Tea rooms were enormously popular in the first half of the 20th century. Their history is nearly forgotten, but is a fascinating aspect of women's history. Most were owned or managed by women. Almost everyone, from schoolteachers to recent college graduates to homemakers, wanted to run one. Most tea room patrons were also women. In the 1920s, especially, tea rooms became THE fashionable places for women to meet friends in small towns, big cities, and suburbs alike.
The Tarpot tea room, location unknown.oes anyone know where the Tarpot was located? It would appear to be in New England, in an industrial area. The sign to the left of the cape-style building is elaborate carved wood. To the left of that is a large pot on legs, evidently a tarpot. Another small iron pot hangs from the corner of the building, near the roofline on the left corner.
Jungle Hotel and Country Club, St. Petersburgea rooms popularized eating outdoors. Hotels in warm climates furnished colorful umbrellas for afternoon tea takers, while roadside cottages set up tables on front porches or under trees. Edna Ferguson’s T House in Magnolia, Mass. advertised in 1923 that it featured “Unusually good home cooking served on shady lawns and piazzas.”
The MacDonald tea room, Salem, Massachusetts.his tea room was at 249 Essex Street, in a long, narrow storefront. It is decorated in a "scenographic" style, mimicking a plaza in Spain. This was a style that was popular in tea rooms around 1930, and was a good way to enliven an uninteresting space. This tea room is the soda-fountain type that became popular in the late 1920s.
The Bird Cage, Wellesley Hills, Massachusettsea room owners had a peculiar fascination with birds and animals, particularly reflected in the names they chose for their businesses. Some examples: Brown Owl, Ragged Robin, Green Pheasant, Gray Lion, Nine Owls, Green Parrot, Blue Horse, Ugly Duckling, Russian Bear, Sea Gull, Cheshire Cat, White Rabbit, Red Squirrel, Blue Parrot, Yellow Cat, Jolly Jay.
