photo #8737498

Saturdays of yesterday! A soda fountain/coffee shop/lunch counter at the Kress store located at 804 Congress Avenue in Austin, 1959. How great is this photo? And who could use a triple scoop banana split for 25 cents? This was taken by Dewey Mears, a commercial photographer who had a business in Austin for decades. These counters used to be a staple of downtowns big and small, across the country. They got their start with the invention of soda water, which was water made to bubble by adding carbon dioxide, trying to mimic the mineral waters that flowed from natural wells. At first these drinks were considered health tonics, prepared in pharmacies, but the soda fountain evolved into the drug store lunch counter, with drinks like the phosphate or egg cream gaining popularity during Prohibition. I was pondering it and decided that soda jerks were the original mixologists, creating these delicious morsels using soda water, ice cream, flavored syrups and other goodies. Great ... now I want a banana split! Photo courtesy the Austin History Center via the Portal to Texas History.