Massachusetts. Footage showing her visit was broadcast on CNN and other major news networks covering the election.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Route 79</span> State highway in southeastern Massachusetts, US

Route 79 is a 18.47-mile-long (29.72 km) state highway in southeastern Massachusetts. The route had formerly began as a highway in Fall River, also known as the Fall River Viaduct and Western Fall River Expressway, before becoming a more rural route further north. The southern expressway portion of the route was permanently closed by MassDOT in 2023 for conversion into a street level urban boulevard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawmut Diner</span> United States historic place

Shawmut Diner is an historic diner formerly located at 943 Shawmut Avenue in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Highlands Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Lower Highlands Historic District encompasses one of the oldest residential areas of Fall River, Massachusetts. The district is roughly bounded by Cherry, Main, Winter, and Bank Streets, and is located just east of the Downtown Fall River Historic District and directly south of the Highlands Historic District. This area was settled by 1810, has architecture tracing the city's growth as a major industrial center. The historic district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mechanics Mill</span> United States historic place

Mechanics Mill is an historic cotton textile mill located at 1082 Davol Street in Fall River, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William C. Davol Jr. House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The William C. Davol Jr. House is a historic house located at 252 High Street in Fall River, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corky Row Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

Corky Row Historic District is a historic district located in Fall River, Massachusetts bounded by Plymouth Avenue, Interstate-195 and Second Street. The district contains many early multi-family mill tenement houses, along with the Davol Mills, the Tecumseh Mill No. 1 and several commercial properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davol School</span> United States historic place

Davol School is a historic school at 112 Flint Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. It was built in 1892 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The eight room elementary schoolhouse was designed by notable city architect Joseph M. Darling, on the same plan as Connell School located on Plymouth Avenue. The brick Romanesque Revival structure is two stories in height, with a projecting entry section that is topped by a square tower with an open belfry and pyramidal roof. The school was built during a major expansion of the school system, increasing the number of classrooms by 20%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highlands Historic District (Fall River, Massachusetts)</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Highlands Historic District is a historic district roughly bounded by June, Cherry, and Weetamoe Streets, Lincoln, Highland, President, North Main, and Hood Avenues in Fall River, Massachusetts. The district lies just north of the Lower Highlands Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William M. Connell School</span> United States historic place

William M. Connell School is a historic school located at 650 Plymouth Avenue in Fall River, Massachusetts. It was built in 1893 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It was designed by notable city architect Joseph M. Darling on the same plan as the Davol School. The school is named after William Connell, who served as the city's Superintendent of Schools from 1872 to 1894.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salem Diner</span> United States historic place

The Salem Diner is a historic diner in Salem, Massachusetts. It is one of two Sterling Streamliner diners left in Massachusetts, and still stands at its original location. Designated car #4106, it was also one of the last made by the Sterling Company before it closed its doors in 1942. The diner body features a wood frame and porcelain enamel exterior. It has a metal hipped barrel roof, and its eastern end features a characteristic shovel nose. The roofline is decorated by a fin shape that serves as a backdrop for the diner's neon signage. It is mounted on a foundation that is predominantly concrete blocks, with some glass blocks interspersed. Its main entrance is centered on the long side, and is now sheltered by a modern glass vestibule added c. 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann's Diner</span> United States historic place

Ann's Diner is a historic diner at 11 Bridge Road in Salisbury, Massachusetts, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corner Lunch</span> United States historic place

The Corner Lunch Diner is a historic diner at 133 Lamartine Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. Built c. 1955 and moved to Worcester in 1968, it is the largest diner in the city, and a rare example in New England of remodeling work done by the Musi Dining Car Company of Carteret, New Jersey. The diner was built c. 1955 by DeRaffele Diners of New Rochelle, New York, and first installed in Babylon, New York. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road Island Diner</span> United States historic place

The Road Island Diner is a rare classic Streamline Moderne 60' x 16' Art Deco diner car restaurant located in the remote mountain city of Oakley, Utah, in the United States. It was prefabricated as diner # 1107 in 1939 at the Elizabeth, New Jersey, factory of the Jerry O'Mahony Diner Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savoy Hotel and Grill</span> United States historic place

The Savoy Hotel and Grill was a historic hotel and restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri. The Savoy Hotel was the oldest continuously operating hotel in the United States west of the Mississippi River until it closed in 2016 to undergo extensive renovation by 21c Museum Hotels and reopened in 2018. In 1974 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Savoy Hotel and Grill". It is now called "21c Museum Hotel Kansas City".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry O'Mahony Diner Company</span>

The Jerry O'Mahony Diner Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was a manufacturer of roadside diners from 1917 to 1952. The company produced some 2,000 of the long, narrow, primarily metal buildings, perhaps more than any other firm. Prefabricated in a factory and trucked to their locations, the diners resemble and are often confused with railroad rolling stock. The company's motto was "In our line, we lead the world".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss Albany Diner</span> Historic commercial building in New York, United States

Tanpopo Ramen and Sake Bar is a historic diner in Albany, New York, built in 1941 and located at 893 Broadway, one of the oldest streets in Albany. Used as a set for the 1987 film Ironweed, which starred Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hartwell & Swasey</span> American architects

Hartwell & Swasey was a short-lived 19th-century architectural firm in Boston, Massachusetts. The partnership between Henry Walker Hartwell (1833-1919) and Albert E. Swasey, Jr. lasted from the late-1860s to 1877, when Swasey went on his own. In 1881, Hartwell formed a partnership with William Cummings Richardson – Hartwell and Richardson – that lasted until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josiah Brown</span> American engineer

Josiah Brown (1816–1875) was an architect and civil and mill engineer of Fall River, Massachusetts. Among his major surviving projects are the Union Mill No. 1 (1859) and Border City Mill No. 2 (1873), both in Fall River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davol Mills</span> United States historic place

Davol Mills is a historic textile mill complex located at the corner of Plymouth Avenue and Rodman Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. It was built in 1867 and expanded in 1871. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as part of the Corky Row Historic District The red brick mills are unique in the city, built in the Second Empire style.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. 1 2 Ciama, Gail (July 24, 2013). "Dining Out: New life for a retro gem in Fall River". The Providence Journal. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  3. "Our History". Al Mac's Diner official website. Al Mac's Diner. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014. Its original location was directly across Davol Street where the Bicentennial Park is now located.
  4. Richmond, Will (July 23, 2012). "Al Mac's Diner Closes". The Herald News. Retrieved June 2, 2014. Owner Norm Gauthier confirmed Monday the diner that he has owned for 23 years and has been part of the Fall River landscape since 1910 is closed.
  5. Devitt, Phil (August 16, 2012). "Al Mac's Diner closes after 102 years". Fall River Spirit. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014. The iconic President Avenue establishment hung up a permanent "closed" sign late last month, a victim of the tough economic climate, owner Norm Gauthier said.
  6. Richmond, Will (February 6, 2010). "Al Mac's offers pols a taste of public's opinions". Archived from the original on July 24, 2011.