St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-08-14
HIGH ART IN BARROOMS.
Gorgeous Displays in New York
Drinking Saloons
How the Taste for Pictorial Decora-
ton Has Increased.

Stieot, bHeSe places were Only HOtcu lOi ehO
excellence of the liquors that were served
to their customers. Not only was there no
attempt at decoration either in cabinet work
or pictures, but ''Cobweb Hall' took its
name from the fact that the accumulated
cObwebS of years were all carefully pre-
served. Old David Patulle's cobwebs be-
came typical of the age of his liquors, and
the honest publican enjoyed many years OF
prosperity because his goods were warranted
not to kill on sight. Gradually, however,
the old order of undecorated barrooms
passed away, and the new fashion Of cafes
turned into picture galleries, and buffet
parlorS fitted up with architectural sumptu-
BUSINESS and artistic excellence, took its
place. From the deal board bars of places
like Cobweb Hall the first transition was to
bars of black walnut and mahogany or
white marble, and then came the latest
phase of barrOom decoration, as seen at
the Hoffman House and other smaller but
not less snowy and, in one case at least.
more artistic specimens of barroom art.
PICTURES IN BATHROOMS.
Prints in barrooms have always been in
vogue in New York. The resorts of SPORT
| ing men displayed Autographs of famous
racers and alleged engravings of tavorite
| pugiliStS. Saloons in the neighborhood Of
theaters stuck up portraits of popular &C
| tors and actresses and old play bills.
Places without any distinctive character
were filled with caricatureS of the miseries
| of human life, especially those that were
brought about by excessive drink. Occa-
sionally really good engraving Or paint
ing was found on a barroom wall. Some
of these old barroomS and few of these
old paintings are historic. But like most
of the old landmarks of the metropolis the
baTooms have been replaced by other
structures, and the paintings, like the great
private Libraries of the past generation,
have passed into other hands generally
a few places remain that give even
a faint reflex of barroom deeora-
ton quarter of a century ago.
One of these is Lynch's, in the Bennett
building, in Nassau street. Another is
Henry's, in the Star theater, in Thirteenth
street. Mr.. Lynch has provided himself
with several specimens of the caricatures of
men about town which once decorated
Jerry Thomas place in Broadway, above
Thirteenth street. Henrys walls are COW
cred with photographs of theatrical celebri-
ties, taken when the Photographic art was
new, and with play-bills in which the
names of the elder Walack and his cotem-
poraries appear. Henry's gallery is inter-
esting to the old playgoer, but it is not ar
| tiStic, and the same thing was true of the
pictures on the walls of the late George T.
Browns chop-house and of Jerry Thomas
bizarre display. ii was not until Mr.. Ed
ward S. Stokes set up Bougereau'S great
work in the barroom of the Hoffman house
thai it became plain that it was worth while
to buy pictures of acknowledged merit for
| barroOm decoration. That painting has
already paid for itself at the bar to
which it constantly attracts strangers
from every part of the coun-
try. Ladies 90 to see it as they would go
| to see the SiStine Madonna were it to be set
up in the cathedral in Fifth avenue, and it
is almost impossible to pass through the
Hoffman house cafe at any time, either day
or night, without finding persons inspect
| ing it whose manner and comments show
that they are viewing it for the first time.
Considered merely as an advertisement it
has been great success, and that success
has made a salon picture necessary to every
barroom that aims at artistic completeness.
If Henry was attempting to fit up his place
anew under the inspiration of modern no.
tionS of barroom decoration, it may safely
| be assumed that he would seek for some
| thing like j. W. AleXander'S painting of
John Gilbert as Sir Peter TeaZle, shown at
the last Academy exhibition, to occupy the
place of honor in his saloon. Since the
Hoffman house barroom gave the impetus,
decorated barroOms have begun to increase
so rapidly in this city that soon the French
salons will be unable to meet the demand.
and willingly or unwillingly, New Y ork
liquor dealers will be compelled to look to
native artists for their pictures. Then
American art will receive the encourage
ment it has so long sought for in vain.
THE MORTON HOUSE CAFE.
1t was not only in the matter of pictures
that the Hoffman house experiment gave
an impetus to barroom decoration. The
first outcome of that experiment was the
bar of the Morton house. Where Mr.. Ed
ward S. Stokes left off Mr.. Sheridan Shook
began. One day not long ago l sat at
table in the Morton house cafe with ex-
Congressman John B. HaskIn. Mr.. Has
kin had come down to the Union Square
theater to find in the fun of ''Pepita" for
getfulness of the painful malady from
which he suffers We met in the cafe after
the performance. He was full of remin-
iscences of his career in congress from the
time of the Lecompton struggle to the close
of the civil war, which he interspersed
with criticisms of the snowy decor
ations of the room i'll which we sat.
His thought was that these decorations
were too heavy for a room in which the
ceiling was so low. / was struck with the
| justice of the criticism, and could not help
wondering where the artist who designed
the work obtained the idea which is
| wrought out Oh the walls and ceilings of
the Morton house cafe. One day soon after
that was passing through the corridor
which forms the main entrance to the Hotf-
man house. There l found both the sug-
gestion and inspiration OF the Morton house
decorations. What is effective in the one
case is not so happy in effect in the other
The artist forgot that an entrance hall is
not barroom. In spite of these objections,
however, the Morton house cafe must be
set down as a distinct specimen of barroom
art, and it has one quality that harmonizes
admirably with its locality-in design it is
in keeping with the attire of the actors who
are accustomed to display the latest achieve
ments of the tailors art on the sidewalk
| outside.
A BIZARRE BARRooM.
At the cotner of Thirty-first street and
Broadway is barroom that is different in
every respect from every other in New
York in an architectural sense. 1t is very
| Snowy, and to person unused to eStimat-
! ing the expense of such work it looks as if
it must have cost mint of money. Perhaps
it did: it certainly cost more than ever was
spent before in New York OF anywhere else
in fitting up barroom of equal size. The
room is deep but narrow. BY skillful
arrangement of mirrors, however, it is made
to appear three times its actual size. These
mirrors are so marvelouslY perfect that two
of them are often mistaken by visitors for
open doors leading into other apartments
exactly similar to the barroom itself,
and it sometimes happens that strangers
only find out their mistake by being
brought into contact with the glass in try
ing to pass into the next room. The screen
also is an arrangement of mirrors set in ap-
parently solid brass trames and made like
the screen behind which Lady Teazle con-
lie hQrc GOLF i.,% Ia, ~