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Soda fountain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about a type of drink dispenser. For the dining establishments sometimes called soda fountains, seeLunch counter,Soda shop,andIce cream parlor.
ACoca-Colasoda fountain inHainan, China,April 2010

Asoda fountainis a device that dispensescarbonatedsoft drinks,calledfountain drinks.They can be found inrestaurants,concession standsand other locations such asconvenience stores.The machine combinesflavored syrupor syrupconcentrateandcarbon dioxidewith chilled andpurified waterto make soft drinks, either manually, or in avending machinewhich is essentially an automated soda fountain that is operated using asoda gun.Today, the syrup often is pumped from a special container called abag-in-box(BiB).

Fountain coke is an often confused term normally referring to a handheld dispenser behind a bar or counter that are used in many countries, including Spain, France and the United Kingdom. The term ‘fountain’ helps differentiate from, ‘machine’ cola as the fountain is more easily controlled and offers more flavours.

A soda fountain is also referred to as apostmixmachine in some markets. Anybrand of soft drinkthat is available as postmix syrup may be dispensed by a fountain.

The term may also refer to a small eating establishment,soda shoporluncheonette,common from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century, often inside adrugstore,candy storeor other business, where asoda jerkservedcarbonatedbeverages,ice cream,and sometimes light meals. The soda jerk's fountain generally dispensed only unflavored carbonated water, to which various syrups were added by hand only.

History[edit]

A "soda jerk"serving anice cream soda.His left hand rests on the tap of a soda fountain (1936).
An early soda fountain, from an 1872 engraving
Hess Brothers Soda Fountain in Allentown PA, 1913

The soda fountain was an attempt to replicatemineral watersthat bubbled up from the Earth. Many civilizations believed that drinking, and bathing, in these mineral waters cured diseases. Large industries often sprang up around hot springs, such asBathin England (43 AD) or the manyonsenof Japan.

Although vessels to bottle and transport water were part of the earliest human civilizations,[1]bottling water began in the United Kingdom with the first water bottling at theHoly Wellin 1621.[2]The demand for bottled water was fueled in large part by the resurgence inspa-goingandwater therapyamong Europeans and American colonists in the 17th and 18th centuries.[3]The first commercially distributed water in America was bottled and sold by Jackson's Spa in Boston in 1767.[4]Early drinkers of bottled spa waters believed that the water at thesemineral springshad therapeutic properties, and that bathing in or drinking the water could help treat many common ailments.[3]Many types ofmineral wateraresparkling,and thus so were they when bottled.

Early scientists tried to create effervescent waters with curative powers, includingRobert Boyle,Friedrich Hoffmann,Jean Baptiste van Helmont,William Brownrigg,Antoine Laurent Lavoisier,andDavid Macbride.In the early 1770s, Swedish chemistTorbern Bergman,and (separately) English scientistJoseph Priestleyinvented equipment for saturating water with carbon dioxide. In 1774,John Mervin Noothdemonstrated an apparatus that improved upon Priestley's design. In 1807, Henry Thompson received the first British patent for a method of impregnating water with carbon dioxide. This was commonly calledsoda water,although it contained nosodium bicarbonate.[5]

The soda fountain began in Europe, but achieved its greatest success in the U.S.Benjamin Silliman,a Yale chemistry professor, was among the first to introduce soda water to America. In 1806, Silliman purchased a Nooth apparatus and began selling mineral waters in New Haven, Connecticut. Sales were brisk, so he built a bigger apparatus, opened a pump room, and took in three partners. This partnership opened soda fountains inNew York CityandBaltimore,Maryland.At roughly the same time, other businessmen opened fountains in New York City andPhiladelphia.Although Silliman's business eventually failed, he played an important role in popularizing soda water.[6]

In 1832,John Matthewsof New York City and John Lippincott of Philadelphia began manufacturing soda fountains. Both added innovations that improved soda-fountain equipment, and the industry expanded as retail outlets installed newer, better fountains. Other pioneering manufacturers were Alvin Puffer, Andrew Morse, Gustavus Dows, and James Tufts. In 1891 the four largest manufacturers—Tufts, Puffer, Lippincott, and Matthews—formed the American Soda Fountain Company, which was a trust designed to monopolize the industry. The four manufacturers continued to produce and market fountains under their company names. The trust controlled prices and forced some smaller manufacturers out of business.[7]

Before mechanical refrigeration, soda fountains used ice to cool drinks and ice cream. Ice harvesters cut ice from frozen lakes and ponds in the winter and stored the blocks inice housesfor use in the summer. In the early 20th century, new companies entered the soda fountain business, marketing "iceless" fountains that usedbrine.

A "soda jerk"serving anice cream sodain a century-old diner in Bramwell, WV (2013)

The L.A. Becker Company, the Liquid Carbonic Company, and the Bishop & Babcock Company dominated the iceless fountain business. In 1888 Jacob Baur ofTerre Haute, Indianafounded the Liquid Carbonics Manufacturing Company in Chicago, becoming the Midwest's first manufacturer of liquefied carbon dioxide. In 1903 Liquid Carbonic began market-testing its prototype iceless fountain in a Chicago confectionery. Louis A. Becker was a salesman who started his own manufacturing business in 1898, making the 20th-Century Sanitary Soda Fountain. In 1904 Becker's company produced its first iceless fountain. In 1908 William H. Wallace obtained a patent for an iceless fountain and installed his prototype in an Indianapolis drugstore. He sold his patent to Marietta Manufacturing Company, which was absorbed by Bishop & Babcock of Cleveland.

Two rare Soviet-style vending machine soda fountains,Nizhny Novgorod, Russia,August 2007

Liquid Carbonic spawned another leading soda fountain manufacturer, the Bastian-Blessing Company. Two Liquid Carbonic employees, Charles Bastian and Lewis Blessing, started their company in 1908. The newer manufacturers competed with the American Soda Fountain Company and took a large share of the market. The trust was broken up, and its member companies struggled to stay in business. During World War I, some manufacturers marketed "50% fountains," which used a combination of ice and mechanical refrigeration. In the early 1920s, many retail outlets purchased soda fountains using ammonia refrigeration.[8]

Flavored syrups packaged for insertion into a contemporary soda fountain

In their heyday, soda fountains flourished inpharmacies,ice cream parlors,candy stores,dime stores,department stores,milk barsandtrain stations.They served an important function as a public space where neighbors could socialize and exchange community news. In the early 20th century many fountains expanded their menus and became lunch counters, serving light meals as well as ice cream sodas,egg creams,sundaes,and such. Soda fountains reached their height in the 1940s and 1950s.

In 1950,Walgreens,one of the largest chains of American drug stores, introduced fullself-servicedrug stores that began the decline of the soda fountain,[9]as did the coming of the Car Culture and the rise ofsuburbia.Drive-in restaurants and roadside ice cream outlets, such asDairy Queen,competed for customers. North American retail stores switched to self-servicesoda vending machinesselling pre-packaged soft drinks in cans, and the labor-intensive soda fountain did not fit into the new sales scheme. Today only a sprinkling of vintage soda fountains survive.

In theEastern Bloccountries, self-service soda fountains, located in shopping centers, farmers markets, or simply on the sidewalk in busy areas, became popular by the mid-20th century.[10]In the USSR, a glass of carbonated water would sell for 1kopeck,while for 3 kopecks one could buy a glass of fruit-flavored soda. Most of these vending machines have disappeared since 1990; a few remain, usually provided with an operator.

In literature and popular culture[edit]

The arrival of soda fountain establishments inGlasgow,Scotland, was satirised byNeil Munroin his Erchie MacPherson story, "The Soda-Fountain Future", first published in theGlasgow Evening Newson 11 October 1920.[11]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Rong, Xu Gan; Fa, Bao Tong."Primitive-Aged Drinking Vessels".Grandiose Survey of Chinese Alcoholic Drinks and Beverages.Jiangnan University. Archived fromthe originalon 20 January 2013.Retrieved17 October2013.
  2. ^"Great Malvern Conservation Area: Appraisal and Management Strategy".Malvern Hills District Council: Planning Services.April 2008. p. 5.Retrieved22 July2014.
  3. ^abBack, William; Landa, Edward; Meeks, Lisa (1995).Bottled Water, Spas, and Early Years of Water Chemistry(Groundwater Volume 33, Issue 4 ed.). p. 606.
  4. ^Hall, Noah."A Brief History of Bottled Water in America".Great Lakes Law.Retrieved17 October2013.
  5. ^Funderburg 2002,pp. 5–8.
  6. ^Funderburg 2002,pp. 10–17.
  7. ^Funderburg 2002,pp. 21–29.
  8. ^Funderburg 2002,pp. 114–125.
  9. ^Frederick, James (2005)."Back to the future: Walgreens testing soda fountain".Drug Store News.Archived fromthe originalon July 8, 2012.RetrievedNovember 5,2010.
  10. ^Hlynsky, David."Vending Machine".Making the History of 1989.Roy Rosenzweig Center for History & New Media.Retrieved10 December2013.
  11. ^Munro, Neil, "The Soda-Fountain Future", in Osborne, Brian D. & Armstrong, Ronald (eds.) (2002),Erchie, My Droll Friend,Birlinn Limited,Edinburgh, pp. 508 - 511,ISBN9781841582023

References[edit]

  • Funderburg, Anne Cooper (2002).Sundae Best: A History of Soda Fountains.The University of Wisconsin Popular Press.ISBN0-87972-853-1.
  • Funderburg, Anne Cooper (1995).Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla: A History of American Ice Cream.ISBN0-87972-691-1.

Further reading[edit]

  • Monk-Tutor, M.; Tutor, T. (2008).Drug Store Soda Fountains of the Southeast.Health Care Logistics.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSoda fountains.
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