Howard Johnson’s and 20th Century America
In June of 2018, the Society debuted one of our most popular featured exhibits detailing the history of the Howard Johnson’s corporation.
“Let’s all go to Howard Johnson’s!” was a phrase that was common throughout the United States during the 1950s and 60s. Howard Johnson’s was the largest chain of restaurants in the world at the time, and a truly iconic American corporation. There really was a Howard Johnson, and he started his multi-billion dollar corporation right here in Quincy out of a convenience store located on Beale Street in Wollaston where he started selling homemade ice cream.
During the run of our exhibit, the Society has heard from members and visitors alike as they share stories with us about their experiences with HoJo’s. Whether that be from their time as employees at a Howard Johnson’s location around the country, or at the Howard Johnson’s Candy Kitchen right here in Quincy, or just sharing with us their favorite flavor of HoJo’s famous ice cream.
We are happy to present this digital exhibit, which features many of our favorite images from the Society’s archives and gives an overview of the history of Howard Johnson’s. We hope that you enjoy it!
— Ed Fitzgerald and Alexandra Elliott
Fascinating. I live in Quincy now, but grew up in California, and we often stayed at Howard Johnson hotels when I was a child.
This web site is poorly planned out. I was born in west Quincy & I can’t even find my old elementary school John Hancock Elementary from 60’s & 70’s.
Hi Patrick,
We’re very sorry that you can’t find what you were looking for on our blog. We have not yet written an article about the John Hancock Elementary School. If you have a specific question about the school, feel free to email us with your query at info@quincyhistory.org and we’d be happy to get you an answer. Hope this helps! – Alexandra Elliott, Curator, QHS