Sunday, December 4, 2016

Ward & Dickinson Notes

Totally forgot about the blog.  Here are some of the many notes.  Some may be repetitions, but hopefully not.

Lincoln Diner - Olean, New York :  This is one of the Ward and Dickinson #1-100 diners. which means it has to be one of the diners that went missing.  First mention of this diner seems to be 1932-1933 area.

Endicott, New York : Found a photo of Albert Vyner's diner, which shows a Ward and Dickinson grafted on to a barrel roof diner, or vice versa.  Do not know which diner came first.  Vyner had a Ward and Dickinson in Syracuse, New York that I presumed was sold before he moved to Endicott.  In the 1940s, Vyner had a building built which he called a "diner" in Binghamton.

A photo of Harvey's Diner in Amsterdam, New York has confirmed what I thought. It was a Ward and Dickinson.

Canada for a minute:

Hamilton, Ontario had a Ward and Dickinson. It's possible it came from the Toronto eight(one stayed in Toronto for sure)  Lasted into the early 70s.

Grimsby, Ontario had two Ward and Dickinsons. Even better, the blurb at the historical society mentions that the diners were bought in Toronto.   So this takes care of four of the Toronto diners.

Back to the States:

Le Roy, New York :  So we know Estelle Howard took her diner to Perry, New York.  Why? Well the Legg family brought a newer Ward & Dickinson to town in 1931.  That diner made its way to Wellsville as the Modern Diner.  Seems the new owners, Bird and Mead were not allowed to move the diner onto Main Street in Le Roy and decided upon greener pastures.  By 1935, another Ward and Dickinson was brought into town to take over the same Lake St location as Howard's diner.

Estelle Howard:  Talked to the grand daughter and got some great photos! The diner moved from Perry in 1940 to Corbin Corners on US Rt 20 where it listed into the 1960s I believe.

Albany, New York : Learned that the mystery Miss Albany Diner, which was a Ward and Dickinson seemingly went to Bassett Street sometime in the 1930s, maybe 1933-1934. That diner was replaced by a presumably used O'Mahony diner in mid 1948. The Ward ended up in Glenmont/Corning Hill where the current Silk City diner that goes by Johnny B's is now located.  Well, it was originally across the street, as the highway was moved in 1955 to accommodate the building of the New York State Thruway.  Though the 1961 (poor) photo of the burnt shell of the diner seems to show a stainless steel diner.

Westfield, New York:  Gerald Mead's Ward and Dickinson, that showed up in rare video footage shot in 1935ish was moved to Corry, Pennsylvania we learned.  Not sure on the date yet.  It sat across the street from the Corry Aero Plant on US Rt 6 just outside of town until 1946 when it was moved to Sherman, New York.  The story goes that the diner was cut into four pieces to make the move go smoother.

Niles, Ohio:  A nice photo of a Ward & Dickinson was found on their historical society's web page in their newsletter of the Lora-Lee Diner.  The diner came into Niles in 1935 and online sources say the diner replaced an older diner which came to Niles in 1927 and was moved a few years later to a more advantageous spot in town.

Canton, Ohio : The two photos of Ward that we have have been located with addresses.  615 Market Ave North was the location of the longer living diner. Right next to the Palace theater, it lasted until 1960.  The other one was at 515 Market Ave South. It was a diner owned by Steward L Burlage (who also owned a Mulholland in Youngstown before this diner) in 1934.  The diner may have moved, or it may have stayed. The city directories says the address became the D.A.V. Club and we have no clue if they kept the diner or not.
Akron was much less helpful.  We could not really figure out the location of the town diners. So they may have been quickly moved

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