The Algonquin Hotel is retiring its 32 year-old jazz and cabaret club The Oak Room Supper Club because of declining audiences. In place of the club, which was a hub for major lounge acts and a launching point of many a New York career, will be an expanded Blue Bar.
Here, Lost City mourns:
For my money, the Oak Room in the Algonquin Hotel was one of the most sophisticated spaces in all of New York. I felt like an absolute New Yorker there wherever I slipped behind a white-tableclothed table, my back to the paneled wall, tucked into my Martini and waited for the show to begin. No one every misbehaved in that room, and everyone dressed to the nines.If it's any consolation (which it isn't), the Algonquin's most famous resident, Matilda the cat, will return after a vacation.
· The Legendary Algonquin Hotel Ready for Next Chapter [Facebook via NewYorkology]
· End of a Cabaret Era: The Oak Room Is Closed for Good [Arts Beat]
[Photo via The Wall Street Journal]