Davis Square Somerville Massachusetts Lombard’s Coca-Cola Sign 1910 Real Photo Postcard
This postcard captures a bustling American business block, likely dating from the 1910s to early 1930s, identifiable by the prominent "Coca-Cola 5¢" advertisement on Lombard's building. The street features a diverse array of small enterprises, including a store offering ice cream sodas and cigars, a builder/jobber, a shop specializing in signs, and Morgan's Lunch alongside a Goodyear Shoe Repairing Co. Such commercial strips were central to community life, providing essential goods and services to local residents.
The presence of streetcar tracks in the foreground indicates a developed urban or town center, reliant on public transit. This era saw the rise of ubiquitous advertising for national brands like Coca-Cola and Goodyear, alongside independent local businesses serving everyday needs from meals and shoe repair to news and fruit. These multi-purpose commercial buildings characterized the economic landscape before the widespread advent of larger chain stores and shopping malls, embodying the vibrancy of early 20th-century commerce.
The presence of streetcar tracks in the foreground indicates a developed urban or town center, reliant on public transit. This era saw the rise of ubiquitous advertising for national brands like Coca-Cola and Goodyear, alongside independent local businesses serving everyday needs from meals and shoe repair to news and fruit. These multi-purpose commercial buildings characterized the economic landscape before the widespread advent of larger chain stores and shopping malls, embodying the vibrancy of early 20th-century commerce.
