Some cool gossip celebrity images:
NYC: 21 Club
Image by wallyg
After the 18th Amendment went into effect ushering in the Prohibition Era, cousins Jack Kriendler and Charlie Berns opened their first speakeasy, The Red Head, in Greenwich Village in 1922. In 1923, they followed with Club Fronton before moving operations uptown to West 49th Street in 1926, with a new club called The Puncheon (also referred to as 42 or the 42 Club). In 1928, they were given k to vacate the site that was zoned for Rockefeller Center development, and moved to West 52nd Street into a bordello previously owned by Hildegarde Adler. Moving the wroguth iron gate that fronted #42, they opened Jack and Charlie’s '21' Club in the wee hours on December 31, 1929.
Daily Mirror gossip columnist Walter Winchellis banned was from ‘21’ in 1930, and the next day ran a column noting that it had never been raided by Prohibition agents. The next day, ’21’ was raided. As a result, Jack and Charlie hired architect Frank Buchanan to install a complex system to hide and destroy liquor in case of future raids, including the infamous ‘21’ Wine Cellar, now considered one of the world’s most coveted private dining rooms. Behind several smoked hams that hung from the basement ceiling and a wall filled with shelves of canned goods, stood a perfectly camouflaged two-and-one-half ton door that appeared to be part of the wall. Only by inserting a slender 18" length of wire through one of the many cracks in the cement wall, would the secret door silently slide back to reveal '21's most coveted treasure: two thousand cases of wine.
In 1931, a model of the British Airways "flying boat" became the first corporate toy hung from the '21' ceiling. Today, hundreds of corporate logo toys, sports memorabilia and other mementos form a ceiling-scape, including a model of the PT-109 donated by President John F. Kennedy, a smashed tennis racquet from John McEnroe, Jackie Gleason’s pool cue from The Hustler, and mics from every NYC-based television and radio station.
In 1933, Prohibition was repealed and in 1934, Charlie created '21' Brands, a liquor importing/distilling/distributing company.
Thirty-one jockeys line signature grand staircase and wrought iron balcony, with two more posted inside the front door--the latest of which came from Sackatoga Stables, representing the 2003 KEntucky Derby and Preakness winner, Funny Cide. All myths aside, their origins can be traced to their affluent "horsy" clientele in the 1930's. It all began with Delaware native Jay Van Urk, such a loyal patron that he had, in fact, his own private table and the distinction of having a dessert named in his honor. Sometime during the '30s, Van Urk donated the first jockey as a token of his appreciation and a tradition was born. Over the years, some of America's most famous breeders and owners, including high-profile "regulars" from the Vanderbilt, Mellon and Ogden Mills Phipps families, as well as the Galbreath clan, owners of Darby Dan Farms, followed suit.
In 1946, Walter Weiss came to work at 21 as a waiter before becoming "the legendary Matire'd" who wielded untold power over the New York City celebrity circuit by virtue of his seating arrangements. Every President since FDR has been a guest of '21' with the one exception of George W. Bush. John F. Kennedy dined at '21' on the eve of his inauguration. In 1931, Ernest Hemingway was caught making love to gangster Legs Diamond’s girlfriend in the kitchen. In 1944, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall got engaged at table 30. New York City mayor Jimmy Walker had a private booth in the corner of the cellar where he could still imbibe through a raid. The booth has been preserved today. Alfred Hitchcock was said to be fond of the steak with fries, followed by an ice cream parfair. It was here that he collaborated with Salvador Dali on the dream sequence in Spellbound, which refernced the 21 Club.
During the 1980's, Forbes says "more deals are done at '21' than on the stock market floor." Appropriately, part of the movie "Wall Street" was filmed here.
Since then, the club has been sold multiple times, but the general vibe has not changed.
