March Public Program
Dining Out in Boston: A Culinary History
A slideshow lecture by author James C. O'Connell
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
7:00 PM
Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room
Watertown Free Public Library
123 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472
The book Dining Out in Boston: A Culinary History (2016) is a comprehensive historical overview of the development of Boston's restaurants. Boston has been one of America's leading laboratories of urban culture, including restaurants, and its history provides valuable insights into American food ways. Dining Out in Boston explains how the city was a pioneer in elaborate hotel dining, oyster houses, French cuisine, ostentatious banquets, ice cream parlors, ethnic cooking, the colonial revival of traditional New England dishes, the "gourmet" revolution, student hangouts and contemporary locavore and trendy foodie culture.
Dr. O'Connell will talk about the food served at some of the historic restaurants covered in the book, including Julien's Restorator (the city's first restaurant), the Parker House, Durgin-Park, Union Oyster House, Locke-Ober, Café Marliave, Jacob Wirth, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Anthony's Pier 4, Dini's Sea Grill, Maison Robert, Bailey's Ice Cream Shop, Longfellow's Wayside Inn and many long-forgotten eateries.
Jim O'Connell is a planner for the Boston Regional Office of the National Park Service. He earned a Ph.D. in Urban History from the University of Chicago. He has written six books and many articles on planning and New England history. Jim worked on planning and community development at the Cape Cod Commission and in Springfield, MA, and currently serves as an adjunct professor in Boston University's City Planning & Urban Affairs program.
Books will be available for purchase.
This program is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Joyce at 781-899-7239 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..