| Cafe Rouge | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Cafe Rouge | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Location | New York City, United States |
_(postcard_circa_1920).jpg) Interior shot of the Cafe Rouge (East wall) |
TheCafé Rouge was constructed as the main restaurant atHotel Pennsylvania inMidtown Manhattan,New York City. It achieved its greatest fame as a nightclub.
The Café Rouge (as well as the rest of the interior and exterior of Hotel Pennsylvania) was designed by the architectural firmMcKim, Mead & White. It measured 58 feet by 142 feet (17.7 × 43.3 m), with a ceiling height of 22 feet (6.7 m), making the Café Rouge the largest of its kind anywhere at the time of its creation. Due to the enormous size of the room, the Café 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 (46 cm) above the central floor level, whose purpose being 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 café was designed with a distinct Italian character. The wall base and door trim were made ofterracotta, the walls were artificiallimestone 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 café had a large floor to ceiling fountain. The café had large arched windows running along the exterior wall of the room. The arched window design was mimicked on the opposite wall. There was abandstand which was located on the central floor of the room on the exterior wall.[1]
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In the late 1930s and early 1940s, The Café Rouge had abig band remote connection to the NBC Radio Network and became famous for the performances held inside. Multiple artists played inside the Café, such asThe Dorsey Brothers,Woody Herman,Count Basie,Duke Ellington,The Andrews Sisters andArtie Shaw.Glenn Miller and hisGlenn Miller Orchestra broadcast multiple live radio performances from the Café; some were recorded byRCA Victor. Glenn Miller returned to Hotel Pennsylvania frequently not just to play in the Café Rouge, but to stay there. The hotel'stelephone number appears in the title of one of his best-known songs,Pennsylvania 6-5000. Les Brown's band, with its vocalistDoris Day, introduced their song "Sentimental Journey" at the café in November 1944.
In the Hotel Pennsylvania's later years, the Café Rouge space no longer operated as a part of theHotel Pennsylvania business. It was used as a multi-purpose space for numerous events and had a separate address and entrance from the street at 145 West 32nd Street.
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In 2007, for theGarden in Transit project, adhesive weatherproof paintings of flowers attached to NYC taxicabs were painted inside the Café.[2]
Numerous events from the 2013New York Fashion Week were held in the Cafe Rouge.[3]
In 2014, the Café Rouge was converted to an indoor basketball court known asTerminal 23, to promote the launch of theMelo M10 by theJordan Brand division ofNike.[4] Most of the original interior decor remains intact. In the hotel's final years, it operated as a multi-purpose venue, known asStation 32. Though the entire room, as well as the beamed ceiling, had been painted over in white, the original 1919 fountain and other architectural details remained intact until the entire structure closed permanently in 2020.
TheNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission reviewed the Café Rouge for landmarking status[5] on the basis of evaluation papers created by theHotel Pennsylvania Preservation Society (formerly the Save Hotel Pennsylvania Foundation)
On October 22, 2010 the Café was rejected as a candidate for landmarking,[5] most likely because the15 Penn Plaza project was approved. The 15 Penn Plaza project, which was first abandoned in 2013,[6] include the demolition of the Café.
The Café (and the hotel) is now demolished as August 2023.
40°44′59″N73°59′26″W / 40.749722°N 73.990556°W /40.749722; -73.990556