In the mid-1960s, Atlanta mortician Herschel Thornton dreamed of a novel idea: a series of drive-thru windows where people could view loved ones from the comfort of their cars.
Why it matters:Herschel Thornton Mortuary claims to be the first funeral home in the country to offer a 24-hour drive-thru viewing window.
Catch up quick: Thornton, who moved the mortuary from Downtown to the Adamsville neighborhood in 1964, said the idea came to him in his sleep.
- “We have drive-in theaters, drive-in banks, drive-in hamburger places — why not a drive-in funeral parlor?” Thornton said in a February 1969 issue of Sepia Magazine.
Zoom in: He repurposed space used for storing caskets and funeral home equipment and installed five large viewing windows.
- Next to each window was a drop-in nameplate and a small mailbox where people could leave messages or sign a guestbook.
- The service was optional and did not cost extra, Thornton’s son, Herschel “Chuck” Thornton III, told Axios
Zoom in: Despite the media attention, Thornton didn’t publicize the service, his son said.
- Some people said the idea was inappropriate, but his father believed it increased access for people who worked odd hours, seniors or preferred viewing at night. “And he just kept moving forward with it.”
- Besides, people were already coming afterhours, and the windows could ease the burden on the mortuary’s overnight staff.
The mortuary doesn’t keep data on the number of people who used the service, according to Thornton III. But in the years following the curtains’ debut, the total number of customers had increased from 121 to nearly 190.
- In the late 1970s or early 80s, Thornton III said, the mortuary bricked over the windows and incorporated the spaces into a chapel expansion project.
Fun fact: Thornton III, who said he prefers to operate in the background, almost walked out of a Steve Harvey stand-up performance in the 1990s after the comedian mentioned the drive-thru windows during his routine…