Thomas W. Lamb, Nicholas H. Weiss, Architects
Donald Deskey, Consulting Designer
Vintage postcard of the International Casino and Wrigley sign, 1937. Image from knowol.com.
The International Casino, a huge streamline modern night club, dominated the east side of Times Square for a very short time (even by New York standards), in the late 1930s. Opening in the late summer of 1937, this largest of all Manhattan night spots, disappeared by the beginning of 1940. Situated on Broadway between 44th and 45th Streets, the history of this site as an mega entertainment venue dates back to the 1890s.
Hammerstein’s Olympia
Hand-tinted glass slide of the Olympia Theater and Music Hall in New York City circa 1895. Image from wondersofthebible.org.
Breaking the north-of-42nd-Street, theatrical district boundary, impresario Oscar Hammerstein (1846-1919) constructed his Olympia complex. These became first theatres in Longacre Square.
Oscar Hammerstein I in 1906. Image from wikipedia.com.
The Hammerstein’s Olympia comprised of two main theatres. The Olympia Music Hall with 2,800 seats on the north side of the building, and the Lyric Theatre with 1,700 seats mirroring it on the south side.
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Olympia Music Hall, circa 1895. Image from nycago.org.
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The Olympia’s Lyric Theatre, circa 1895. Byron Company photograph. Image from mcny.org.
Sandwiched between the two large theatres was the 600 seat concert hall. A glass enclosed Roof Garden, seating over 1,000, topped off the complex. An Oriental Café, billiard pallor, and bowling alley were attractions in the building’s basement. And for only fifty cents ($17.74 in 2022) all this entertainment could be yours to enjoy.
The Olympia Roof Garden, crica 1900, after it was renamed the New York Roof. Byron Company photograph. Image from mcny.org.
Opening on November 25, 1895, the Olympia offered customers a diverse range of entertainments, from concerts to vaudeville to musical theatre. Unfortunately, for Hammerstein, it proved to be a money losing venture. Within three years Hammerstein lost his Olympia. Sold at auction the by the New York Life Insurance Company, the three theatres reopened under separate ownership. Eventually, the Music Hall became the New York Theatre and by the mid-1910s would come under management of Loew’s Incorporated as a vaudeville and movie house. The Lyric was rechristened the Criterion and presented both legitimate theatre and movies until 1920 when it too switched exclusively to motion pictures.
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Loew’s New York Theatre and Roof just before demolition, 1935. Image from Cinema Treasures.
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Criterion Theatre during the run of the Paramount Picture The Covered Wagon, 1923. Image from alamy.com.
And on the roof, the theatre rechristened the Jardin de Paris, played host to the first five editions of Florenz Ziegfeld’s Follies starting in 1907.
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Jardin de Paris, circa 1908, when it was home to the Ziegfeld Follies. Image from dailymail.co.uk.
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The roof theatre after its conversion to a movie house as Loew’s Roof, circa 1916. Image from cinematreasures.com.
But within only a few years of Ziegfeld’s departure, the roof theatre also fell under the ownership of Loew’s. After the roof’s conversion into a movie theatre, Loew’s Roof and Loew’s New York Theatre found success by showing third run movies at bargain prices.
New York City and tastes in style change fast. Longacre Square became Times Square, which by 1920 had become Manhattan’s main entertainment district. And the complex once known as Hammerstein’s Olympia stood as a relic of the 19th Century. So when news of its demolition was announced in the spring of 1935, it surprised no one. Two days before demolition was to begin the New York Daily News ran the following article:
The New York Daily News, June 8, 1935, P31. Article from proquest.com.
While the New York Theatre and Roof were undergoing demolition the Criterion Theatre remained opened for another week or so. After the Criterion’s closing, the razing of the former Hammerstein’s Olympia began in earnest. It only took forty-four days to take the entire building down. By the summer’s end of 1935 nothing remained and the plot was ready for new construction.
View looking northeast across Seventh Avenue and Broadway during the demolition of the Criterion and New York Theatres. Image from the NYPL Digital Collections.
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Looking northeast at the site that once was Hammerstein’s Olympia. Image from the NYPL Digital Collections.
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Hammerstein’s Olympia demolished down to its foundation, late summer 1935. Image from the NYPL Digital Collections.
The International Casino
Plans for the New York Theatre’s replacement hit the papers in late June. What was surprising, the new building would be much smaller than the existing one. The 1514 Broadway Corporation’s (the name refers to the building’s address) new entertainment center would only be two stories tall and would include shops, a new movie theatre and a large restaurant / nightclub.
Artist rendering of the new entertainment venue at 1514 Broadway. The image is from an article in the New York Herald-Tribune, June 23, 1935, Pg H1. Article from proquest.com.
Helping to off set the cost of taxes on such an expensive plot of land, the owners erected enormous steel work on the roof for a five story high advertising sign they would lease. Construction began shortly after the clearing of the site.
The announcement for the new night club hit the papers in late August, 1936.
Plans filed for new nightclub. New York Herald-Tribune, August 27, 1936, Pg 47. Article from proquest.com.
In 1933, due to the depression, a number of Broadway theatres were sitting vacant. Showman Billy Rose converted two of them into night clubs, renamed The Music Hall and Casino de Paris. The following year the former Earl Carrroll Theatre found new life as the French Casino. These three venues began the trend of enormous night spots featuring theatrical style stage shows.
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The former Gallo Opera House after its conversion into the Casino de Paris, circa 1934. Image from the book Lost Broadway Theatres.
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French Casino, view from the stage / dance floor, showing new staircase and wall decorations. Image from the Folie Parisienne program, collection of the author.
The International Casino would be huge but newly built and not retrofitted into an existing space. And to design this mega nightclub Joe Moss hired famed architect Thomas W. Lamb (1870 – 1942) and his associate Nicholas H. Weiss.
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Thomas W. Lamb, circa 1925. Image from Wikipedia.
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New York Times article announcing the filing of the building plans and Thomas Lamb as architect. New York Times, October 2, 1936, Pg 47.
Lamb made his reputation as the architect of major movie palaces. The Times Square theatres that Lamb designed were – the Strand (1914), the Rialto (1916), the Rivoli (1917) and the Capitol (1919). Each of these theatres became increasingly more elaborate. And like most theatres of the time relied on historic architectural styles for their decorative designs.
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Strand Theatre (1914). Image from Architecture and Buildings, June, 1914.
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Rialto Theatre (1916). Image from cinematreasures.com.
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Rivoli Theatre (1917). Image from Architecture and Buildings, January, 1918.
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Capitol Theatre (1919). Image from Architecture and Building, January, 1920.
By the 1930s Lamb proved that he could keep up with new trends and design in the most up-to-date fashion. Lamb’s modern design work included the exuberant second Earl Carroll Theatre in 1931, Trans-Lux newsreel theatres, and the Pennsylvania and Capitol Greyhound Terminals in mid-town Manhattan.
Auditorium and left side of the proscenium arch. Image from The Architectural Forum, November, 1931, usmodernist.org.
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Famed photographer Bernice Abbott’s 1936 photograph of the Penn Greyhound Terminal. Image from MCNY.org.
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The 50th Street facade of the Capitol Greyhound Terminal, February 26, 1949. Image from flickr.
The International Casino continued Lamb’s design work in the Streamline Moderne style. Unfortunately, the August announcement of a December opening was widely optimistic. December came and went and 1936 turned to 1937. The January 16, 1937 “Nite Club Notes” column of the New York Daily News informed readers that the International Casino would finally open on February 25, 1937. February came and went. Then in March, Chester King in his Brooklyn Daily Eagle column “Around the Tables” informed readers that Donald Deskey would be designing the decorative elements of the night club.
“Around the Tables with Chester King” column from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 19, 1937, Pg 14.
International Casino Designs by Donald Deskey
Donald Deskey (circa 1939), industrial designer, interior architect, [and] painter, has designed pianos, billiard tables, clocks, silverware, oil burners, radios, glass, [and] slot machines. Introduced steel tube furniture in US, designed International Casino spiral bar, and decorations of Radio City Music Hall, and Hollywood Turf Club. Photograph from the Bettmann Collection, Getty Images.
The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s collection contains many of Deskey’s drawings and papers for the International Casino. Whether the brown and red carpet design was used is unconfirmed. The carpet with the guitar and cocktail glass motif did cover the floor of the main restaurant.
Design for auditorium carpet, 1937, brush and brown, red and black gouache, black crayon on off-white illustration board. Image from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Deskey’s pattern of curvilinear, diamond shape forms highlighted a design trend starting to become popular in the late 1930s.
Design for second floor restaurant carpet, 1937, brush and brown, and tan gouache, on off-white illustration board. Image from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Deskey’s design for the restaurant carpet is slightly more than just a little reminiscent of Ruth Reeves’ Radio City Music Hall grand foyer carpet Still Life with Musical Instruments. Deskey used the guitar and glass motif throughout his design for the nightclub.
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Proposed design for signage, 1937. Pastel crayon and graphite on dark gray wove paper. Image from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
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Another version of proposed signage by Deskey for the International Casino, 1937. Image from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
But in the end the “glass and guitar” motif was not chosen for the exterior signs.
The Opening
The International Casino at night with the enormous Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum sign on its roof, (1938). Photo from the Arthur W. Grumbine Collection, New York Historical Society.
The International Casino opening continually faced delays through the first three quarters of 1937. On June 19th the New York Daily News reported the nite spot would be opening around August 10th. But as the 10th approached it became apparent that date was too confident. An article in the New York Times on August 7th now said the International Casino would open on August 25th, with an elaborate Continental style show titled Bravo! and with George Olsen and his Orchestra providing music between shows. As the 25th neared the opening was pushed back to September 1st, which also did not happen. Next the 13th was given as the date for the long awaited opening. Unfortunately trouble with the stage mechanisms made the 13th impossible. Then the owners let the press know that September 17th would be the grand opening of the International Casino. And this time it happened, after so many delays the new Broadway nite spot finally opened its doors.
The International Casino opens. Advertisement from the New York Daily News, September 17, 1937.
The Exterior
Daytime view of Broadway looking north from 43rd Street toward the International Casino, 1937. Image from home movie on YouTube.
The November, 1937 issue of the Architectural Record said this about the exterior of the International Casino –
With no daytime “elevation” to speak of, the Casino leaps into prominence at nightfall, topped by its 7-foot neon sign and encircled by three continuous lines of giant neon which marks the muntins of the building’s ribbon windows.
1937 nighttime view of the International Casino show the huge red neon sign and neon ribbons across the Broadway facade. A blue neon sign is above the entrance marquee. Image from home movie on YouTube.
Street Floor
The International Casino had two entrances, both small. Covered by a canvas awning, the lesser entrance on West 45th Street included the elevator to take guests up to the second floor.
Floor plan for the International Casino’s ground floor. Image from Architectural Record, November, 1937, Pg 27.
This circa 1937 Wurts Bros. photo of the southeast corner of Broadway and West 45th Street shows the Crawford Clothing store framed on both sides by the entrances to the International Casino. Photo from the Irma and Paul Milstein Collection, New York Public Library, Digital Collections.
Sandwiched between the Crawford Clothing store on the corner of West 45th Street and the Criterion Theatre to its right, was the International Casino’s main entrance. Protecting the revolving and standard doors from the elements was a long marquee with a curved end. Neon lights fitted inside cursive letters spelled out “International Casino” on the marquee’s three sides. The neon letters flashed on and off in alternation with the backlighting of the marquee.
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The Broadway marquee with the neon lettering on and backlighting off. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
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Backlighting on, neon lettering turned off. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
INTERNATIONAL CASINO COCKTAIL BAR LIT UP ON A RAINY NIGHT. Photo by George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images
Just inside the main entrance, looking through the revolving door out to Broadway. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
Once inside, the “spiral” bar and ground floor bar room greeted customers. The “spiral” bar’s name came from the fact that it ran the length of the stairs between the first floor and the mezzanine. This was not just a design gimmick, it satisfied the requirement of the New York State Liquor Authority which only allowed one standing bar per establishment.
Design plan showing the cross section of the “spiral” bar. Image from the Architectural Record, November, 1937, Pg 28.
The bottom of the ‘spiral’ bar. Robert M. Damora photograph from the Architectural Forum, November, 1937, Pg 385
Being arranged in a series of steps, drinking on the steep, slopping sections was made possible by small, draw out flaps. Making these sections of the bar usable brought its capacity up to 160.
Detail of the “spiral” bar, showing the draw out flaps on the slopping section. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
The bar itself was made of white sycamore and East Indian rosewood, with railings of aluminum and bronze. The curved front of the bar gave it a very streamlined appearance, slightly resembling the front of a ship or locomotive. Like the all the furniture of the International Casino, the bar stools were of bleached ash and chrome-plated tube.
The ground floor showing the bar and looking up to the mezzanine. Photograph by Schnall from the Architectural Record, November, 1937, Pg 28.
Looking down the “spiral bar” toward the main entrance. Photo by Schnall from the Architectural Record, November, 1937, Pg 28.
Squeezed underneath the stairs leading up to the second floor a long, leather covered bench and tables filled the right-side ground floor from front to the back. A large, moderne mural by Witold Gordon (1885 – 1968) decorated the wall behind the tables and bench.
Ground floor barroom. Mural by Witold Gordon. Image from the Architectural Forum, November, 1937, Pg 388.
A special feature of the International Casino was the escalator (the first in a night club or restaurant) just inside the main entrance. So, in the event the staircase proved impassable due to people imbibing at the bar, the escalator would whisk one to the main (second) floor quickly.
The International Casino’s escalator. Looking up from the main floor to the mezzanine and second floor. Photo by Schnall from the Architectural Record, November, 1937, Pg 27.
Mezzanine
A modernistic fountain was the main decorative feature of the mezzanine. This fountain was basically a large chromium ball in a diagonal sheet of glass hanging from a mirrored plaque on the ceiling over a pool of water. Floodlighting gave the it a very theatrical appearance.
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The fountain as seen from the mezzanine. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
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A view of the fountain from the Cosmopolitan Salon on the second floor. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
Tables for two arranged along the edge of the mezzanine looked down to the main entrance and up to the Cosmopolitan Salon. While in front of the pool and fountain were tables and a striped banquette. Here one could order drinks and light food while people watching patrons on the other levels. The table tops and the linoleum just inside the main entrance featured Deskey’s guitar and cocktail glass motif.
Schnall photograph of the mezzanine and main floor as seen from the Cosmopolitan Salon. Photo from the Architectural Record, November, 1937, Pg 28.
Main Floor
Main (Second) Floor plan of the International Casino. Image from the Architectural Record, November, 1937, Pg 27.
Taking up the entire second floor, the International Casino, gave customers two options for drinking, dining and entertainment, the Cosmopolitan Salon and the restaurant.
Cosmopolitan Salon
The top of the escalator. A Casino bellhop greets Louise “Teddy” Lynch and J. Paul Getty to the cocktail room on the opening night of the International Casino. Photo from the Bettmann Collection, Getty Images.
The Cosmopolitan Salon, was more than a bar, it offered food plus it had its own orchestra and dance floor.
Couples dancing in the Cosmopolitan Salon of the International Casino. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
Its main area was located near the top of the stairs and escalator. But a section of the Salon with tables stretched along the length of the second floor at the front of the building. These tables provided guests with a view into Times Square, if the venetian blinds were open. Striped curtains and upholstery and some cocktail themed murals were the main decorative features of the space.
Mezzanine looking up toward the Cosmopolitan Salon’s tables along the Broadway side of the building. Photo by Robert M. Damora from the Architectural Forum, November, 1937, Pg 388.
The southwest corner of the Cosmopolitan Salon, showing the drink themed mural, by Witold Gordon, on the wall behind the guests. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
International Casino showgirls in being judged in a face and feet beauty contest, sitting on the Cosmopolitan Salon band stand, New York, New York, March 16, 1938. (Photo by Underwood Archives/Getty Images)
Just to the side of the entrance to the restaurant and on either side of the pantry’s door were two cashier booths to handle the checks of patrons of both the restaurant and Cosmopolitan Salon.
Cashier booth at the edge of the cocktail room. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
Tucked into the northeast corner of the second floor were the coat check, elevator and restrooms.
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The coat check located in the northeast section of the Cosmopolitan Salon. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
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Section of the Cosmopolitan Salon just beyond the escalator. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
The Restaurant
With a seating capacity of 1,200, the restaurant that took up most of the second floor’s space. As a restaurant the room was enormous, but as a fully equipped theatre it was on the small side. Stairways and platforms, mechanically lowered from the ceiling, increased the stage size during the floor show. Devoid of pattern and ornament, the restaurant relied on lighting and a wise use of color for creating the feeling of luxury.
The International Casino’s restaurant, showing the dramatic semi-circular cove lighting of the ceiling. Robert M. Damora photograph, from the November, 1937 Architectural Forum, Pg 387.
The Architectural Forum of November, 1937 wrote this about the interior decorations of the International Casino’s restaurant –
The lighting lines emphasize the width of the room which is also enhanced by the simple masses of color – terra cotta, red, gray blue and pale beige – unbroken by decorative panels. The subsidiary lounges are equally restrained in decoration, though their interrelation at the central stairway tends, inevitably, to be somewhat confused.
A busy night at the International Casino. The restaurant at near capacity with couples dancing on the stage between floor shows. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
Dancers returning to their tables from the stage. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
Selling stuffed toy to guests dining at the International Casino. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
The restaurant’s projection booth can be clearly seen in this photo just below the ceiling on the back wall. Photo by Schnall from the November, 1937 issue of the Architectural Record, Pg. 26.
Two alternating orchestras provided music for dancing before, between and after the elaborate show. Each evening a two hour plus revue was performed twice nightly at 7:45 and 11:45. While the International Casino did not have a cover charge, there was a $2.50 ($50.00 in 2023) minimum for each guest.
1937 – 1940
When the International Casino finally opened its doors in September, 1937, it was the new popular nightspot in Manhattan. But it was an expensive place to run. To potentially turn a profit, the Casino needed to be open from 11:00 AM – 4:00 AM.
International Casino advertisement, New York Daily News, February, 8, 1938, Pg, 36.
First to open, the “spiral” bar, street floor and mezzanine, served drinks and light food continuously till closing. This section had its own kitchen and pantries on the mezzanine level.
Customers enjoying drinks at the street floor section of the “spiral” bar. Image from the Life Photo Collection.
Next to open in early afternoon was the Cosmopolitan Salon, serving lunch and tea to larger parties. It shared the third floor kitchen with the restaurant. Finally at 6:00 PM the restaurant opened its doors and ran continuously until closing.
The Shows
The revue that opened the International Casino, Bravo!, was a big hit, with a huge cast. While it opened with the Casino on opening night in mid-September, the stage did not become fully functional for another two weeks. Once the mechanical problems were worked out the improved show wowed the critics and public. The Wall Street Journal said this about the improved Bravo! –
Review of Bravo!, The Wall Street Journal, October 1, 1937, Pg 13.
Scenes from Bravo!
Bravo! set the standard and style of the subsequent revues staged at the International Casino. The shows, glamour and the novelty of the this new show place / night club did bring the customers in, for a while. It averaged $65,000 a week for the first six weeks of operations. Then New Yorkers went else where and the out-of-towners did not arrive as expected. By New Year’s 1938-1939 the International Casino was in deep financial trouble.
1939 Closure
Article from the New York Daily News, January 12, 1939, Pg 41.
Theatrical producer Billy Rose made overtures to take over the International Casino. But Rose did not end up taking over Broadway’s latest white elephant. Later in January, the Casino announced it would be selling its equipment at a public auction on February 3rd. By mid-March the news hit that a Boston syndicate had taken a lease on the International Casino.
Article announcing the re-opening of the International Casino. New York Times, March 17, 1939, Pg. 28.
And with Alex Finn at the head of the take over, it was out with the old, in this case the moderne, and in with the new, meaning a nod back to the 1890s. Just a few blocks uptown at the Paramount Hotel, Billy Rose, was having great success with his 1890s themed restaurant / theatre, the Diamond Horseshoe. And to do the “olde tyme” make over, Finn brought in designer, Jac Lessman. Costing $100,000 ($2,105,000 in 2023), Lessman installed a new bar, restyled the second floor that included adding private booths at the side of the restaurant and new flower adorned, stepped walls on the staircases leading down to the stage. Not many photos have survived of this new International Casino, and the existing ones do not show much of a redesign inside the main restaurant.
New Year’s Eve 1939-1940, the main restaurant of the International Casino. Not too much is changed from the original design that can be seen in this photo. Image from the Bettmann Collection – Getty Images.
As consistent with the history of the International Casino, the intended May 4, 1939 reopening date did not happen. It did finally reopen on May 25th. Unfortunately, between competition from the New York World’s Fair and other night spots, business remained about the same as before, good, but not enough to sustain the cost of running the enormous venue. Even though photos show a large crowd choosing to welcome 1940 at the Casino, it was too late.
New Year’s Eve celebrators dancing at the International Casino. The new staircase walls can be seen on the right. Photo from the Bettmann Collection – Getty Images.
Less than two weeks after New Year’s, the International Casino, closed again.
New York Herald-Tribune article announcing the closing of the International Casino, January 12, 1940, Pg. 11
The plan now was for another renovation, converting the night club into a ballroom. With a capacity of 4,000, admission would be in the popular price range and feature the top name big bands of the day. The anticipated opening date was for sometime by the end of February or beginning of March. But the plan never came to fruition. It was over. The International Casino was gone, and in less than two and half years since it opened. Within a few months, the owners of the building, the 1514 Broadway Corporation, would sell it to a very different type of business.
Summer of 1940, the International Casino’s sign covered over by a large banner for a Walt Disney film festival showing at Loew’s Criterion Theatre. Photo from the Showman’s Trade Review, August 10, 1940, Pg. 11.
Bond Clothes
On May 4, 1940 Adda, Inc. purchased 1514 Broadway. Adda, Inc. just happened to be a subsidiary of Bond Clothes. Which meant that Bond would lease the 45th Street corner store and second floor from the Bond-controlled Adda, Inc. The new store, would not only be the largest store in the chain, it would be the largest men’s clothing store in the world.
Artist rending of the new Times Square Bond Clothes store. Image from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 20, 1940, Pg. 5.
Due to the stores location, this would not be an ordinary men’s clothing store. An $800,000 (the equivalent of nearly $17,000,000 today) renovation converted the space into the most modern and theatrical of clothings stores. The Exterior would feature a two story high sign spelling out Bond in pale blue neon with the “O” being a clock.
Bond Clothes and Loew’s Criterion Theatre, 1941. Photo from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
While almost nothing was left of the interior of the International Casino, there were a few reminders of the past. The escalator (the first in a night club) still remained as did the tiered ceiling of the former restaurant. Also adding to the theatricality this new store were an elevator in a cylindrical shaft that resembled a giant pillar and a “flying staircase” built along the lines of a Gothic cathedral’s flying buttresses.
Bond Clothes, ground floor just inside the entrance on West 45th Street. Wurts Bros. photograph from the collection of the mcny.org.
More than 300 employees were on hand to greet customers when the doors opened for business on December 4, 1940. Twenty uniformed ushers were ready to take one to the departments suited to their size. This very large store had 26,000 suits and overcoats on display at all times. Within the first hour of the store’s opening, close to 400 suits and overcoats were sold. An estimated 100,000 persons entered the store by the 10:00 PM closing on opening day.
Looking down at the first floor. Wurts Bros. photo from the mcny.org collection.
The former restaurant conversion into a clothing store. Wurts Bros. photo from the collection of mcny.org.
Bond Clothes found the success that eluded the International Casino. The store remained a Times Square fixture until 1977. In 1980 the space re-opened as the Bond International Casino, a large nightclub with a capacity of 1,800. Blondie, Grace Jones and The Clash are some of the notables that performed there. Another renovation in 1988 converted the space into two legitimate theatre venues, known as the Criterion Center. In 1991 the theatres were leased to the Roundabout Theatre Company. Toys “R” Us moved in after Roundabout moved out in 1999. This time the entire interior would be gutted for the renovation turning the space into a toy store, that included an indoor Ferris wheel.
The north east corner of Broadway and West 44th Street. A Toys “R” Us occupies the building that once housed the International Casino. Image from Flicker.com.
The Toys “R” Us flagship store opened in 2001. But as the years passed and Broadway became a large pedestrian mall, Manhattan rents started to skyrocket. By 2015 Toys “R” Us could no longer afford the rent and closed the store in December, 2015. Today a Gap / Old Navy rents the building. And other than its location, nothing remains of the building’s original exterior or interior to make visitors to Times Square even suspect its often troubled and glamorous history.
The Gap / Old Navy flagship store under construction in this 2017 photograph. Image from alamy.com.
But let’s not end in present day Times Square. Here is a New Year’s Eve photo of Times Square ready to usher in 1938, when cars, taxi cabs, buses and streetcars still traversed Broadway. And when, for a very brief moment, the International Casino was the place to go to enjoy a night on the town.
Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, Tiquen Guys)
Sources: Architectural Forum; Architectural Record; The Baltimore Sun; The Bergen Evening Record; The Brooklyn Daily Eagle; The Buffalo Evening News; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; The New York Daily News; The New York Herald Tribune; The New York Times; Showman’s Trade Review; usmodernist.org; The Wall Street Journal.
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