The Age of the Soda Fountain

Author: Crystal Calhoun

Ahh, the 50's -- the age of the soda fountain! Even today, the soda fountain is legendary, and the image of chrome-plated countertops and swivel stools conjures nostalgia in people who never saw the real thing. Why do we love the idea of the soda fountain? It seems there's an intrinsically human appeal in a place that lets you rock, roll, gossip, and feed your craving for sweets all at once. And if too many egg creams got you down, well, many soda fountains conveniently shared space with a pharmacy. (Say, maybe there's something to that ... Maybe we ought to combine candy stores with dentists' offices?)

Some say that the soda fountain's rise in popularity began with Prohibition in 1919, when soda fountains filled the social niche left empty by closed-down bars, and soda had to satisfy the taste buds of those left high and dry without (alcoholic) drink. The term "soft drink" is a telling one -- and in fact, once upon a time, the soda fountain had a much iffier reputation as a place to buy habit-forming stimulant beverages. By the 50's, though, the soda fountain had lost its unsavory associations, and in their place shone the wholesome appeal of drinks which were, according to one old advertisement, "flavory, fruity, snappy, sparkling, and delicious." The last remaining vestige of the old-school drug-store soda fountain: the accompanying pharmacy, of course.

And you may be surprised to learn that soda fountains go way back: soda pop itself has its roots in the 1800s health fad of drinking mineral water. It wasn't long before vendors started adding herbs and other flavorings to their water, and poof! The proto-soda was born. (Although the term "soda water" was actually coined in 1798!)

Then, in Charleston in 1810, Simons and Rundell were issued the first U.S. patent for mass-producing imitation mineral waters. Thus mineral water soda bid the world goodbye, and the far-seeing Simons and Rundell ushered in a new era of flavored beverages. The first soda fountain patent arrived in the hands of Samuel Fahnestock twenty years later, in
1819, and the first soda fountain resembled a beer keg. It took until 1888 for Jacob Baur to come along and found the Liquid Carbonic Company -- introducing the carbonation that we all know and love (or hate) today.

So the soda fountain wasn't a new idea, even in the 1950's (no matter how long ago that may seem to us now). But here's a timeline tidbit that sweet-toothed individuals will award the utmost importance: in 1874, the world saw its first ice cream soda. The man to thank is soda water concession-stand owner Robert M. Green. The popular story is that Green, who usually sold a concoction of carbonated water, cream, and syrup (which sounds suspiciously like an egg cream) ran out of cream and used ice cream instead. As the story goes, he hoped no one would notice -- but he couldn't fool his soda-savvy customers. They knew a good thing when they tasted it, and sales went up onehundredfold.

The real deal on the 50's soda fountain is that it was an ideal place to be social. And who'd be able to keep their mouth shut when presented with a custom-made soda and creamy hand-made ice cream?

The popular memory of the soda fountain is an idyllic one, of a place where soda "jerks" mingled with starry-eyed teens on dates and kids seeking a snack and a song after school. But in the 1960s, the rising popularity of fast food, commercial ice cream, bottled soda, and restaurants marked the end of the age of the soda fountain.

But at least we have sweet memories.