MISCELLANY

 Time again for a round-up of items not quite worthy of a post, but worthy of at least a mention.

We came upon this can of Tudor Beer recently and wondered if it had anything to do with Tudor City. The unfortunate answer is no. Brewed in Trenton, NJ, it was for the A&P food chain ‒ in fact, it was their "premium quality" beer. One user said its taste was like "bad apple cider, without hops." Oh, well.    

A listing of all the things Tudor City had to offer, circa 1930, which was posted in all the rooms of Hotel Tudor.  

A rare matchbook cover, in black and blue, its back side plugging the Hotel Everglades in Miami. Hotel Everglades was built by the French Company in 1926, and for reasons long forgotten, it was on the cover of Tudor City Service in January, 1936, January, 1937 and January, 1938. We suspect the matchbook dates from then.

Yet another photograph of the production of "The Queen at Stratford," put on by the students of Miss Travers school in the North Park.    

PARTICIPATING IN TABLEAUX

Children of Tudor City, New York City, participated in a tableaux, "The Queen at Stratford", held under the direction of Miss Travers in the North Park of Tudor City. Little Ruth Pryor is daughter of Arthur Pryor, son of the famous bandleader. She took the part of the "Queen" while William Walker shown with her took the part of William Shakespeare. 

Instagrammed

Once again, please welcome the latest group of talented Instagrammers who provide the content of this week's post. 

         by raychillmedia                 

by john2001abc      

by nyphoto.at                     

by Sally Hill          

by nyphoto.at                  

Penthouse 7

Behold Penthouse 7 in No. 5, once again on the market. It is a two bedroom, two bath affair, spread out over three levels, the top being a roof terrace ‒ with another terrace on the first floor. This is also the penthouse that movie star Charlton Heston rented in the 1950s as his New York City base, and where he gave his celebrated interview with Edward R. Murrow on Person to Person.

The price is listed by its real estate agent, Douglas Elliman, at $4,795,000.

The living room has views toward the east and south, 18-foot ceilings, and a wood-burning fireplace. 

The first terrace, a long strip which winds down the building. 

The roof terrace.

Check out its page on the Douglas Elliman site, here. And for more on Charlton Heston, click here.

Anatomy of a Street Corner

 

This installment of our Anatomy Series concerns 42nd Street and First Avenue, specifically the northeast corner. It's a day in 1947 according to Brown Brothers, publisher of the photo.   

Moving to the bottom right, we see some construction and a sign saying Builders Cauldwell-Wingate Co. New York. The firm has been around since 1910 and is still in business today.   

What were they building? We suspect it was some kind of temporary thing in connection with the United Nations, a structure to house people needed onsite once the construction got going.  

Meanwhile, the building on the corner of 42nd and First appears to be empty, although it bears various advertisements. Here, we see a beer ad: None can compare to Skelly's Beer & Ale ‒ at the Best Taps in town.  

The corner of 42nd Street and First Avenue shows a neighborhood about to vanish. The store there has gone out of business; thus an ad for the picture Boomerang holds down one window, while the other promotes Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus, appearing at Madison Square Garden April 9th. Turning the corner, Ford Trucks Last Longer reports Sutton Motors, while below it a waitress beckons Come Over for Coke.

The Snack Food Shop, apparently the sole functioning business in the building.  

To the left of Snack lies a parking lot where the United Dressed Beef Company parked their trucks.

Below this, on the street is a truck bearing some kind of surrealistic load. Weird!

Finally, at the bottom of the picture is a bus, part of the Service Transportation System.

Skyline Builders

Today we take a look at Skyline Builders, a long-sought book by fans of Tudor City lore because it was one of the complex's earliest celebrations, written in 1948 by Bill Brede. Among the book's subjects were the machinations behind the building of the UN (in progress), as well as that of Rockefeller Center, Grand Central, Penn Station, and the Tudor City‒Knickerbocker Village combo.

Here is the Tudor City contribution.

     

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Any questions?

More NEW YORKER Ads

Once again, we turn to the pages of the New Yorker for our content. These ads all ran in 1928, and apparently were written with the New Yorker's audience in mind. 

Gambling on the Green

Even money that there won't be another for ten minutes. Two to one that it will be full when it gets here. . . He falls up the steps, is lurched to his seat, and is still gambling on the green as they grind to a stop for traffic lights. Even if this were fun I wouldn't like it, he muses. . . because it's so unnecessary.

So now he walks to work. . . and gambols on the green in spare hours. Yes, Tudor City even has a small 18-hole golf course and two parks.

Tudor City offers more with less trouble. High on the East River Front, just four minutes' walk to the Grand Central and convenient to everything. Its own shops, garage, restaurants, children's playground and every conceivable service. Renting office in Tudor Tower at east end of 42nd Street. (Vanderbilt 8860.) 

Latitude ‒ Not Much

This way, ladies and gents, pick your own ice floe. Settle down to a nice cozy winter in Hartsdale, White Plains, Armonk, Albany, Buffalo, Canada and points north. Trains leaving on track 40 at 5:17.

But then again ‒ wouldn't you rather not? Is commuting worth it after October? Perhaps you care for igloos in the best Spanish Renaissance manner. Or find it fun to tend to a furnace.

Don't do it! Why not live where winter is a Season with a capital S ‒ musical, theatrical, artistic, social  ‒  each with its bright particular star. Your home at Tudor City will start you from the meridian. Just four minutes' walk from Grand Central. Close to theaters, clubs, shops, concerts ‒ not to mention the Public Library. And pleasant all year long. 

Mush On!

Huskies ‒ the crack of a whip like a pistol shot in the frosty air ‒ crunch of snow beneath fast flat runners ‒  Mr. Stilson is on his way to business!

Two hundred and tenth. . . ninth. . . eighth ‒ ah, the loyal dogs. . . straining at the thongs till their sturdy hearts are bursting. At this pace, he muses, I'll be there before the market closes tomorrow. Meantime, of course, Marston Oil will slough off six points. . . but Mr. Stilson doesn't know that ‒ won't know till too late. All because nobody would tell him.

What? About Tudor City, of course. There . . . well, he might have to put on his overshoes, but four minutes' jog down the hill on 42nd street, and there he is, ready for action, before his favorite ticker.

That's what Tudor City is for. . . a direct answer to prayer for anyone who wants to live pleasantly and yet can't waste time junketing around trying to get places.   

RESTAURANTS: La Bibliotheque

Now it is finally time to investigate a somewhat forgotten Tudor City restaurant, La Bibliotheque, located at 341 E. 43rd Street. For reasons unknown, the building that housed it was never considered a part of Tudor City. Perhaps it was the fact that its main entrance was on First Avenue. 

The restaurant opened in late 1969, and very quickly announced itself as an upscale establishment. They had hired a high-powered press agent to spread the word, and early visitors included Ginger Rogers, Rosalind Russell, Mel Brooks, and Anne Bancroft.

There were three Times reviews over the years ‒ three two-star reviews ‒ noting successful dishes (the "excellent" broiled red snapper) and some not so successful (the "overcooked" roast duck). There was nothing wrong with its wall of books, UN views, and makeshift outdoor space, however.

   

The menu was printed on a facsimile of the French newspaper, Le Monde.

On the inside pages, the menu was laid out. The autograph is unknown, perhaps that of the chef.

This was its story for the next decade. Then, in 1983, came the startling news that the owners had skimmed $790,000 in profits, and soon thereafter they were convicted, and the restaurant closed. The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the United Nations took over the space in 1985.

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A special thanks to Fabrice Frere who supplied the matchbook that inspired this post.