Coffee’s history includes examples of shops and cafes that didn’t fit their historical context. On this episode of Coffee Canon, we deep-dive into one of these; a shop that was opened in 1919, but bears a striking resemblance to modern artisan coffee shops. The Double R Coffee House was ahead of its time, and its owners bear a familiar, American name – Roosevelt.
This episode contains references to a wealth of sources and articles, which I’ve linked to below. Most notably, I ordered scans of the Library of Congress file titled “Double R Coffee House.” You can download the PDF here.
Below are a couple of images from The Double R Coffee House, some of which are discussed in this episode (click for full resolution versions):
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Episode Nine Sources:
- “The Roosevelt Family Built a New York Coffee Chain 50 Years Before Starbucks,” Smithsonian Magazine, by Jancee Dunn.
- “Meet Me at the Double R Coffee House,” New-York Historical Society, by Edward O’Reilly.
- New York Times article announcing coffee shop opening (November 26, 1919): https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1919/11/26/96868990.pdf
- “All About Coffee” by William Ukers, 1922. Page 690 (769 of PDF) blurb about the coffeehouse while it was still open.
- Double R Coffeehouse mentioned in The Greenwich Village Quill (Magazine & Guide to Greenwich Village), August 1921 publication.
- Joshua Reyes, The Rough Writer: The News of the Volunteers at Sagamore Hill, Volume 9, Issue 3.
- “Simmons’ Spice Mill” VOL XLIII, dated January 1920. Page 56 (31 of PDF) blurb about the origins of the “Brazilian Coffee House” months after it opened.
- Wikipedia
- Philip Roosevelt (cousin of President Teddy Roosevelt) served as President of Double R Coffeehouse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Roosevelt#cite_note-5
- Discussing Kermit Roosevelt and Teddy Roosevelt’s South American expedition in 1913-1914: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_Roosevelt#River_of_Doubt_South_American_expedition
- HP Lovecraft blog that discusses him visiting the coffeehouse: https://tentaclii.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/lovecrafts-double-r-coffee-house-photo/
- “On The Double-R Coffee House” full poem by HP Lovecraft (1925): http://www.hplovecraft.hu/print.php?type=etexts&id=411&lang=angol
- Good source for Lovecraft info: https://img.4plebs.org/boards/tg/image/1372/86/1372867413177.pdf
- “Remembering the Sullivan County Catskills” section on Mrs. Elizabeth Worth Muller.
- Music
- “Climbing the Mountain,” Podington Bear http://freemusicarchive.org
- “Into the Unknown” Podington Bear http://freemusicarchive.org
- “A Gentleman” Podington Bear http://freemusicarchive.org
- “Sweet and Clean” Podington Bear http://freemusicarchive.org
- “Blues Angeline,” Lobo Loco http://freemusicarchive.org
Episode Nine Transcript:
Continue reading Episode Nine: The Double R Coffee House
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