Old London Inc.

Last updated

Old London Inc. was the name of a proposed group of eating establishments begun by restaurant pioneer William Childs. [1] Child's was deposed in 1929 as the head of the $37,000,000 Childs Restaurants chain. A 1930s undertaking, Childs' business eventually lost momentum during the Great Depression. It is significant because its founder was one of two brothers who began Childs Restaurants approximately four decades earlier.

On April 29, 1930, he opened a restaurant at Broadway and 102nd Street. Old Algiers, the first establishment, was a dinery adaptation of an Algerian village. The new chain advertised itself as unstandardized in contrast to the standardized type of eateries begun by Childs and his brother, Samuel S. Childs, in the 1890s. William Childs planned additional units to be added at the rate of ten to twelve per year.

Each was to have a theme patterned after an old world center, i.e. Old Normandy , Old Paris, France, and Old London, England . Located in the New York City metropolitan area, Childs' three nephews, Ellsworth, William, and Wallace, served as vice-president, secretary, and treasurer, respectively. [2]

The second restaurant, Old London, was in a former Chase National Bank branch inside Bush Tower at 130 West 42nd St., next to Times Square, where Childs leased the bottom two floors and basement in March 1931. The restaurant business had officially been christened with the corporate name Old London Inc., by this time. Architects Pruitt & Brown planned to extensively modify the space in "old London style" for an eatery with a seating capacity of 1,000 diners. The former bank counter would be utilized as a luncheonette service bar. [1]

Childs' venture did not result in a chain as he had hoped. He operated the Old Mill Inn, near his family farm in Franklin Corners, New Jersey, north of Bernardsville, prior to his death on May 22, 1938. [3]

Related Research Articles

Rockefeller Center Skyscraper complex in Manhattan, New York

Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres (89,000 m2) between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue, split by a large sunken square and a private street called Rockefeller Plaza. Later additions include 75 Rockefeller Plaza across 51st Street at the north end of Rockefeller Plaza, and four International Style buildings located on the west side of Sixth Avenue.

Bush Tower Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Bush Tower is a skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, just east of Times Square. Designed by Frank J. Helmle and Harvey Wiley Corbett of the firm Helmle & Corbett, the building occupies a plot at 130–132 West 42nd Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue.

Rainbow Room Event space and restaurant in New York City

The Rainbow Room is a private event space on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Run by Tishman Speyer, it is among the highest venues in New York City. The Rainbow Room serves classic and contemporary American cuisine.

The Knickerbocker Hotel Hotel in Manhattan, New York

The Knickerbocker Hotel is a hotel at Times Square, on the southeastern corner of Broadway and 42nd Street, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built by John Jacob Astor IV, the hostelry was designed in 1901 and opened in 1906. Its location near the Theater District around Times Square was intended to attract not only residential guests but also theater visitors.

330 West 42nd Street Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

330 West 42nd Street, also the McGraw-Hill Building and formerly the GHI Building, is a skyscraper in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Raymond Hood and J. André Fouilhoux in a mixture of the International Style, Art Deco, and Art Moderne styles, the building was constructed from 1930 to 1931 and originally served as the headquarters of McGraw-Hill Companies. The 485-foot-tall (148 m) building contains 33 stories.

500 Fifth Avenue Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

500 Fifth Avenue is a 60-story, 697-foot-tall (212 m) office building on the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon in the Art Deco style and constructed from 1929 to 1931.

Hotel Carter (Manhattan)

The Hotel Carter was a hotel located near Times Square in Manhattan, New York City. The building is 24 stories tall, and at its opening, had 1,000 rooms, but was later downsized to 700 rooms. Opened in 1930 as the Dixie Hotel, it originally extended from 43rd Street to 42nd Street, although the wing abutting 42nd Street has since been demolished. The hotel has changed ownership numerous times throughout its history. In October 1976, it was renamed the Hotel Carter in an attempt to rehabilitate its image. The hotel closed and was offered for sale in 2014.

229 West 43rd Street Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

229 West 43rd Street, formerly known as The New York Times Building, is an 18-story office building, located at 229 West 43rd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenue near Times Square in Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1913, it was the headquarters of The New York Times newspaper until 2007. The office portion of the building is owned by Columbia Property Trust while Kushner Companies owns the first six floors as a retail and entertainment complex. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building as a landmark in 2001.

The Gunther Building was a seven-story commercial edifice in Manhattan located at 391 - 393 Fifth Avenue, between 36th Street and 37th Street. It occupied a plot 41.8 feet (12.7 m) on Fifth Avenue by 111.8 feet (34.1 m) in depth. Built in 1909, the establishment conformed in architecture, appointments, and construction with the Tiffany and Company Building, which adjoined it. The latter structure was designed by Stanford White and was constructed by Tiffany & Company in 1903, at the corner of the block on 37th Street.

3 East 57th Street Commercial building in Manhattan, New York

3 East 57th Street, originally the L. P. Hollander Company Building, is a nine-story commercial building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is along the northern side of 57th Street, just east of Fifth Avenue. 3 East 57th Street, constructed from 1929 to 1930, was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon in an early Art Deco style.

Childs Restaurants Restaurant chain in the United States and Canada

Childs Restaurants was one of the first national dining chains in the United States and Canada, having peaked in the 1920s and 1930s with about 125 locations in dozens of markets, serving over 50,000,000 meals a year, with over $37 million in assets at the time. Childs was a pioneer in a number of areas, including design, service, sanitation, and labor relations. It was a contemporary of food service companies such as Horn & Hardart, and a predecessor of companies such as McDonald's.

The Judge's Chop House was an eatery located on Twombly Place in Jamaica, New York. The restaurant was one of the few older establishments of its kind to survive Prohibition. The business was started by Emile Schiellein.

Penny Cafeteria was a vegetarian restaurant located at 511 Third Avenue (Manhattan) between 34th Street and 35th Street. It opened during the Great Depression, in December 1931. The establishment was opened by the Bernarr MacFadden Foundation, begun by publisher Bernarr MacFadden, in September 1930. MacFadden based the concept on a similar business he opened in the winter of 1902, located at City Hall Place.

Longchamps (restaurant chain)

Longchamps was a chain of several upscale restaurants centered in Manhattan that consisted of twenty or more locations at its peak, including the Showboat Restaurant located in the Empire State Building. The chain's first location was opened in 1919. Longchamps restaurants were known for their natty art deco furnishings and decorations by Winold Reiss, and a number of designs for elements of their physical surroundings were drawn up by New York architect Ely Jacques Kahn, originator of a colorful version of art deco architecture.

Pershing Square, Manhattan

Pershing Square is a public square in Manhattan, New York City, located where Park Avenue and 42nd Street intersect in front of Grand Central Terminal. The main roadway of Park Avenue crosses over 42nd Street on the Park Avenue Viaduct, also known as the Pershing Square Viaduct. Two service roads, one northbound and one southbound, connect 42nd Street with the main roadway of Park Avenue, at 40th Street.

Residence of the United States Ambassador to the United Nations

The residence of the United States Ambassador to the United Nations is the official residence of the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. It was previously located in a suite of rooms on the 42nd floor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City leased by the U.S. Department of State, until shortly after the Chinese Anbang Insurance Company purchase of the Waldorf-Astoria in 2015 raised security concerns. Described in press reports as "palatial", the establishment of the former residence in 1947 marked the first time in history that an ambassadorial residence had been located in a hotel. Currently, the ambassador's residence is located at 50 United Nations Plaza, where the United States purchased a penthouse apartment in May 2019, after initially renting a different penthouse apartment in the same building.

Ritz Tower Residential building in Manhattan, New York

The Ritz Tower is a luxury residential building at 465 Park Avenue on the corner of East 57th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It was built from 1925 to 1926 as an apartment hotel and was designed by Emery Roth and Thomas Hastings for journalist Arthur Brisbane, who was the developer. The Ritz Tower is about 541 feet (165 m) with 41 stories, making it the tallest residential building in New York City upon its completion. Because it was initially classified as an apartment hotel, the building was constructed to a greater height than was usually permitted.

689 Fifth Avenue Office building in Manhattan, New York

689 Fifth Avenue is a commercial building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, at the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 54th Street. The building was designed by Warren and Wetmore and constructed from 1925 to 1927.

275 Madison Avenue Office building in Manhattan, New York

275 Madison Avenue is a 43-story office building in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is along the southeast corner of Madison Avenue and 40th Street, near Grand Central Terminal. The building, constructed from 1930 to 1931, was designed by Kenneth Franzheim in a mixture of the Art Deco and International styles.

Manger Hotels was a major 20th century national chain of luxury hotels, full service motor inns, and upscale motels. Originally founded in 1907 as a chain of luxury hotels by Julius and William Manger, the company shifted to extensive development of large strategically located motor inns and motels in the 1960s.

References

  1. 1 2 "New 42nd St. Restaurant: William Childs Leases Former Bank Space in Bush Building". New York Times. 10 March 1931. p. 49. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "New Restaurant Chain". New York Times. 30 April 1930. p. 19. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "Wm. Childs Dead; Restaurant Man". New York Times. 23 May 1938. p. 17. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.