Tavern on the Green of Central Park- Closed

Tavern on the Green is part of the history of Central Park, New York. Central Park makes New York City more than the cold canyons of skyscrapers, most people think. Central Park is located in the middle of the city. Tavern on the Green located at Central Park at West 67th Street, New York, NY 10023, became a restaurant in 1934. Better hurry, the restaurant will close its doors on December 31, 2009. Even if you can’t get reservations to eat, just stop by and take a peep.

Tavern on the Green, rural Victorian Gothic structure, was built in 1870. Neo-Gothic began to become promoted by influential establishment figures as the preferred style for ecclesiastical, civic and institutional architecture.  After 1837 this Gothic revival is sometimes termed Victorian Gothic.

Tavern on the Green’s purpose was to house 200 South Down sheep that grazed across the street in Central Park's Sheep Meadow.  At 15 acres the Sheep Meadow was the largest open meadow feature in the original plan for Central Park.  Interestingly, sheep actually grazed on the Sheep Meadow from the 1864 until 1934. The Park planners felt that having sheep embellished the romantic English quality of the Park.  The animals served a practical function as they trimmed the grass and fertilized the lawn.  A Sheep crossing was built across the drive in 1870 and twice daily the shepherd would drive the animals to and from the meadow.

Robert Moses, the Park Commissioner, had the sheep moved to Brooklyn's Prospect Park and assigned their shepherd to the Central Park Zoo. Moses had WPA workers busy converting the sheepfold long before he made the official announcement of its new function on February 28, 1934. The Commissioner wanted the Mayor of New York Jimmy Walker removed from the prominence of the swanky Central Park Casino, on the opposite side of the Park.  It’s been said that the flamboyant mayor was conducting more business at the Central Park Casino than at City Hall. Robert Moses covered his tracks by suing to oust the casino's management and, eventually, arranged to have the building torn down.

Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia opened the restaurant with a brass key and, in the company of a proud Moses, took a tour of the facility. That was the day the restaurant was launched on October 20, 1934, with a coachman in full regalia at the door. The restaurant became the meeting place of summer social life.

In the late 1930s the building was taken over by the Civilian Patrol Corps as its headquarters until 1943. The Tavern was again a restaurant when the management of Claremont Inn on Riverside Drive took it over and renovated it to become a year-round restaurant.  Raymond Loewy renovated the building in the 1950s. An added results was the Elm Room (now called the Park Room), named after the tree it wrapped around.

 A string of management companies controlled the restaurant until 1962 when Restaurant Associates took control. By the early 1970s, Tavern on the Green was a restaurant no longer popular, and Restaurant Associates closed it in 1974.

Warner LeRoy, the creator of the wildly popular Maxwell's Plum, acquired the lease. He under took a spectacular $10 million renovation. LeRoy's adding together of the glass enclosed Crystal and Terrace Rooms, his abundant use of brass, stained glass, etched mirrors, original paintings, antique prints and, all the  chandeliers, Tavern was revitalized. It became Central Park's most spectacular structure of gilt. The rejuvenated Tavern on the Green took New York by storm from the moment it re-opened on August 31, 1976 with the Elm, Rafters, and Chestnut Rooms paneled in exceedingly rare wormy chestnut. In the Crystal and Terrace Rooms, rustic baroque gave way to flights of rococo fancy.

Tavern of the Green was the place for celebrities to be seen.  Tavern's size, spectacular setting and radiant charm quickly made it the place for New York's most prestigious events weddings, charity and political functions, Broadway openings and international film premieres.

Always a fantastic work in progress, Tavern on the Green underwent yet another renovation in 1988 to expand its popular Tavern Store, relocate the bar, and create the lovely Park Room and Garden.  In 1993, a celebrated "Menagerie of Topiaries", created by the Hollywood wizards who created the incredible greenery for the hit film EDWARD SCIZZORHANDS, took up residence in Tavern's gardens. All those elements made the Tavern on the Green a working movie set in Central Park. All the subsequent renovations, the beautiful Crystal Garden overlooking the Sheep Meadow, were remodeled to provide accommodation for dancing during the summer months. During the summer of 1996, Tavern's prized topiaries were moved to the Crystal Garden where its 40-foot bar was carved from trees harvested from New York City parks. The trees given new life have died or been cut down for safety or landscaping purposes.

Embraced by New Yorkers as a meeting place, Tavern on the Green quickly became a vital part of the city. It astonishes the city with its decorative flight of the imagination, its diverse menu and its lightheartedness. The Tavern Store is long a supply of exclusive decorative accessories and gifts for confidence New Yorkers and tourists.  At last it comes to an end on December 31, 2009 – unless it’s again reincarnated.......