| Café des Artistes | |
|---|---|
 Front entrance to Café des Artistes in October 2008 | |
 Interactive map of Café des Artistes | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1917 (1917) |
| Closed | 2009 (2009) |
| Food type | French |
| Location | 1 West 67 Street, New York, New York, 10023 |
Café des Artistes was a finerestaurant at1 West 67th Street inManhattan. New York City. It was owned byGeorge Lang, who closed the restaurant in early August 2009 and announced later that month that the restaurant would remain closed permanently.[1] His wife, Jenifer Lang, had been the managing director of the restaurant since 1990.[2]
The restaurant first opened in 1917,[3] at street level of theHotel des Artistes tower. Café des Artistes was designed for the residents of the Hotel des Artistes, since the apartments lacked kitchens. Artists such asMarcel Duchamp,Norman Rockwell,Isadora Duncan andRudolph Valentino were patrons.[4] Late in 1985, there was a fire in the kitchen, but the restaurant was able to reopen.[5]
In early September 2009, two years into theGreat Recession, Lang announced that the café was closing; shortly thereafter, Lang filed forChapter 7 bankruptcy protection, claiming debts of nearly $500,000, some of which was owed to a union benefit trust.[6] At the time, he also faced a lawsuit from theHotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union Welfare Fund.[6]
In 2011, a new restaurant, the Leopard at des Artistes, opened in the location. According to theNew York Times, it caters to those in New York society who derive "fame from power rather than the other way around".[7]
The restaurant's famous murals, retained in the new restaurant's 2011 renovation,[7] were painted byHoward Chandler Christy. Christy was a tenant of the building, Hotel des Artistes, until his death in 1952.[8][4] There are six panels of wood nymphs, the first of which were completed in 1934. Other Christy works on display include paintings such asThe Parrot Girl,The Swing Girl,Ponce De Leon,Fall,Spring, andthe Fountain of Youth.[3]
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| National | |
40°46′24″N73°58′43.9″W / 40.77333°N 73.978861°W /40.77333; -73.978861
