Soda Fountain History 

For centuries people were intrigued by and believed in the healing powers of naturally effervescent waters. In the 18th century, scientists began to experiment with ways of artificially “impregnating” regular water with CO2. Selling this bubbly water as a cure for a variety of ills, “soda” fountains began appearing in pharmacies and apothecaries. Pharmacists mixed various “medicines” with soda water and flavoring to help them go down easier. While many Europeans had tinkered with the idea of soda water, the concept would truly take off in America.

From pharmacy novelties, soda fountains soon became a central part of American culture and transformed into community gathering places where people would meet and socialize over a delicious effervescent beverage. The soda shops were often classy places, anchored by a grandiose fountain made of marble, gilded with metal piping and spigots, and ornamented with figurines, gas lights, and mirrors.

The soda shops often drew single sex crowds, with ones located in the shopping district drawing all females, and those situated in the business district all males. At these all-male hang outs guys would sip a bubbly beverage and chew the fat. For example, Hudnut’s, a popular soda fountain in New York City attracted a luminous crowd. Located on “Newspaper Row,” the fountain was a male-hang out frequented by journalists and editors who needed a pick me up to meet a deadline or some refreshment after the paper had gone to press. Movers and shakers like Grover Cleveland, Ulysses S. Grant, Elihu Root, John Jacob Astor, and members of famous families like the Vanderbilts, Goulds, and Van Rensselaers were frequent customers as well.

“The bottle is an art form. It’s tactile; it feels like somebody cared more about the product. It’s the physics of it: the soda stays colder longer so you get a crisper drink — and the whole ritual of popping the cap.” ~Chris Webb

People loved soda fountains but also wished to consume their new favorite beverage while on the go or lounging at home. With technological advances in bottling, by the turn of the century hundreds of independent bottlers were selling their effervescent fare in a portable form. Soda was well on its way to becoming America’s favorite drink.

While soda water originally started out unadulterated, people soon went crazy for the taste of that water mixed with flavored syrups. People loved to experiment with new and flavor combinations, and soda fountains began to offer a 100 or more. The menu at a large soda fountain might include:

almond, anise, apple, apricot, banana, birch beer, blackberry, blood orange, Catawba, celery, champagne cider, cherry, chocolate, cinnamon, cognac, Concord grape, coriander, crabapple, cranberry, cream soda, crushed violets, currant, egg chocolate, egg cream, egg phosphate, ginger, ginger ale, gooseberry, grape, green apple, grenadine, hoarhound, java, lemon, lime, maple, mead, mint julep, mocha, mulberry, nutmeg, orange, orris root, peach, peach along, peach cider, pear, pear cider, peppermint, pineapple, pistachio, plum, quince, raspberry, root beer, rose, sarsaparilla, strawberry, Valencia orange, vanilla, walnut cream, wild cherry, and wintergreen.

Men particularly enjoyed the heartier raw egg drinks- concoctions which usually consisted of egg, soda water, phosphate, and flavored syrup. Comparing this list to what is currently found on our grocery shelves gives a clear indication on how far soda as devolved.

The flavor of many brand name sodas that we are familiar with today like Dr. Pepper and Coca-Cola were created by chemists and pharmacists who were looking for the next big flavor hit. These and other sodas continued to claim health benefits especially as a tonic to restore vitality (the coca in coca-cola surely proved effective). Flavors like birch beer and root beer grew out of the penchant of America’s earliest colonists for making brews out of all sorts of roots in order to avoid drinking the sometimes unsafe water.

The popularity of soda fountains was given a tremendous boost by the temperance movement. This movement, active in the decades before the Civil War, picked up steam as America headed into the 20th century. Temperance advocates advocated moderation or abstinence in drinking alcoholic beverages. But they knew that quitting drinking involved a large lifestyle change, especially since much of men’s social lives revolved around the saloon during this time. Therefore, the soda fountain began to be pushed as a wholesome alternative to saddling up to the bar. Getting men to socialize at the fountain instead of the bar proved successful. According to “Sundae Best:”

In the early 1890s the number of soda fountains surpassed the number of bars in New York City and more men were frequenting fountains in the business district. In the early 1900s, drug stores or confectionaries with soda fountains replaced saloons on many of Chicago’s busiest street corners. In 1908, the Windy City boasted more than 3,500 fountains. By 1906, whiskey sales were declining even in New Orleans, a city noted for its bars, and men in unprecedented numbers were patronizing the Crescent City’s fountains.

With such astounding growth, the soda fountain soon became every community’s social hub. Kids and adults, women and men, everyone enjoyed stopping in for a refreshing drink and some conversation. Men took their dates to the fountain, and though it has become a cliché, truly did order one glass with two straws. For many people, the soda fountain replaced the bar as their social center.

This trend only accelerated when Prohibition became the law of the land in 1920. Sales of sodas skyrocketed as former booze drinkers looked to alternatives to quench their thirst. Soda fountains adapted to appeal to men who once frequented saloons. The sodas got manlier names, the décor became more masculine, and seats were reserved just for men during the lunch hour. Many fountains added a lunch counter to their offerings and served hearty meals to men who once dined on the free lunches offered by saloons.

Even after Prohibition ended, soda fountains continued to enjoy a central place in American culture. During World War II, soda, along with tobacco and toiletries, was considered an item essential to soldiers’ morale. Thus soda fountains frequently accompanied Army post exchanges, service clubs, USO clubs, Red Cross posts, and naval training stations. As was the case in WWI, soda fountains were even installed on navy ships. While there are certainly exceptions to the rule, American troops in general were praised during the war for their humane and honorable behavior. Some believed this was due to American GI’s love for the soda fountains and preference for non-alcoholic drinks.

After the war, several factors began to spell the demise of the soda fountain. Americans began their obsession with automobiles, and used them to drive away from the cities and into new homes in the suburbs. People began to favor even quicker lunches than the soda fountain’s lunch counter offered, and took their businesses to newly established drive-in restaurants and road stands. Drugstores moved towards being entirely self-service, and paying a soda jerk to dispense drinks became cost prohibitive.

The popularity of bottled soda was also on the rise. During the 1950′s major brands like Pepsi and Dr Pepper decided to focus their advertising on selling the bottled versions of their drinks. Soft drink vending machines also began to appear, making soda consumption all the easier. Soda fountains began to die a slow death and disappear from American culture.

Soda manufacturers began to replace bottled sodas with cheaper cans. A few large corporations came to dominate the soda market and squeezed the little guys out. Stripped of its traditions and sense of craft, soda became thoroughly homogenized.

But some smaller bottlers have hung on and still offer their delicious beverages to those who diligently seek them out. Those who do so will be rewarded.