The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-09-25
Gil BOag to
Operate New
Night Center
Black Marble Bar and
Velvet Carpet Among
Features.
BY HELEN WORDEN
Times Special Writer

Times Special Writer
NEW YORK, Sept. 25.-Being a
~ ncighbOrhOod hound, with a
nose for local news. bike TO pull a
Sherlock Holmes every once in a
while up and down my own alley.
Having moved recently from 59th-st
to 57th-st and Park-av. I can ap-
proach my district from a different
angle.
The latest excitement in our
section is Gil BOag's new restaurant
at Isl Z. 57th-st. From my bay win
dow I can see the painters at work,
busy coating the white front of the
former Embassy Club with dove
gray and changing the roof color
from bright pink to a deep mauve.
Friday, Gloria Bragiotti invited
me to lunch at the Ritz.
Some people are coming" she
said, that you will enjoy"
The party included Peggy lie Bou-
tillier, Henry Sell. Miss Bragiottis
brother, Dorilio Bragiotti, and Gil
Boag
oh, you're the one who's open
ing that new restaurant on nv
street" I said when I met Mr.. Boag.
Yes" he said. Would you like
to see what we're doing?"
Later. Virginia Conner, who is
working with Mrs. John NJ. Dodd
on the decorations, took me through
the place that is to set the pace.
Gil Boag believes that styles in
night clubs are changing.
People are tired of floor shows
and masters Of ceremonies, he said
yesterday. They want plenty of
space, fresh air, good food, good
music and service"
Opened First Club
Mr. BOag was the first man to
start a night club in America. His
Little Club on w. 44th-st, opened
IN 1917, was the original model for
the thousands of small, fashionable
dining and dancing places that have
made New York a second Mont
martre.
Jimmie Thompson and owned
II at one time" Gil BOag said
"RectOrs, the Palais Royale, the
Rendezvous, PiccadiIly. I've even
forgotten all the names"
When prohibition came in, the
pair went out of business. Il knew
we'd be in the hands of a bunch of
racketeers," Mr.. Boag said, so 1
shut up shop"
If one is to judge by the elaborate
decorations in his new restaurant,
the depression is over.
The Cafe de L'Opera is not a
place where you would order a hot
dog and a mug OF beer. The grand
staircase Of the Paris Opera House
is duplicated on suntan mirrors in
the huge dining hall Coral velvet
carpets the floors, and black mar
bic forms the bar.
Tlnker's Farm, at Syosset, is sup
plying the mallard ducks, milkfed
squads, plump pheasantS and spring
turkeys. The kitchen is on the roof.
we have no cellar here" Mr.. Boag
said. Everything is above the
ground"
Stables RcmOdeled
No. Isl E. SYST, originally was
two stables. William Lawrence Bot
tOmley, the architect, returned re-
Gently from Virginia, remOdeled the
stables for Mrs. r. T. Wilson and
John Rumsey about 1927. They
opened Isl E. 57th-St as the EmbaS-
Sy Club It was very exclusive and
swank and extremely popular until
the depression. Last year it sprang
up as the Maytown Club, with Mrs
Wilson again il charge. This ven
ture was brief
The Inch Corp. owns No. $40
which is connected with No ISL
ours originally was a stable,
said George Hite Jr., who manages
the corporation, but I can't for the
life of me think Of the name of the
first owner. 1 do know, however
that No Isl was once a COW barn
Samuel Riker. who owns it, says
that when he was a boy he used
to stand on 57th-st and watch them
drive the COWS from the pasture
into the barn that was transformed
into the Embassy"
The Riker family belongs to old
New York. Richard Riker's house. a
Colonial mansion. was part of the
fashionable Hell Gate colony. His
pretty home on the East River,
SAYS Felix Oldboy lin his Tour
Around New York, was shaded by
oaks on either side" The Rikel
farm extended north to 74th-st.