White Castle Exhibit Needs Beefed Up
Posted by CMH Gourmand on June 13, 2007
I made an excursion to the Ohio Historical Center for a serving of fast food history – an exhibit on White Castle Hamburgers. It was interesting however, if the exhibit was the sole purpose of a person’s field trip – I think most people would have a beef.
Admission to the Historical Center is the equivalant of a couple sacks of Slyders – that might hurt if you are not also interested in Ohio History, First Ladies, and Native American artifacts. On the plus side – parking is reimbursed via a token and each admission comes with a coupon for a free White Castle hamburger. Here is a peek of what you will see – reading this post will take about the same amount of time as viewing the exhibit in person.
I hope the exhibit gets beefed up over time. There is room to do so and even though White Castles are small and the company is not a mega chain – White Castle is critical in the culinary history of the country and Columbus.
White Castle 101
White Castle was the first fast food chain ever. The first location opened in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas with 5 seats. In 1934, the company moved the headquarters to Columbus due to the prime logistics of our fair city. The Company continued to grow and develop innovative techniques in food preparation, marketing, and building materials as well patents on several food related items. All White Castle locations are company owned and operated – no franchises. You can find White Castles in 11 states. The company started a division for building materials and construction to build and design their locations (originally using porcelain). White Castle was ahead of the times in hiring women and minorities. This small (in comparison to our other local fast food capital burger chain Wendy’s) company has done some big things. If you are intrigued – grab the book Selling ’em by the Sack by David Hogan.
For more web information – here is the wiki on White Castle.
A couple more noteworthy tidbits.
White Castle copyrighted the term Slyders in 1994.
For the special someone, many White Castles offer a candlelit table for two on Valentines Day. Hamburger Today provides the low down on this treat.
The Ohio Historical Center/ The Ohio Historical Society has all kinds of White Castle Corporate information
The Ohio Historical Center is closed on Mondays.
Hours are:
Tues, Wed, Fri, and Sat 9 AM – 5 PM
Thurs 9 AM – 9 PM
Sunday and Holidays Noon – 5 PM
If you want to get more information on White Castle beyond the exhibit – the library and archives have plenty of things to look at.
Hours are:
Weds and Sat 9 AM – 5 PM
Thursday 1 PM – 9 PM
CMH Gourmand - Eating in Columbus & Ohio 
Columbuser.com / White Castle history said
[…] Gourmand made a trip to the Ohio Historical Center and came back with some words and pictures about White Castle, which has an exhibit there. White Castle is headquartered in Columbus, as you already knew. Not […]