Interior shot of the Cafe Rouge (East wall) |
The Cafe Rouge was the main restaurant in New York's Hotel Pennsylvania.
Contents |
The Cafe Rouge (as well as the rest of the interior and exterior of Hotel Pennsylvania) was designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White. The Cafe measured 58 feet by 142 feet, with a ceiling height of 22 feet. This made the Cafe the largest of its kind anywhere at the time of its creation. Due to the massive size of the room, the Cafe was divided into three sections. There was a main central floor level and two terraces on either side of the central space. The terraces were raised 18 inches above the central floor level. The purpose of the terraces were to break up the monotony of the large floor space. The terrace sections were available to guests upon request who wanted a view of the entire scene of activities in the main portion of the room, including a full view of the band
The Cafe was designed with a distinct Italian character. The wall base, and door trim was made of terracotta, the walls were artificial limestone and the ceiling was treated to give the effect of old wooden beamed ceilings. The ceiling was carefully studied in color to increase the apparent height of the room, and the beams of the ceiling had carvings of various designs. The east end of the Cafe had a large floor to ceiling fountain. The Cafe had large arched windows running along the exterior wall of the room. The arched window design was mimicked on the opposite wall. There was a bandstand which was located on the central floor of the room on the exterior wall.[1]
The Cafe Rouge was most known for the performances held inside. Multiple artists played inside the Cafe such as the Dorsey Brothers, Woody Herman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and the Andrew sisters. The most notable performances were by Glenn Miller with his orchestra. The Glenn Miller Orchestra played in the Cafe multiple times. Multiple performances were broadcased live via radio, and some were recorded by RCA Victor. Glenn Miller returned to Hotel Pennsylvania frequently not just to play in the Cafe Rouge, but to stay there. He was a frequent customer of the hotel.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is currently in the process of reviewing the Cafe Rouge for landmarking status.[2] The evaluation papers were sent in by the Save Hotel Pennsylvania Foundation
On October 22nd, 2010 The Cafe was rejected as a candidate for landmarking. [3] This is most likely due to the fact that the 15 Penn Plaza project was approved. The 15 Penn Plaza project includes the demolition of the Cafe.
The Cafe Rouge is no longer considered a part of Hotel Pennsylvania. It currently sits vacant and is inaccessible through the hotel. For the most part, the original interior was intact, as of 2007. The fountain, beamed ceiling, terraces and all other architectural details remain. The entire room, as well as the ceiling, has been painted over in white. The Cafe is currently owned by Vornado Realty Trust. The last use of the Cafe was for the Garden in Transit project. The adhesive weatherproof paintings of flowers attached to NYC taxicabs were painted inside the Cafe in 2007.[4] It is currently used for storage.
Save Hotel Pennsylvania Foundation Website