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Working Women of the Old Port

Parade, Portland, ca. 1900

Parade, Portland, ca. 1900

Item 12526 info
Maine Historical Society

Some women opened lunchrooms or tea houses to cater to the large numbers of working women in downtown.

Lula Bowman opened a tea room in 1914, serving mostly women customers. Her Cumberland Tea Room was so popular that it sometimes attracted 100-200 patrons a day.

From then until the late 1950s, Bowman was a successful cook and restaurant operator at various locations, including Exchange Street, where she operated Bowman's Cafe starting in the late 1940s.