Prominently located on the homepage of www.legalseafoods.com, the Timewave is engagingly interactive, says Web Marketing Specialist, Jessica Jones. She spent hours poring over archival photographs, yellowed newspaper clippings, and dusty exhibits which chronicle the company’s phenomenal development. From the humble origins of Harry Berkowitz’s Legal Cash Market in 1904 to the launch of son George Berkowitz’s Fish Market in 1950 and establishment of the first Legal Sea Foods restaurant in 1968, the story is traced in words and pictures. The explosive growth of the company to today’s empire of more than 30 restaurants is also documented, as is the transition to grandson Roger’s leadership and his vision for today’s modern model of hospitality. 

 “I started with just a sketchy outline,” said Jones. “It took a lot of detective work to match up images with the oral histories, and to get everything organized in a chronological and cohesive manner. I learned so much by speaking with original team members from Inman Square, a few of whom are still on the payroll today!” 

Jones worked closely with a web design technician. Together, they transitioned all Legal’s hard-copy material to electronic files. “We manipulated and scanned the photos, and converted everything using the Flash program,” she explained. “To write captions and supporting material for all the illustrations, I contacted every Legal location and probably hundreds of people over the past several months,” she recalled. “Some facts and figures had been buried for decades, so it was a big job to unearth important information about the amazing history of this company. Web viewers will enjoy clicking on the various sidetracks to explore trivia about Boston’s favorite restaurant.”

The site is lush with entertaining graphics and upbeat music. Pinwheeling pictures and pop-up artwork add energy and surprise to the presentation. “I hope people will learn more specifics about Legal through the Timewave,” said Jones. “Legal is such a fixture in communities all along the East Coast. But too few people understand the real hard work and inventive minds that brought the company to today’s success.”