The Stork Club Nightclub
Article by Julia Starr
The Stork Club, owned by Sherman Billingsley, ruled the celebrity night club scene during the early 1930′s to 1950′s. Anyone who was important in American pop culture could be found at the Stork Club on any given evening. Regulars at the club included Joe Dimaggio and Marilyn Monroe, The Kennedys, Jackie Gleason and even the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The Stork Club was far more than just the usual bar. With Sherman Billingsley’s leadership, the Stork Club easily became the most famous Night Spot in the country.
The Stork Club was owned and operated by Sherman Billingsley (1896-1966), an ex-bootlegger who came to New York from Enid, Oklahoma. From the end of Prohibition in 1933 until the early 1960s, the club was the symbol of cafe society. Billingsley would really take care his guests, offering them complimentary champagne, meals, and Stork Club branded perfumes, ties and apparel. No other club in New York could come close to replicating the experience at the Stork Club. The club’s mix of wealth, fame and power set it apart from the competition.
Can you imagine J Edgar Hoover rubbing elbows with Ernest Hemingway; the Harrimans and the Kennedys seated next to Ethel Merman and Irving Berlin; Carl Sandberg sharing a bottle with Jimmy Durante. On any given night, you might find Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall seated at the table next to Cary Grant and Greer Garson, or perhaps bump into Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz on the dance floor.
The Stork Club first opened in 1929 at 132 West 58Th Street, just down the block from Billingsley’s apartment at 152 West 58Th Street. Prohibition agents closed the club on December 22, 1931, and it moved to East 51st Street for three years. After that, the club relocated for the last time to 3 East 53rd Street in 1934. Even though the Stork Club closed over 40 years ago, you can still have a seat at the actual bar from the club. Just visit Jim Brady’s in Malden Lane where the ornamental bar is still in operation.
About the Author
The Stork Club was the epitome of American glamour, sophistication and elegance from 1929 to 1965. An icon of the 20th-century Americana. Visit the Stork Club
A hat-check girl at the Stork Club saves the life of a rich man. He decides to repay her by anonymously giving her a bank account, a luxurious apartment and a department story charge account. Her boyfriend arrives in town and thinks she’s a kept woman.
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