“The Diner Project,” a lovely series of black-and-white photographs by Andy Satter, went on view this weekend at the CambridgeSide mall at the site of a former railcar-style restaurant called Russ’s Kitchenette Diner.
In the 1970s, Satter studied photography in Cambridge. He spent every day at the diner in the summer of ’74 and three years later moved to New York. He lost touch with the restaurant’s owner. The photos remained in Satter’s New Paltz basement for years, though they were thought lost in a move.
The images, which are part of a photo book as well as the exhibition, show the workers and customers that frequented the diner. You can see what drew the artist to this lively space; each photo brims with life and personality. In each, the tiny building is bathed in light.
But Russ’s is long gone. In a spot that once served breakfast to blue-collar workers is a neighborhood of mostly luxury apartments and life-sciences buildings. The exhibition is a beautiful but bittersweet nod to Cambridge history that’s a bit out of place next to the mall’s ghost town of retail offerings, next to a Foot Locker and across from a T.J. Maxx.
It’s a small miracle the photos sat so patiently in Satter’s basement for decades. For those who remember the East Cambridge of the 1970s and even those who don’t, the exhibit is well worth the trip.
“The Diner Project,” through May on Level 2, CambridgeSide, 100 CambridgeSide Place, East Cambridge.
Share your own 150-word appreciation for a piece of visual art or art happening with photo to editor@cambridgeday.com with the subject line “Behold.”
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