As a kid, Sundays meant going for an afternoon ride with the family. Where we went really depended on who was driving and which pair of grandparents came since each had different scenic interests. The common denominator, though, was that the ride included an ice cream stop. The subject of today's photo was one of my favorites.
Known as The Milk Can, this ice cream stand was built in 1929 along a major route connecting Providence and Woonsocket. As vehicular traffic grew, Route 146 was born, extending the access out as far as Worcester, Massachusetts. The Milk Can went out of business in 1968, and it sat vacant for over a decade. Construction of the new I-295 forced its relocation since it sat in the middle of what would become an on-off ramp sequence between I-295 and RI-146. The building was purchased by Stanley Surtel, Jr and Frank D'Andrea with the intention of reopening the ice cream stand. They moved it to its current location on the north-bound side of RI-146 just south of the Woonsocket exit. Unfortunately, the state declined their occupancy permits due to an excessive amount of benzene in the ground water, and the building remains empty to this day. Without a major preservation effort, this historic landmark will soon be lost.
Post processing again flowed towards the creative side. I ran it through Redynamix, but toned down the color saturation and decreased the green values. In PSE, I adjusted the levels slightly and applied a sepia photo filter.
What a great ice cream stand! Kids still love ice cream (as do most adults I know!)... someone should save this unique piece of America's good old days!
July 16th, 2012
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