From the time the first handful of night lunch wagons served up their simple fare on the streets of the North Shore in 1890, residents from every social and economic standing have frequented these familiar beacons of hospitality and their descendants, the diners. Over the course of the sixty years that followed, the area's manufacturing, transportation, and recreation centers provided the hungry clientele who helped spur the metamorphosis of the humble lunch wagon into the sleek, efficient, and friendly eatery known as the diner. Diners of the North Shore is a fascinating collection of many previously unpublished images from the golden age of the diner. Bearing names such as Hesperus in Gloucester, Lafayette in Salem, and Suntaug in Peabody, these eat-on-the-run oases provided their customers with not only a square meal but also an atmosphere as welcoming as one's kitchen. From the primitive Night Owl lunch wagon to the art deco-inspired Sterling Streamliner, Diners of the North Shore showcases each diner's unique character, along with the colorful personalities who ran them.

From the time the first handful of night lunch wagons served up their simple fare on the streets of the North Shore in 1890, residents from every social and economic standing have frequented these familiar beacons of hospitality and their descendants, the diners. Over the course of the sixty years that followed, the area's manufacturing, transportation, and recreation centers provided the hungry clientele who helped spur the metamorphosis of the humble lunch wagon into the sleek, efficient, and friendly eatery known as the diner. Diners of the North Shore is a fascinating collection of many previously unpublished images from the golden age of the diner. Bearing names such as Hesperus in Gloucester, Lafayette in Salem, and Suntaug in Peabody, these eat-on-the-run oases provided their customers with not only a square meal but also an atmosphere as welcoming as one's kitchen. From the primitive Night Owl lunch wagon to the art deco-inspired Sterling Streamliner, Diners of the North Shore showcases each diner's unique character, along with the colorful personalities who ran them.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts was birthplace to the burgeoning "night lunch wagon" manufacturing industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These horse-drawn food carts eventually evolved into classic American diners. For many years, diner builders like the Worcester Lunch Car Company and J.B. Judkins Company operated in the Bay State, while few new diners opened for business after 1960. This left the state with a high concentration of some of the best-preserved diners built during the early to mid-twentieth century, including the Capitol Diner in Lynn, the Route 66 Diner in Springfield and Buddy's Diner in Somerville. Eatery historian Larry Cultrera discusses this appetizing history and the not-be-missed items on unforgettable diner menus.