Monday, December 11, 2017

Dancing at Reisenweber’s

New York City, 
1912-1915 



Reisenweber’s played a pivotal role in American popular culture during the second decade of the 20th century. While it is remembered today as the venue where jazz was introduced to a broader audience in 1917, its historical significance began earlier, during the dance craze that swept New York in 1912. It was the first restaurant to offer its patrons a dedicated space for dancing, which it vigorously promoted. The energy of this period of dramatic social change is captured in an audio slideshow featuring over ninety pieces of ephemera from 1912 to 1915. While most of the items reflect the location on Eighth Avenue at Columbus Circle, some pieces come from the properties it managed on Coney Island—the Brighton Beach Casino and the Shelburne Hotel—and the Ziegfeld Follies of 1915, which it catered.

Reisenweber’s dedicated four floors of its ornate, seven-story building to dining and entertainment. This lively, bustling space became instrumental in shaping the cabaret, as it was the first American restaurant to present a show with more than one act—a concept quickly embraced by other establishments in Broadway's theater district. Reisenweber’s also contributed to the dance craze by hosting numerous themed events, notably the “tango teas,” or thé dansants. These popular late afternoon dances, introduced in January 1913, featured male dancing partners, which the restaurant claimed to have imported from Paris. This first tango tea is a landmark moment, commemorated in an invitation card seen in the video below. Some themes became recurring events, while others appeared only once, such as a baby contest that attempted to lure young mothers out of their nearby apartments on the Upper West Side.


When Reisenweber’s and the other cabarets closed in the late teens and early 1920s due to Prohibition, the party continued at the speakeasies where advertising was done by word of mouth. 


Notes 
1. Soon after the Original Dixieland Jass (sic) Band made its acclaimed debut at Reisenweber’s 400 Room, it released the first jazz recording in February 1917, a turning point in popular culture that ignited the Jazz Age.
2. Austrian-born Louis Fischer took over the management of the well-established restaurant from his father-in-law, John Reisenweber, in the early 1900s. After expanding in 1910, Fischer took the business in new directions. 
3. New York Hotel Record, Vol. 12, No. 10, 3 February 1914. 
4. New York Times, 10 August 1931.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

What a treasure trove of material! And the video was fun to watch, although I did regret being unable to peruse the menus at my leisure.

Darryl T said...

a marvellous collection of ephemera. well done as usual

Jan Whitaker said...

Fabulous! Love the warning about the hazards of out-of-date dance steps.

Unknown said...

Henry--Great material both historically and gastronomically, and visually most appealing. Many thanks for sharing!

Cheers, Miike

Anonymous said...

Please include the address of the establishment..so I don't have to look up every time I read about one..I have no idea where this place is or was. Thanks! What a great blog! kudos!!!

Deana Sidney said...

who knew/?? Such an amazing collection.
Here's wishing you a merry xmas -- and a happy new year

Anonymous said...

It's fun to come across this. John Reisenweber is my great-great grandfather. We're fortunate to have a couple of the original menus in our Reisenweber family memorabilia. Thanks for your interest.

Unknown said...

My grandparents, Al B. White and Myrtle Young, performed at Reisenweber's. I have an undated flyer that advertised their performances!

Leslie Carroll said...

I have a question about the location of the original Reisenweber's. It's referred to as Columbus Circle in NYC (and as a lifetime NYCer I know that to be 59th Street and Eighth Ave at the southern end of Central Park). However, elsewhere I see that "Columbus Circle" Reisenweber's location to be 48th Street and Broadway in the Theatre District. To my knowledge, Columbus Circle was never 10-11 blocks further south than the location is has been known by for several decades. Can you please clarify the location of the original Reisenweber's?

Unknown said...

I have a special interest in in where you got all these memorabilia as I am a great great great grandson of John Reisenweber. Please contact me.

Anonymous said...

In answer to the question about the location, Reisenweber's was located in a cluster of buildings at the southwest corner of 58th St. and Eighth Avenue, where the Steelcase Furniture Building is now located.

Anonymous said...

At least one pattern of chinaware used by the business was a pale version of Blue Willow made by John Maddock & Sons Ltd. of England. Supplied by L. Barth & Son of New York, there were no topmarks or logos but an ink backstamp of Made For Reisenweber’s Columbus Circle New York. All backstamps are blue. In addition the body is incised with the date coding method used by Maddock at the time of a Crown over GV over III which would be the third year of the realm of King George the fifth, being around 1912-3.