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Vienna Model Bakery truck and driver, Denver, CO, ca. 1910.
Vienna Model Bakery truck and driver, Denver, CO, ca. 1910

Pictured is an electric truck used to deliver baked goods from the Vienna Model Bakery located at 911 15th Street in Denver.  A man named Reinhard Mueller established the bakery in 1897.  Born in Germany in 1863, Reinhard immigrated to the United States in 1879.  His wife, Rosa Kuncel, was born in Vienna in 1872 and immigrated with her parents to Salt Lake City when she was still a child.  She and Reinhard would marry in Salt Lake City in 1890 and move to Denver two years later.  They would have three children, Reinhard Jr., Emilie and Walter, all born  in Utah.  

The Vienna Model Bakery touted the “Mueller Quality” of its goods baked in their “fine old brick ovens.”  Following her father’s retirement, in 1933, daughter Emilie (now Emilie Bourke, following her marriage to Urban W. Bourke) would take over the management of the bakery, remodel it, rename it the Vienna Inn and introduce a line of delicatessen fare and “beer that’s kept just right!”  The ad announcing the grand opening welcomed “our many Jewish friends and former patrons.” Its draft beer was sold by the stein for 10 cents or by the shell (i.e., a small glass) for 5 cents.  Also featured were “after-theater specials” and “Dutch lunches,” the latter focusing on delicatessen foods such as cured meats, cheese and sausages.  According to Gus Brake’s “Didja Know?”column in the Rocky Mountain News,  Emilie used “no canned vegetables or canned meat” and “took the greatest care to guarantee that everything is pure, fresh and wholesome.”    (The year 1933 represented a new start for Emilie and Urban.  This was the year of their second marriage to each other.  They first got married in 1917 and divorced in 1930.)

I couldn’t find information on how long the Vienna Inn stayed in operation, although I did come across a story in the sports section of the July 4, 1949, edition of the Rocky Mountain News, reporting the Reese House softball team’s 4 to 2 victory over the Vienna Inn team.   

The delivery truck pictured here may have been manufactured by the Walker Electric Truck Company in Chicago.  If this truck is a Walker, it would have been powered by a 3.5 horsepower electric motor located halfway between the front and rear axles.  The driving range on a single charge was probably 40 to 50 miles, and following the day’s deliveries, the truck would be plugged into a charging station.  The truck was valued for its simplicity of operation – it had no clutch, eliminating the need for shifting gears, and featured a straightforward stop-and-go operation.  Its direct steering would have required the operator to exert quite a bit of effort to make turns, and its solid rubber tires would make for a jolting ride when traversing bumps.  But with its rubber tires and spring suspension, it would have been a bit more comfortable than riding atop wooden wagon wheels.  A popular selling point for these trucks was the greater sanitation accruing to a vehicle that was not powered by horses, with their need to relieve themselves in the street.

Note the name “Hyman’s” painted on the wall of the large building in the background.  This may have been a candy-making business, for it’s not unusual to find Hyman’s candy ads in Denver newspapers as early as 1906.    

Reinhard Mueller passed away in February of 1946 at age 82 or 83, and Rosa passed away in May of 1942 at age 69. Their remains are interred at Denver’s Fairmount Cemetery.   Emilie died in September of 1982 at age 88, and her husband Burke passed away in 1962.  Their remains are also interred at Fairmount. 

REFERENCES:

  • Emillie K Mueller in the Colorado, U.S., County Marriage Records and State Index, 1862-2006 at www.ancestry.com
  • U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 for Amelia Bourke at www.ancestry.com
  • 1910, 1920 and 1930 Censuses (Ancestry.com)

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