Soda Fountains from that time period are not strictly describing the device that dispenses the soda itself, it refers to the entire establishment. A soda fountain was like a Starbucks if it was entirely dedicated soda. There were Soda Fountain manuals teaching how to combine different essential oils and herbs to form hundreds of unique and interesting flavors, making it an interesting craft in itself. What we have now, where the machines just dispense a few select flavors that have the most market appeal is a pathetic shadow of what soda could be.

Boomer nostalgia aside, soda fountains were genuinely badass and it’s a shame they disappeared except for a handful of specialty shops.