The Multiplex 44 soda fountain dispenser was made by the Multiplex Faucet Company from 1961 to 1962 and total production was about 2,000 machines. It was the last metal model dispenser that they made as they changed over to plastic after 1961. The Multiplex 44 was a dual-valve dispenser made for dispensing two flavors of soft drinks.

The back of the machine is embossed with the Coca-Cola logo and the slogan, “Have a Coke” appears over one dispensing valve. The other valve is unspecified so a decal could be added for any other soft drink. The plastic nozzles mixed the carbonated water and the soft drink syrup as it dispensed them.

Manufactured by:

Multiplex Faucet Company
St. Louis, MO

Here are some photos of an Adco Orange Crush dispenser. This was simply the valve; all of the syrup and carbonation would have been under the counter. Most likely it would have been positioned on the soda fountain, with the back facing toward the customers sitting at the counter. The orange-colored stand was something we made and was not part of the original dispenser. Our restoration was minor, but included giving it a good cleaning, replacing the drip tray (which are always missing) and making the before-mentioned stand.

Adco was a fairly minor player in the soda fountain dispenser business, but they manufactured some interesting and now very collectible pieces.

This is a very unique looking dispenser. It is a juice dispenser made by the Simplex Manufacturing Company for the Mission Dry Corporation of Los Angeles, California, makers of Mission Orangeade. This Art Deco style model was called the Model H Simplex Dispenser and was constructed of metal for both the body and the footed base.

The spigot is positioned on the back of the dispenser so the stylized front with the great oranges on top would have faced the customers as the drink was poured. It’s a very striking dispenser and must have been very a successful point-of-purchase display promoting Mission’s “Real fruit juice” drink.

Produced: 1930s
Dimensions: 33”H x 16”W

Manufactured by:
Simplex Manufacturing Company

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

This is a Canada Dry Multiplex soda fountain that we once owned. The restoration was not extensive, as this came to us in pretty decent shape. We just had to clean it up a bit. This style of dispenser became known as “tombstone” due to the shape. This is a great little soft drink dispenser that doesn’t take up a lot of space, but was still able to fill tall glasses as well as shorter cups.

Produced: Late 1940s
Manufactured by: Multiplex

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Orange Crush has always been a very popular soft drink, and still is. This soda fountain dispenser was made by a manufacturer called Adco, but there is not much available out there about them. This dispenser is from somewhere around the mid-1930s to the early 1940s. It worked by mixing the flavored syrup and carbonated water when the handle was pulled and the drink was dispensed. The dispenser would have been mounted onto the counter of the soda fountain.

The lid of this dispenser has the Orange Crush mascot, Crushy, mounted on it. This stylized figure is shown holding an orange, supposedly squeezing the juice out of it as he is seen doing in vintage Orange Crush advertisements.

Produced: Mid-1930s to early 1940s

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

This Royal Crown bottle-shaped soda fountain draft arm is an interesting piece. It was used at fountains to let customers know Royal Crown Cola was available. We found these pictures of the RC draft arm in use at various soda fountains from the 1950s. The photo of the one on the wooden stand is from our collection. This particular draft arm helps decorate our company lunchroom.

The Cornelius Deluxe Draft Arms was the name for a compact pre-mix soft drink dispenser, designed for use in upscale bars and restaurants. They were produced exclusively for the Coca-Cola Company in the late 1950s. The dispenser was available as a single draft arm, two-, three- or a four-draft arms unit. It was designed to be elegant “to harmonize with the finest stainless or chrome fixtures in the best establishments”. The draft arms had a slim design to use a minimum of counter space. The melamine valve handles had large labels to promote Coke sales and to identify the product easily. One of the arms would naturally be reserved for dispensing Coca-Cola while the others were most likely used for mixers. This dispenser came with a drip tray and mounting base that could easily clamp onto counters and bars. It was a remote soft drink dispenser since the product was fed to the valves through refrigerated product lines from the canisters like the “Remote Super-Serve 200”.

Manufactured by:
The Cornelius Company
2727 North Ferry Street
Anoka, MN 55303

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

A big change in soda fountain dispenser design was seen with the introduction of the Dole Citation Dispenser in June of 1958. Manufactured by the Dole Valve Company of Chicago, Illinois, it reflected a totally new, modern design. It was Dole’s first dispenser to be made mostly of plastic. It was a square countertop model with a 1-gallon capacity.

Technology had advanced by 1962 so that dispensers were offered as either ice-cooled or mechanically refrigerated systems. The Dole Citation was produced through 1964 and was the predecessor to the multi-head self-serve soft drink dispensers we see in use at fast food restaurants nowadays.

Dimensions: 13.5”H x 17.75”L x 10.5”W
Weight: 39 lbs.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Is Refreshery even a word? In any case, we had this photo of what looks to be a movie theater concession stand. Really great 1950’s styling for the back wall with “Refreshery” spelled out in a great-looking script set on top of alternating square panels.

There’s a popcorn machine, candy counter, self-serve ice cream and a cup vending soda machine, all you would ever need to watch a movie.

Does anybody remember where this might be? Bottom of the photo has “Kingston” written out. Please blog-in if you know where this may have been.

We restored this Dole Deluxe Coca-Cola soda fountain dispenser. It’s a countertop soda fountain dispenser that was introduced in 1947 by the Dole Valve Company. It was the very first dispenser they produced following WWII. Because of its shape, it was called the “outboard motor”. The design was created by Raymond Loewy, a famous industrial designer. The shape was reflective of the popular “streamline” style, suggesting speed.

The Dole Deluxe was manufactured from 1947 through 1951 and over 30,000 were sold. Although the dispenser had numerous improvements over previous models, it was still only able to dispense one 6-ounce glass of Coca-Cola at a time.

Manufactured by:
Dole Valve Company
Chicago, Illinois

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Now this is an Orange Crush Dispenser! This is an ad from a 1959 Diner Drive-In Magazine. Great eye-catching display, Orange Crush fountain with a huge cup on top. This really must have sold a lot of Crush. I do not believe Crush was carbonated back then, which made it possible to have these kinds of dispensers. If I have that wrong, please blog in and let us know.

The Dole Super Dispenser was introduced in April of 1951. It was manufactured by the Dole Valve Company of Chicago, Illinois. It was Dole’s first soft drink dispenser with a continuous flow valve and was designed to compete with the Selmix soda dispenser. The Super would have been mounted on a counter-top.

In 1955 the Dole Improved Super was introduced in 1955 to replace the Super, but both were continually in service until the mid-1960s. The Super turned out to be the top-seller for Dole.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

A Coca-Cola Large Capacity Pre-Mix Soda Fountain Dispenser

The 1965 Cornelius Universal 400 soft drink dispenser was designed as a high-capacity, low-cost machine. Its intended use was at places that attracted big crowds like drive-ins, restaurants and bars, and even the beach. There was an optional wheel kit available to make the unit portable. It could also be used with 6-inch brushed chrome legs as a freestanding unit, or without the legs to fit under a counter.

The dispenser featured a prominently placed, illuminated panel printed with the Coca-Cola slogan of “Things go better with Coke”. There were 4 valves, allowing up to 4 products to be dispensed. The soft drinks were premixed and cooled and this dispenser could serve 400 cold drinks, figuring on 8 drinks dispensed per minute. There was a cooling recovery rate of 3 drinks per minute.

Manufactured by:
The Cornelius Company
2727 North Ferry Street
Anoka, MN 55303

Weight: 138 lbs.
Dimensions: 38”H x 16 3/8”W x 16”D (without legs)
44”H x 16 3/8”W x 16”D (with legs)

The Cornelius Slim-Lite Ambassador was the same machine as the Cornelius Ambassador. The only difference being that it had a smaller lighted top. It was offered along side of the Ambassador, for anyone who may have required a smaller machine with “just the right amount of point-of-sale display”.

Manufactured by:
The Cornelius Company
2727 North Ferry Street
Anoka, MN 55303

Weight: 21 lbs.
Dimensions: 17 3/4”H x 11”W x 9”D

This was a very interesting dispenser put out by the Glasco Corporation. First introduced in 1956, it was a stadium or event vendor that was used to vend cold cups of Coca-Cola. The stainless steel tank was pre-chilled and was able to keep the Coke cold for at least 2 hours. This was considered a pre-mix dispenser, since it contained both syrup and carbonated water. Each soft drink dispenser was capable of dispensing 40 servings in as little as 10 minutes. The cup holder was able to hold up to 50 7-ounce paper cups.

This ad claims that 49,811 cups were sold by 12 roaming vendors at a large stadium event. We owned one of these years ago but never restored it. Just one of the many items I wish we still owned.

Weight: 19 lbs. without product, 35.5 lbs. when full

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

In the 1960s Coca-Cola and other soft drink manufacturers put a lot of emphasis on making their beverage available at popular venues like bowling alleys, restaurants and drive-ins. Soft drinks were now dispensed premixed and cold as a result of advances in technology.

The Cornelius Co. has now been in business for almost 70 years making coolers and beverage dispensers. They manufactured the Diplomat for the Coca-Cola Company from 1962 to 1969. It is classified as an electric, self-contained, over-the-counter soft drink dispenser. This catalog page states that the “Crisp, clean lines and a bold, lighted sign on each side give the Diplomat styling that attracts costumers, adds prestige to any location!” It also adds the promise of “ice cold refreshment” due to the “Cornelius Ice-O-Matic design”. The cooling device was self-contained within the machine, so there was no need to add ice. The design and illuminated logo served as point of sale advertising and as an enticement to have some refreshment.

The dispensing unit could be mounted on a counter or bar, taking up a minimum amount of space. The dispenser could serve as many as 4 different products and up to 150 cold drinks, figuring on 6 drinks dispensed per minute. There was a cooling recovery rate of 1 drink per minute.

Manufactured by:
The Cornelius Company
2727 North Ferry Street
Anoka, MN 55303

Weight: 110 lbs.
Dimensions: 24 ¾”H x 18”W x 22 ¼”D

The Cornelius Deluxe Ambassador was a lightweight pre-mix soft drink dispenser that was designed for The Coca-Cola Company to be used in upscale bars and restaurants. It was the exact same machine as the Cornelius Ambassador, but with simulated wood grain panels instead of prominent Coca-Cola advertising. It was intended as a “quality dispenser for serving fine quality pre-mix for mixed drinks”. Among the mixers of course, was Coca-Cola.
This machine was the smallest and lightest of the Ambassador line, since it had eliminated the lighted dome entirely. It still clamped easily to a countertop and only required 4 ½ inches in counter depth. In addition to the wood grain, this dispenser had black trim, allowing it to blend into even the most elegant settings.



Manufactured by:
The Cornelius Company
2727 North Ferry Street
Anoka, MN 55303
Weight: 20 lbs.
Dimensions: 11 1/2”H x 11”W x 9”D (without dome)

The Cornelius 5-Product Bar Valve
A Coca-Cola Pre-Mix Soda Fountain Valve Dispenser

This catalog page shows the 1965 model of the Cornelius 5-Product Bar Valve. It was proclaimed the “modern way to serve drinks in bars and taverns”. These were manufactured for The Coca-Cola Company and offered 5 different mixer flavors. This was “paired up with a Cornelius 5-Flavor Cold Plate”, making it a cost-effective alternative to the larger soft drink dispensers. Five flavors were available on the valve that could be dispensed with the touch of a finger. A molded valve rest was attached under the bar to store and protect the valve when it was not in use.

Manufactured by:
The Cornelius Company
2727 North Ferry Street
Anoka, MN 55303

1965 Cornelius Ambassador

A Coca-Cola Lighted Dome Pre-Mix Soda Fountain Dispenser

The Cornelius Ambassador was a lightweight pre-mix soft drink dispenser with a modern look that was made by The Cornelius Company in the late 1960s. It offered an optional dome that lit up and displayed the Coca-Cola slogan, “Things go better with Coke” that also served as a “billboard”. The Ambassador was designed for “Maximum Point-of-Sale Display” with “trademark identification and powerful sales impact”.

Because of its small size, the Ambassador required very little counter space (4 ½ inches of counter depth) and yet was able to dispense up to 4 products. A remote refrigeration system could be conveniently placed up to 25 feet from the dispenser and connected to it with insulated tubing. The tubes were referred to as “Refrigerated Product Lines” or a “python”. The illuminated part of the dispenser was not only placed high for advertising purposes, but also the distance served to prevent the light from warming up the product. The dispenser could be very easily clamped to any counter.

Manufactured by:
The Cornelius Company
2727 North Ferry Street
Anoka, MN 55303

Weight: 27 lbs. with the dome, 20 lbs. without the dome
Dimensions: 23 3/4”H x 11”W x 9”D (with dome)
11 1/2”H x 11”W x 9”D (without dome)

1950’s SuperVend Cold Cup Drink Vendor

The ad for this 1950’s superVend drink vendor stated that this machine could be used at a variety of locations to increase drink selling profits. Some of the locations listed were schools, air, rail and bus terminals, supermarkets and filling stations. This model cold drink dispenser was capable of vending 3 different flavors of a cold drink into a cup.

Manufactured by:
SuperVend Corp.
2586 Cedar Springs Ave.
Dallas, TX

The ad proclaimed that this machine was “A sleek, glistening beauty!” Maybe you have seen one. Blog in and let us know.

1929 Hazeltine & Perkins Drug Co. Soda Fountain Supply Catalog

We just posted PDFs of a 1929 Soda Fountain Supply Catalog in the Retroplanet.com PDF Library. The catalog was put out by Hazeltine & Perkins of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is filled with all kinds of great soda fountain items like glasses, dishes, stools, mixers, straw holders and lots more. It could be a great reference piece if you are planning to build your own soda fountain. Also, it could possibly come in handy if you are trying to put a date on some items in your soda fountain collection.

New Soda Fountain Blog at Retroplanet.com

Check out the new Bastian-Blessing Soda Fountain blog at Retroplanet.com. It features photos and facts about one of the finest soda fountain manufacturers. There are additional photos in our RetroPlanet PDF Library. Be sure to take a look and send us your feedback, memories or anything you’d like to share. You could even send us a link to your photos of vintage soda fountains.

Coca-Cola Vending Machine Conversion Kits

Beginning in the 1950’s, the trend among soda machines was to offer vendors with multiple flavor selections. What was to be done with all of the single-selection soda dispensing machines already in use? The Selectivend Corporation came up with a solution. They introduced conversion kits for the more popular Coca-Cola Vendo machines. The conversion kits could be installed, changing a single-selection machine to a multivendor, able to dispense up to twelve different flavors.

Some of the models that kits were available for include the Vendo V39, V144, V216 and the V83. This idea may have been innovative, but it never really caught on, as the conversions were pretty involved, and once done, the machines were most likely very troublesome.

Maybe you have some feedback about this blog. We’d love to hear from you.

Service Manuals for Coca-Cola Vendo 81, 44 & 39 Soda Machines

At the Retroplanet.com site we are offering free downloads of PDFs of service manuals for three models of Coca-Cola soda machines from the 1950’s. They are the Vendo 81, 44 and 39. These PDFs can be found at the Retroplanet PDF Library.

It is important to note that in the beginning of the manual you will see photos of vending machines that were restored by us at Vintage Vending. They may have been restored to look different from the machine you may have. The rest of the manual PDFs are of the actual manual and schematics. There are also photos and parts lists. Our hope is that these photos are of help to you.

The soda machines we have restored are not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby.

There is a great blog at Retroplanet.com about Coca-Cola coolers being used in various establishments in Southern California in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The photos included with the blog are literally snapshots of a way of life that is no longer with us. Head over to Retroplanet.com and the Blog heading of Vintage Vending Archives. Scroll down to “Coca-Cola Coolers”, and enjoy a trip down Memory Lane and remember what it was like when there were neighborhood grocery stores and filling stations, and of course, coolers of ice cold Coca-Cola.

Pepsi-Cola Mexican Mini Cooler

Here is a very interesting Pepsi cooler. Because it is a double-dot we know it is from the 40’s. We also think it is from Mexico because of the decals on the side of the original. It looks like more of a mini-fridge icebox than a cooler, and is definitely an original because it is embossed. We restored this many years ago and it is in the home of a private collector. We are showing the before and after but for additional photos, please visit the Retroplanet Museum at Retroplanet.com. If you have any information about this piece’s origin please blog-in and let us know.

It is a fairly small piece measuring 33”H X 18.5”W X 15″D

Paint code PPG DCC 18431 Light Blue
A sign painter applied all the other colors by hand.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby.

Glascock Countertop Cooler

In 1929 the first officially approved retail cooler for dispensing bottles of Coca-Cola was introduced. It was a Glascock cooler. This particular Glascock countertop cooler was introduced in 1931. This open-top cooler was both the smallest and least expensive cooler made by Glascock. It hit the market priced at $5.95. It held 36 chilled bottles, with no additional storage space. Galvanized metal was used for its sturdy construction. Essentially, it was the same as the Junior model offered in 1930, but without legs. It was designed to sit on a countertop in a retail environment. As with other soft drink coolers of the time, it was based on an honor system, where the customer selected a bottle of Coke and paid the store clerk.

Filling the cooler up with ice chilled the bottles. There was a faucet at the base to drain excess water from the cooler after the ice melted. The cooler is painted a “Moroccan Green” in addition to the standardized red and white. The embossed logos on the cooler sides were panels that could be pulled out and changed. Glascock coolers are considered the “Grandfathers” of all Coca-Cola vending machines that were to follow. This particular Glascock cooler is rare and very desirable to collectors.
For more photos of our restored Glascock cooler, visit the Retroplanet Museum and look under “Chest Coolers”.

Dimensions: 14” high x 18” wide x 26” deep

Capacity: 36 bottles plus 20 lbs. of ice

Manufactured by:

Glascock Bros. Manufacturing Co.

Muncie, Indiana

The Evolution of Soft Drink Dispensing

Recently, while doing descriptions for the soda fountain dispensers in the Retroplanet Museum, I was struck by how little I knew about how these IN-dispensable drinks evolved. Drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi have become such a staple in the American diet that I think many of us take them for granted.

The first attempts at making a carbonated drink date back as far as the early 1770’s, when it was believed that natural mineral waters had curative powers. People flocked to spas where mineral water bubbled naturally out of the earth. Early scientists tried to replicate these bubbly drinks with health benefits for everyone to enjoy. In the early 1770’s a Swedish chemist and an English scientist invented equipment that combined water and carbon dioxide. This bubbly water was called soda water. In 1806 a Yale chemistry professor, Benjamin Silliman, purchased an apparatus and began selling mineral water (unflavored then) in New Haven, Connecticut. Sometimes Dr. Silliman added wine and sugar to his bottled mineral water, but it was Eugene Roussel of Philadelphia that is credited with making flavored soda water popular. In the late 1830’s he added a “soda counter” to his perfume shop where he offered soda water flavored with orange, cherry, lemon, teaberry, ginger, peach or root beer syrup. His success can be measured by the fact that he had nearly 50 competitors in his city within a very short time.

By the end of the Civil War, soda fountains were a common sight, and flavored soft drinks were commonly dispensed in drugstores at the soda fountain counter. These locations became even more important when the US government passed Temperance Laws forbidding the consumption of alcohol. Soda fountains allowed people to continue to gather and socialize, but without the presence of alcohol. The problem was that the drinks could vary greatly from one to the next, as there was not really a standard method of concocting them. After a pump or two of the syrup, the pharmacist would fill the glass up to the fill-line with ice-chilled carbonated water. This was then stirred and served to the customer.

In 1888 Jacob Baur started the Liquid Carbonic Co. that manufactured carbon dioxide in tanks. This led to the manufacture and sale of Liquid Carbonic soda fountains in the early 1900’s. This made it possible for pharmacists to make their own carbonated water, rather than having to buy it from a supplier. This arrangement still required mixing syrup and water by the pharmacist and therefore, room for variation.

The first automatic soda fountain dispenser that mixed the syrup and the carbonated water together was made in 1933 by Dole and was introduced at the Chicago World’s Fair. This model was the Dole Master Dispenser. Simply by pulling the handle, the syrup and carbonated water were mixed together. In order to cool the drink, ice could be packed into the dispenser.

Dole then released the Dole Junior in 1936. This was a much smaller, 1-gallon capacity dispenser. It could duplicate the same flavor in each ice-cold drink, much faster than was previously possible. The next major development in dispensers came in 1949 in the shape of the “Outboard Motor” design dispensers, like the Selmix Fountain Dispenser. Designed by the famous industrial designer Raymond Loewy, this dispenser was capable of dispensing a continuous flow of mixed carbonated water and syrup with only one pull of the handle. They were then followed by “Super” models that could dispense two types of soda, and in 1955 the Multiplex Faucet Company introduced the Red Barrel dispenser, the first multiple-drink Coca-Cola dispenser that was designed for use at places like movie theaters and drive-ins.

A very drastic change to dispenser design occurred in June of 1958 when the Dole Citation model was released. It was square and constructed mainly of plastic. It had a totally new and modern look. By 1962 dispensers were available as ice-cooled models or with mechanical refrigeration. These dispensers evolved into the 12- to 16-head self-serve dispensers seen in fast food restaurants we see today.

Help Us Identify Our Coke Cooler

We have added information in the Retroplanet Museum about our coolers. One of these is a Coca-Cola cooler from Mexico that we know very little about. Take a look and see if you might be able to help identify the name of the manufacturer and the approximate date.

1941 Vendorlator 120 Soda Machine

We have seen a lot of soda machines here at Vintage Vending, and I would have to say that this one could be the ugliest. Seemed like a good idea at the time, I would guess. It vends up to 63 different flavors and holds any size bottles. “It is modern and handsome in design, easy to load, simple and almost 100% automatic in operation,” says the brochure.

Manufactured by:
Vendorlator Manufacturing Co.
4000 Railroad Avenue
Fresno, California

The Vendo V-81’s and VMC-81 Soda Machines, Similarities & Differences

The Vendo Company eventually merged with its rival, the Vendorlator Manufacturing Company in 1956, but originally they were two separate entities building some very similar soda machines. In the mid 1950’s the Vendo Company was manufacturing the Vendo 81 exclusively for The Coca-Cola Company, and the Vendorlator Manufacturing Co. was making VMC-81’s for competing brands like Pepsi, 7-Up, Dr. Pepper and Royal Crown. Once the two companies merged, they continued to make machines under the two product names as before, making The Vendo Company the primary supplier to of the soft drink market.

There were three V-81 models manufactured by the Vendo Company from the mid to the late 1950’s. There was the Vendo V-81A, V-81B and V-81D. Up until 1956, Coca-Cola machines were painted a solid red, like the Vendo V-81A. Beginning in 1956 with the V-81B, The Coca-Cola company painted their machines red and white to emphasize Coke’s “clean and refreshing” image. The “Coca-Cola” logo that had been smaller and positioned closer to the bottle door was repositioned to be centered on the space to the right of the bottle door and the logo was enlarged. The logo was also made more prominent by being embossed in red on a white background, instead of in white on a red background.

The Vendorlator Manufacturing Company’s competing soda machine was the VMC 81. The Vendo 81 and the VMC-81 both held a total of 81 bottles for vending. Space inside the machine allowed for the pre-cooling of 17 additional bottles. Both machines had nine interior shelves, allowing them to vend up to nine different soda flavors. They used “slant shelves” that could be adjusted to accommodate different bottle sizes ranging from 6 ½ to 12 ounces. That flexibility makes these machines very popular today, since you are able to fill them with almost any soda, beer or wine coolers. These soda machines have the classic upright, “round-cornered” cabinet design of the 1950’s. Both the V-81A and V-81B are referred to as “small door” models, and the V-81D is called the “large door” model. This came about because the V-81D had a different coin mechanism that necessitated a larger door. The coin mechanism was redesigned to give change back, where previously the coin boxes only took nickels. The bottle doors in both the Vendo and VMC-81’s had lights placed within them to illuminate the bottles.

1958 was the last year of production for round-cornered soda machines made by The Vendo Company, with the exception of the Vendo 44. All of the Coca-Cola Company Vendo 81’s and the various brands of VMC-81’s are very collectible today. The Vendo 81’s are the most desirable of all the different models of Coke machines manufactured throughout the 1950’s. Fewer VMC-81’s were produced than Vendo 81’s, and of all the brands embossed on the VMC-81’s, Royal Crown soda machines are the most rare and collectible with the 7-Up machines close behind. Any of these soda machines would be quite a statement in any gameroom, den or office.

Dimensions: 53.75 in. high x 25 in. wide x 17.5 in. deep
Weight: 286 lbs.

Please blog in and tell us about your soda machine collection. We’d love to hear about your acquisition and restoration stories. If you have questions about your restoration, blog in and ask us as we’ve done many ourselves and would enjoy being of help to you.

The Vendo Galaxie Soft Drink Dispenser

The Vendo Galaxie Soft Drink Dispenser was the first pre-mix soda dispenser. Up until its creation in 1960, dispensers mixed the syrup and carbonated water when the handle was pulled. With this model, the syrup and carbonated water were stored premixed, outside of the dispenser. The complete soft drink was pressure fed by carbon dioxide gas through the dispenser. The futuristic look of the Vendo Galaxie was a result of the design collaboration of Clare Hodgman, a famous automobile and appliance designer, and the Engineering Department of The Cola-Cola Company. It was available in 1, 2, 3 or 4 dispensing valves. This model was made exclusively for Coca-Cola.

This counter-mounted dispenser was advertised as “The most modern way to dispense Coca-Cola (Pre-mix!).” Covered in a baked enamel with chrome and stainless steel accents. The top of the machine was illuminated and displayed the “Drink Coca-Cola” logo.

As the brochures show, the Vendo Galaxie soft drink dispenser was also marketed to be sold with an ice-making machine, like this Polar Chips Icemaker. The dispenser was installed directly onto the ice maker, making it quicker and more convenient to make a nice cold Coke.

Manufactured by:
Vendo Company
Kansas City, MO

You may have seen one of these drink dispensers or something very similar, since this machine can still be in use today. Blog-in with any additional comments you may have.

The Coca-Cola Vendo 6-Case Vertical Cooler

I like this machine, but this upright cooler never really caught on with collectors. I would guess that’s because of its size. I refer to it as a cooler because there is no coin mechanism. Therefore, it’s not fair to call it a soda machine, even though it looks like a Vendo 81 except for the glass door on the right side. Vendo did make a version of this machine with a coin mechanism and it was called the Vendo 110. But if you have the space and are looking for a machine to restore, this is a good candidate. There are no coin or vending mechanisms to mess with and because they were self-service coolers and not vending machines, they were usually kept indoors so you can still find them in pretty good shape. The shelves inside are adjustable so it will hold different size bottles, including longneck beer bottles. Judging by the name I’d guess it holds 144 bottles; 110 ready to vend and 34 pre-cooled. I don’t recall us ever restoring one at Vintage Vending but we did own quite a few over the years.

Vendorlator also made this machine in Pepsi, Royal Crown, Dr. Pepper and (not 100% sure, but would assume) 7-up.

Size:
63” high
32.5” wide
18” deep

Weight: 200 pounds

Produced from the late 40’s to mid 50’s

Manufactured by:
Vendo Company
7209 N. Ingram Ave.
Fresno, CA

If you have ever restored one of these, please ad to the blog with some restoration tips.

Coca-Cola has always done a great job getting their products into as many locations as possible. The Vendo D-56 was an attempt to get Coke into locations where a soda machine might be out of place, like an upscale office. The D-56 was basically a soda machine with a decorative door on the front. The doors were offered in five styles; warm and exciting Mediterranean, bold and sleek Danish, sculptured and classic Provincial, light and charming Colonial and crisp and trim Traditional. I don’t think the concept really took off, but it was an interesting idea. Coca-Cola offered many smaller machines for low volume situations over the years and we will be posting others soon.

The Frostidrink Cup Soda Vendor

I don’t know too much about this machine except it was invented by W.W. Bowman of Dallas, Texas in the late 30’s. Amazing what you find when you google something. The machine appears to be a 3-selection cup vendor done up in Royal Crown Cola. Nothing too exciting about it, but I thought the pictures were neat. The pictures look to be from the late 40’s or early 50’s with the machine in some sort of university. One of the pictures is labeled “The P.K. Younge School of Experimental Education”. Has anyone ever heard of it? University of Florida at Gainesville?

Please let us know if you have any information on the machine or the location.

The B-1 Lemon-Lime Soda Six-Pack Vending Machine

Is this the coolest vending machine ever, or what? This machine vends an entire 6-pack of B-1. I have never seen anything like it before and I am not sure how many of these were ever made, but it is wild. A 6-pack of B1 for fifty cents! Not the best picture, I am afraid, but it is all we had. If you have any information on this unusual machine please blog in and let us know.