Doughnuts, hamburgers, and waffles in Atlantic City in 1949


In this imaginary journey we're going to Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1949, and have some doughnuts, hamburgers, and waffles!

This image is from the Duke University site ROAD (Resource of Outdoor Advertising Descriptions) and I've zoomed on the doughnut place, and of the lady who was "photobombing". The reason the photo was taken, and the reason Duke scanned it, was for the advertising. But I'm here for the doughnuts! And the hamburgers! And the waffles! And the people! Let's go to the boardwalk!


Looks like there's a pretty serious conversation going on there with these men there on the left. The man in the hat kinda reminds me of pictures I've seen of my grandfather - a snappy dresser, and a towering 5' 4" tall. The young man sitting on the railing may be a juvenile delinquent, or he may just want people to think he is. Over on the right there's a man getting a shoeshine, looks very informal, no chair to sit on. I wonder if that's his wife leaning against the railing, waiting patiently. I figure that the kid doing the shoeshine looks about ten, so if he was born in 1939, he'd be 82 nowadays. I wonder if he'll ever see this image! And I hope he's doing well, long since retired, wealthy, living by the shore.

But here's the star of this show: I'll call her grandma. I remember my grandma dressing like that, although I don't recall that she ever had such a fancy hat! Seems to me she carried a purse that had so much stuff that it weighed a ton, I wonder how she handled it? Note the dog back there at the entrance to Mammy's Doughnuts, obviously no leash laws then. No one walked around with a plastic bag then either, so you had to watch your step!


Maybe it's because I'm getting hungry right now as I write this, but the combination of doughnuts, hamburgers, and waffles sounds good to me. I wonder what Boscul coffee was? Yeah, I suppose I could Google it, and I will. And how about that Caramel Crispie Corn? The boardwalk was a place to enjoy yourself, and it sure looks like you could!


I'm not sure what a "Steeplechase" is (other than it's the funny place), but I see that you can get a delicious orange drink, malted milk, and all meat frankfurters there. Also frozen custard, and fried chicken. I'll have it all! And there I am on the right.

Images from the Duke Libraries Digital Collections.

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Comments

  1. Cpt. CrankyAugust 19, 2021 at 9:42 PM

    Just speculation, "Caramel Crispie Corn" is probably similar to Cracker Jack. The photo is of Steeplechase Pier, there's a window for free admission to the pier under that sign. Steeplechase was probably the 2nd most popular behind the famous Steel Pier. Here's a link to a wonderful pictorial history of AC's amusement piers: https://pressofatlanticcity.com/gallery/historical/gallery-a-look-back-at-atlantic-citys-piers/collection_50d8c7de-e58b-11e5-a0cf-ef86984e9fce.html#16
    Part way down the page, there are other pictures of "Mammy's" and Steeplechase. Enjoy!

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