Harvey's Chelsea House Bar Reborn: A Closer Look

Last week I reported the astounding news that the 1880s-era bar that had once lived inside the old Harvey's Chelsea House, in Chelsea, has somehow survived the destruction of that building in 2006 and now sat inside The Bar Room, a new bar and restaurant on E. 60th off Lexington.

I, of course, had to lay my eyes on this wonder myself, and wasted no time getting there, visiting over the past weekend. The bar is indeed there. My eyes recognized it, and the bartender confirmed the testimony of my senses.

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Harvey's Chelsea House Bar Survives

Last December, I posted a long remembrance of a little-remembered old Chelsea bar and restaurant called Harvey's Chelsea House. It was one of those old, dark-wood, manly places from another era. It stood at 108 W. 18th Street and had a huge, vertical, three-story sign that said "Harvey's." Inside, there was a long bar, high ceilings, tile floors, beveled glass and a dining room in the back. I didn't know it at the time, but the joint had opened in 1889 (under some name or other) as one of the original Annhauser-Busch bars, and that bar was made of red, burled, Honduras mahogany. A man named Dick Harvey took it over in 1977, hence the name. 

After Harvey gave it up, the place remained closed for a while, then was reopened as Tonic by one Steve Tzolis, the principal owner of Il Cantinori, Periyali and Aureole, all restaurants in Manhattan. Tonic didn't work out, and the building was torn down in 2006. In my post, I wondered, "What became of the beautiful bar, the mahogany, the cast iron, the glass, the brass?"

Now I know. A sharp-eyed reader alerted me to the opening of a new place on 60th and Lex called, simply, The Bar Room. It is run by that same Steve Tzolis. And guess where Steve got the bar for his new place? That's right. It's the 124-year-old bar from Harvey's! According to Zagat, "A black and white checkerboard floor mirroring the original at Harvey’s."

Above is an old postcard of the bar at Harvey's. Below is a picture of the bar at The Bar Room. Looks like the same item to me. I will be visiting personally soon to find out in person. 

In the meantime, please enjoy this memory from a former waiter at Harvey's.

Harvey's Chelsea House Recalled By Former Waiter

Two weeks ago, I reminisced about the long gone Harvey's Chelsea House. One week ago, I published the reminiscences of a couple readers who remembers the bygone Chelsea landmark. Now I have a lengthy memory shared by a former Harvey's Chelsea House waiter! Here it is:

Thanks for covering one of the great NYC institutions of the 70's and 80's. I was a waiter at Harvey's from 1977 into the early 80's. Some more details that you might not be aware of - or might enjoy remembering:

Sandy Dennis did come into Harvey's regularly. In fact, I remember working a late lunch shift on one of those cloudy Manhattan days when the sky suddenly opens up and a wall of water descends suddenly and with very little warning. Sandy Dennis must've been in the neighborhood and totally got caught in the downpour. She came running into Harvey's practically drowned holding a newspaper (fast becoming paper mache) over her head. In her haste she practically ran into me and we both started laughing like school kids. I said "Honey, I am sorry, but you look just like you did in 'The Out-of-Towners.'"

We also had a number of other celebrity regulars in those days... I remember waiting on Rock Hudson, the late great Lynn Thigpen, Pamela Reed... the costume shop Brookes Van Horn was located around the corner. And a lot of those people ate lunch at Harvey's Norma "the bead lady," Academy Award-winning designer Ann Roth, designer Gary Jones. 

Dick Harvey was one of the best employers and restaurant owners I have ever met in my life. He was fair, generous and once you had proven yourself, you were part of his family. And that family was diverse—most of the waiters (all men) were gay, the kitchen was Chinese, the bartenders were straight and the busboys were Egyptian.

Oh, a bit of historical detail—I believe 108 W. 18th St., aka Harvey's, was one of the original Annhauser-Busch bars. The first floor was the original space, then Dick opened up the basement as a private event dining room (JFK Jr. came to a bachelor party held there one night). Dick loved historical detail—and there was a barbers' chair in that area that Louis B. Mayer had gotten his regular haircut in. (I think Dick also purchased Gloria Swanson's classic Rolls Royce which he drove and his wife would sit in the back). Dick also expanded onto the second and third floors of the building recreating the look and feel of the main floor—paneling to match the honduras mahoganny, brass fixtures and beveled mirrors. The second floor was regularly used for dining and the third floor was used mostly for private events. Dick had an elevator put in to expedite getting the food up to the third floor and to save the waiters' and busboys' backs.

Hope you've enjoyed this trip down memory lane your article inspired.

Peter L.

Harvey's Chelsea House Remembered by Readers

I posted last week about the bygone Olde New York restaurant Harvey's Chelsea House. Since then, a couple readers have shared their memories of the place. This has been gratifying, as I had assumed that nobody remembered the place. (I've never seen it written about since it closed twenty years ago.)

Maximum Bob wrote:

This used to be my main hangout. I used to work out at a gym a block away and would hit the bar afterwards for a burger and a beer. It was an elegant, grownup place. The night before I got married, my best friends and I came here for dinner and drinks.This was the 80's. I will never forget Harvey's and that time in general. If I could go back in time I would jettison this age of mediocrity in a nanosecond.

And Lionel said: 

It was a great place with one of the finest bars I spent time bellying up to. It had two old fashioned cash registers that were functioning and used. Some very talented artist did an oil painting that depicted the bar and was beautifully accurate. I was heartbroken when it was no more. I would occasionally see the actress Sandy Dennis in the back having a sandwich. Interestingly, many of the bartenders, and or owners, always referred to the bars that they worked at as ‘the store,’ kind of a holdover from old New York. It was a truly beautiful barroom.

Sandy Dennis was a regular?! I love the memory of the place even more now.