Just to Look At

No reason to post this old picture of Luchow's, the German eating hall that once dominated 14th Street near Broadway. It's just one of the losses to New York culture that I've always felt most keenly. It lasted 100 years exactly, from 1882 to 1982. I came to town to late to eat there, but soon enough to observe the empty, Victorian-style building (which should have been landmarked) for a few years before they finally tore it down.

Luchow's was truly a cultural landmark. During its heyday, Union Square was New York's theatre district. The beer hall was forever jammed with singers, actors and songwriters. William Steinway, a big deal in his day, ate there (his concert hall was right down the block). So did John Barrymore, Victor Herbert (who founded the ASCAP there), Arturo Caruso, Sigmund Romberg, Gus Kahn (who wrote "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" on a Luchow's tablecloth) Lillian Russell, and Weber and Fields, as well as writers O. Henry, Theodore Dreiser, O. O. McIntyre, Thomas Wolfe, and Edgar Lee Masters. Few restaurants in New York history have such a wealth of artistic associations.

There is an NYU dorm there now, and a P.C. Richards next door (on the site of the former Gramercy Gym). No artistic associations there. However, the company (still family owned) was founded in 1909, and I'd say it's a pretty good guess that the original P.C. Richards himself ate at Luchow's more than once.