The Royal Box (New York City nightclub)

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The Royal Box
The Royal Box (New York City nightclub)
Location Americana Hotel, 811 Seventh Avenue, Midtown Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates 40°45′45.2″N73°58′54.0″W / 40.762556°N 73.981667°W / 40.762556; -73.981667
OwnerLoews Corporation
OperatorLoews Corporation
TypeSupper club and nightclub
EventsJazz, pop, cabaret
Capacity 326
OpenedOctober 1962
Closed1979

The Royal Box was a supper club and nightclub located within the Americana Hotel at 811 Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

Contents

Opened in October 1962, shortly after the hotel was inaugurated, the club, with a capacity of 326 seats, soon became a notable music and live entertainment venue in the city, hosting popular jazz, pop singers and comedians of the day.

The club was closed in 1979 when the hotel was sold to Sheraton Hotels.

History

The Royal Box opened on October 15, 1962, with a performance by Harry Belafonte. [1]

The Royal Box hosted performances by Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., [2] Julie London (who recorded the live album In Person at the Americana at the club in April 1964) [3] [4] , Peggy Lee (who appeared at the club in May 1964 [5] ) the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (who recorded Live At The Royal Box Of The Americana New York in 1964), Liberace, [2] Shirley Bassey (who appeared there in April 1966 [6] ), Wayne Newton (who performed there in May 1970 [7] ), Paul Anka (who recorded the live album Paul Anka Live! there in 1967), Gladys Knight & the Pips, Sonny & Cher, Engelbert Humperdinck, and The Lettermen. [8]

The club also hosted live standup comedy, featuring comedians such as Woody Allen, who performed there with the Bitter End Singers in 1966. [9]

It closed in 1979 when the Americana Hotel was sold to Sheraton and rebranded as the Sheraton Centre. [10]

Description

The Royal Box club was described as being "shaped like a rectangular box" and was built to accommodate for 326 people. It was a long, narrow room with a low blue-painted ceiling and blue walls and carpets at the time it was opened. One wall of the club contained 10 alcoves, each with a 3 feet (0.91 m) figurine of notable monarchs such as King John of Portugal, Queen Isabella of Spain and Louis XIV of France. [1] The interior was renovated again in 1963. [11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Belafonte Sings at New Cabaret; The Royal Box Gets Name From 56th St. Entrance". The New York Times. 16 October 1962. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Sheraton New York Times Square". MCR Hotels. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  3. ↑ Billboard. Billboard Music Group. 25 April 1964. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  4. ↑ Owen, Michael (2017). Go Slow: The Life of Julie London. Chicago Review Press. p. 128.
  5. ↑ "Peggy Lee, Fever and All, at Royal Box; Personal Touch Added—Patti Page at Basin St. East". The New York Times. 7 May 1964. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  6. ↑ Billboard. Billboard Music Group. 23 April 1966. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  7. ↑ Royal Box. New York Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 21. 25 May 1970. p. 17.
  8. ↑ "Royal Box, Americana Hotel, New York, NY, USA Concert Setlists". setlist.fm. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  9. ↑ Wilson, John S. (22 January 1966). "Woody Allen 'Copes' at the Royal Box". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  10. ↑ "Sheraton Adding 2 Midtown Hotels". The New York Times. 25 January 1979. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  11. ↑ "Vaudeville: Royal Box, N.Y., To Shutter For Broad Facelift". Variety. Vol. 229, no. 8. 16 Jan 1963. pp. 61, 65. ISSN   0042-2738. ProQuest   1032427113.
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