The Orchard Restaurant and Tea Room stood at 48 Beach St., across from Back Beach, in a building that is now a private residence. The sign above the entrance says, “The Orchard, Lobster & Chicken Dinners, Luncheons.” Below that hangs a sign that says, “Open.” To the left of the picture, by the stone wall, is another sign that says, “Parking for Guests Only.”

Google Street View of the property today.

I previously published another card that mentioned The Orchard, but this is the first postcard I’ve ever found that shows it directly.

In fact, I have not been able to find anything else about the restaurant. Other than knowing that it operated in the 1930s, I do not know who ran it or for how long it ran. If any readers have more information, please share it in a comment below.

I did hear from a family that purchased this property earlier this year. They shared that, in clearing the property, they found a small stone building that had an “Office” sign hanging outside the door.

The building was constructed in 1930, according to its listing on Zillow.

This card was published by the Rockport Photo Bureau. I suspect that this photo was taken on the same day as the other card I mentioned above and a third card. As I noted before, the two earlier cards both appear to show the same man sitting on the bench. All three postcards have identical printing on the reverse side, suggesting they were all produced during the same time period.

None of the cards are dated, so I cannot be certain about the year, but I think that the mid-1930s is safe estimate.