These photographs feature baseball legend Joe DiMaggio during his visit to Topeka in the spring of 1970. The occasion was the opening of the Joe DiMaggio Italian Food Restaurant, located at 3215 S. Topeka Boulevard. The short-lived Topeka restaurant was the first one opened by the Joe DiMaggio Franchise Corporation. According to a local newspaper account, DiMaggio owned 18 percent of the corporation's stock, while Aristo Foods, Inc. of Topeka held the remainder. Among the menu items were spaghetti and meatballs, pizza, Joe Slugger sandwiches and Italian ices. The décor was designed to evoke the Italian countryside, with rustic beams and artificial grape arbors. A placard shown in some of the photographs indicates the restaurant's grand opening occurred on April 29, 1970, but newspaper articles reported a visit by DiMaggio in connection with the restaurant's opening on March 17, 1970. The photos were made by Dave Mathias of Photo 1 in Topeka. Digital reproduction of the photographs was accomplished through a joint project sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society and the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame.
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