Soda Fountain and Drugstore

The connection between the soda fountain and the drugstore is natural and of long standing. In the early years of the soda fountain, carbonated medicated waters had to be produced by the druggist. One of the earliest and certainly most influential apothecary shops in America was opened in Philadelphia in 1825 by the French émigré Elias Durand. His apothecary has often been termed the first modern drugstore because it was very ornate with marble and mahogany fixtures. Durand was one of the first to sell medicated waters in a drugstore, and his store became a gathering place for intellectuals, the forerunner of the community social center of later soda fountains.