Childs Restaurants was one of the first national
dining chains in the United States and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, having peaked in the 1920s and 1930s with about 125 locations in dozens of markets, serving over 50,000,000 meals a year, with over $37 million in assets at the time. Childs was a pioneer in a number of areas, including design, service, sanitation, and labor relations. It was a contemporary of food service companies such as
Horn & Hardart
Horn & Hardart was a food services company in the United States noted for operating the first food service automats in Philadelphia, New York City, and Baltimore.
Philadelphia's Joseph Horn (1861–1941) and German-born, New Orleans-raised Fran ...
, and a predecessor of companies such as
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
.
History
![NYPL - 473934 - Childs Menu Obverse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/NYPL_-_473934_-_Childs_Menu_Obverse.jpg)
The first Childs Restaurant was launched in 1889 by brothers
Samuel S. Childs and
William Childs, on the ground level of the Merchants Hotel (current site of
One Liberty Plaza
One Liberty Plaza, formerly the U.S. Steel Building, is a skyscraper in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is situated on a block bounded by Broadway, Liberty Street, Church Street, and Cortlandt Street, on the ...
, also previously the
Singer Building
The Singer Building (also known as the Singer Tower) was an office building and early skyscraper in Manhattan, New York City. The headquarters of the Singer Manufacturing Company, it was at the northwestern corner of Liberty Street and Broad ...
), at 41
Cortlandt Street (between Broadway and Church Street), in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
's
Financial District
A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...
.
[Austin, Kenneth L.]
"Childs Company Ups and Downs"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', August 29, 1943 The brothers' concept for the establishment was to provide economical meals to the
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
, quickly, and with an unusually high emphasis – for the period – on cleanliness and hygiene. Their novel design format included white tiles, white uniforms, and waitresses instead of the then-common waiters. In addition to these signature characteristics, Childs locations also featured their pancake griddles in the front window. Within five years, Childs had grown to five profitable locations.
["Childs Restaurant Founder Is Dead: Samuel S. Childs"](_blank)
''The New York Times'', March 18, 1925 They also are credited as inventors of the "tray line" self-service
cafeteria
A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school ...
format, which they introduced in 1898 at their 130 Broadway location.
[Zuber, Amy]
"William & Samuel Childs"
''Nations Restaurant News'', February 1996
In 1898, the brothers, confident and ready for more aggressive expansion, combined with several investors to legally incorporate the Childs Unique Dairy Company, with capitalization of $1,000,000, and the stated intent to "establish and operate restaurants in New York City and elsewhere".
''The New York Times'', November 27, 1898 It was widely speculated, and finally confirmed in 1912, that several officers of the
Standard Oil Company were investors in the restaurant chain, including Henry Morgan Tilford and Charles Sweeney.
["Standard Oil Money To Extend Childs"](_blank)
''The New York Times'', June 6, 1912 At some point, "
duPont
DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...
interests" also gained a significant stock position, which would eventually cause problems for the family owners.
["Going Vegetable-wise"](_blank)
''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'', March 19, 1928["Childs' War"](_blank)
''Time'', February 11, 1929
In 1899, F.O. Hendrick, a nephew of Samuel and William Childs, launched a casual luncheon restaurant at 142 Fulton Street, practically across the street from his uncles' first location on Cortlandt Street, which was by then 10 years old and highly successful.
''The New York Times'', August 1, 1899 After a short period of family competition, Hendrick ultimately brought his restaurant under the Childs umbrella, and remained an operating executive of Childs Restaurants until the family lost control.
![Childs Company Stock Certificate 1908](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Childs_Company_Stock_Certificate_1908.jpg)
In 1906, fifteen similar restaurants (called "green doors") which were independently owned and operated by Ellsworth Childs (brother of Samuel and William) were consolidated into the company. Thereafter, Ellsworth remained an executive of Childs until his death in 1929, and is cited as a driving force behind the physical expansion during that period.
''The New York Times'', Page 23, April 18, 1929
''The New York Times'', Page 12, July 3, 1929
Peak years
![LOC - 29859v - Childs Restaurant Interior - Natl Photo Company - c1920](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/LOC_-_29859v_-_Childs_Restaurant_Interior_-_Natl_Photo_Company_-_c1920.jpg)
In September 1919, the company launched an
employee stock ownership plan
Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Emp ...
for its restaurant managers, and three years later, extended the plan to all employees. Within 10 years, employees would own almost 25% of the company's common stock.
["Owner-Employees Face Two Tests; Battles for Control of Childs and Standard Oil..."](_blank)
''The New York Times'', March 3, 1929
In November 1920, an article in ''
The Magazine of Wall Street'', entitled "Where Everybody Eats Now and Then," called Childs "a national institution. Millions of people eat there at least once in a while and some eat much more often. . . . Most of the people who go into Childs' go in for quick lunches but you can get anything there from a doughnut to a steak."
By 1925, the chain operated 107 locations in 29 cities, served 50,000,000 meals every year, and was reporting consistent annual profits of $2,000,000. The company also grew to include other real estate interests. In March 1925, company president Samuel S. Childs died, although he had not been personally involved in the business for some time, instead focusing on his political career and many other civic and business activities. Operation of the restaurants had long been delegated to his brother and co-founder William, as vice president and general manager, and other family members.
The late 1920s witnessed a roller-coaster of events for the company. In November 1925, the Childs company became a major partner in the development of the landmark
Savoy-Plaza Hotel
The Savoy-Plaza Hotel was a 33-story hotel overlooking Central Park at Fifth Avenue and East 59th Street (Manhattan), 59th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It opened in 1927 and was demolished in 1965.
History Original Savoy Hotel
The ...
, at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street.
["$10,500,000 Bonds for Savoy-Plaza"](_blank)
''The New York Times'', November 29, 1925 Around 1927, William Childs began to impose his
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
dietary preferences on the chain's menu, which generated significant backlash from customers and his fellow managers and investors.
The company's stock reached a low of $44 in 1928,
["Childs Returns to the Restaurant Business; Buys the Archambault..."](_blank)
''The New York Times'', December 9, 1929 and during a board meeting on December 12, 1928, William was pressed into resigning as president, but remained chairman of the board. At the following board meeting on January 30, 1929, William attempted to turn the tide by firing several executive officers and company directors, replacing them with family members.
''The New York Times'', January 31, 1929 A proxy battle ensued, but on March 7, 1929, William and his supporters lost the fight to retain control of the company he co-founded 40 years before, by then valued around $37,000,000.
''The New York Times'', Page 17, March 8, 1929 He did retain a modest non-controlling equity position, which he eventually sold and/or bequeathed.
''Time'', March 18, 1929
''The New York Times'', July 29, 1938
Decline and rebirth
In the 1930s, no longer under the direction of the Childs family, the chain returned meat to its menus, introduced alcohol at many locations (after the repeal of
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
),
["Repeal Cuts Price of Drinks In Half"](_blank)
''The New York Times'', December 5, 1933 and launched a new subsidiary division called "The Host", meant to be lower-priced than Childs. The company also obtained the hot dog vending license for the
1939 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, which turned out to be a financial mistake.
![Childs Restaurant menu cover c1943](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Childs_Restaurant_menu_cover_c1943.jpg)
In August 1943, under pressure of significant debt maturity, the company filed for bankruptcy reorganization.
Childs emerged from bankruptcy in 1947,
["Childs Plan Approved; Order of Confirmation Is Issued..."](_blank)
''The New York Times'', Page 29, December 24, 1947 and continued to operate through the 1940s and 1950s.
![Childs_menu_3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Childs_menu_3.jpg)
By 1950, the company had shrunk to only 53 locations, and was losing money. Nonetheless, it managed to acquire the candy and ice cream maker
Louis Sherry Inc., and announced several significant operational changes, including "returning to its old custom of flap-jack making in the windows" and the introduction of prepared meats, to eliminate the need for butchering on-site.
In 1955, a young hotelier named A.M. "Sonny" Sonnabend assumed the presidency of the Childs company, and pointed the enterprise in a new direction. In a series of coordinated transactions, the company's name was changed to Hotel Corporation of America, it acquired the
Plaza Hotel
The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...
in New York (across the street from the
Savoy-Plaza Hotel
The Savoy-Plaza Hotel was a 33-story hotel overlooking Central Park at Fifth Avenue and East 59th Street (Manhattan), 59th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It opened in 1927 and was demolished in 1965.
History Original Savoy Hotel
The ...
, which Childs had developed), and entered into long-term leases for three other hotels in Boston, Cleveland, and Chicago.
["Childs Co Changes Name"](_blank)
''The New York Times'', Page 42, February 23, 1956[Sonesta Intl Hotels Corp Company History](_blank)
retrieved April 25, 2009["Childs Vote Scheduled; Company Proposes Lease and Purchase of Hotels"](_blank)
''The New York Times'', Page 53, September 28, 1955 The company was then structured into three divisions: restaurants, manufacturing and distribution of packaged foods (via subsidiaries
Recipe Foods,
Fred Fear, and
Louis Sherry
Louis Sherry (1855 in St. Albans, Vermont – 1926) was an American restaurateur, caterer, confectioner and hotelier during the Gilded Age and early 20th century. His name is typically associated with an upscale brand of candy and ice cream, and ...
), and hotels.
["Childs Approves Plaza Purchase"](_blank)
''The New York Times'', Page 37, November 18, 1955
In 1961, substantially all of the remaining Childs restaurant operations, now greatly diminished in number and considered part of the company's past, were sold to the
Riese Organization (National Restaurants Management Inc.),
[Fowler, Glenn]
"Irving Riese, 71, A Restaurateur Specializing In Fast Food Outlets"
''The New York Times'', December 11, 1990 which as of 2009 operates more than 100 restaurants throughout New York City, including franchised units of
Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts LLC, also known as Dunkin' and by the initials DD, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 195 ...
,
KFC
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...
,
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at d ...
,
T.G.I. Friday's and
Houlihan's
Houlihan's is an American casual restaurant and bar chain with locations operating throughout the country, 60% of which are franchised. It is headquartered in Leawood within Johnson County, Kansas. The first Houlihan's opened on April 1, 1972, ...
. A number of the Riese properties are former Childs Restaurants.
In 1970, Hotel Corporation of America (formerly Childs) was again renamed, to
Sonesta International Hotels
Sonesta International Hotels Corporation is an American hotel company founded in 1937, and based in Newton, Massachusetts. Sonesta's largest hotels are in Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago and New Orleans. Its brands include Royal Sonesta, Sonesta, So ...
Corporation (). As of 2009, the company operates 25 hotels on 3 continents, and owns several cruise ships, and is still led by the Sonnabend family.
Architecture
![2 Mass Ave Washington - LOC - Carol Highsmith](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/2_Mass_Ave_Washington_-_LOC_-_Carol_Highsmith.jpg)
Despite their market position, Childs Restaurants were distinguished for their architectural quality, and former locations continue to be appreciated by historic preservationists.
[Report of New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, February 3, 2003, Designation List 344, LP-2106](_blank)
, obtained April 24, 2009[Gray, Christopher]
''The New York Times'', November 6, 1988[Dunlap, David W.]
"A Long Farewell to a Restaurant's White-Tiled Past"
''The New York Times'', March 20, 2008 In his design and construction efforts, William Childs and his internal architect of 30 years, John Corley Westervelt,
''The New York Times'', April 9, 1934 consulted and engaged respected architects including
William Van Alen
William Van Alen (August 10, 1883 – May 24, 1954) was an American architect, best known as the architect in charge of designing New York City's Chrysler Building (1928–30).
Life
William Van Alen was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1883 to ...
(modernist designer of the
Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. At , it is the tallest brick building in the world with a steel fra ...
),
Hirons & Dennison, Pruitt & Brown, and
McKim, Mead, and White
McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), W ...
.
One design critique from 1924 declared that Childs "stands as a milestone marking an enormous advance in the taste of what we are pleased to describe as the 'common people' of America". In more recent years, celebrated architect
Robert A.M. Stern
Robert Arthur Morton Stern, usually credited as Robert A. M. Stern (born May 23, 1939), is a New York City–based architect, educator, and author. He is the founding partner of the architecture firm, Robert A.M. Stern Architects, also known a ...
described the Childs design as "austerely-elegant", and recognized their savvy in tailoring design to environment, such as in midtown Manhattan, where Childs was the first to make "dramatic use of large sheets of curved glass for corner windows", now a common technique.
[Stern, Robert A. M., et al, ''New York 1930, Architecture and Urbanism Between the Two World Wars'' (New York: Rizzoli, 1987), pp. 275–6.]
Notable locations
The table that follows is an incomplete list of locations that were built for Childs and reflect the company's style. Note that references often have pictures and more detailed histories, and links in the Address column, where provided, link to individual Wikipedia articles about the buildings listed:
Closing dates, where known, are indicated in the above table. None of the nautical themed restaurants built in the early 1930s appear in 1940 telephone directories, indicating that Childs' had vacated those structures by that date. The earlier locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn do appear in those directories, except for the very early location at 815 Broadway and the South 4th Street location, which is not known to have been a restaurant.
The following locations were not necessarily built by the Childs Company, but are notable for other reasons:
* New York
** 41 Cortlandt Street, New York, NY (first location)
** 42 East 14th Street, New York, NY (longtime corporate headquarters, also housed a restaurant)
** 200 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY (corporate headquarters in later years)
** 3 Beaver Street, New York, NY (Demolished in 1928 to build part of
26 Broadway, also known as the Standard Oil Building)
["NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission Report on Standard Oil Building"](_blank)
, See Note 4, obtained March 5, 2010
**
1501 Broadway
1501 Broadway, also known as the Paramount Building, is a 33-story office building on Times Square between West 43rd and 44th Streets in the Theater District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Rapp and Rapp, it was erect ...
(at 43rd Street), New York, NY (below the
Paramount Theater)
[Thurber, James]
"The Talk of the Town, Childs in Paramount"
''The New Yorker'', June 9, 1928, p. 9
''The New York Times'', August 18, 1936
** 1551–1553 Broadway (at 46th St NW corner), New York, NY
''The New York Times'', Page 31, June 23, 1920
** 1546 Broadway (between 45th & 46th Streets), New York, NY
** 2276 Broadway (at 82nd Street), New York, NY
** 300–304 W 59th St (SW Corner Columbus Circle), New York, NY
''The New York Times'', Page 17, December 23, 1910
**
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...
: this temporary location, in the Fair's Railroad Building, seated 1000 patrons, and featured elaborate murals.
* Washington, D.C.
** 1423 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Washington, DC
* New Jersey
** Tennessee Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ, replaced in 1927 by a company-built location one block away at South Carolina Avenue
["Beach Skyscraper Open..."](_blank)
''The New York Times'', Page 12, March 4, 1906
* Missouri
** 218-220 North Seventh St & 614-616 Olive St, St. Louis. The North Seventh location was leased in 1903 in expectation of the crowds at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904. In 1912 Child's leased 614–616 Olive St, which backsided their N. Seventh St location, allowing for entrance to the expanded restaurant from both streets. Childs added a second story to the building in 1915 by which point they were the stated owners of the property. Both locations would become referenced in advertising from 1915 until 1935, when the location closed.
** 804 Washington St, St. Louis.
** 1121 Walnut St, Kansas City.
*Maryland
** 18 North Charles St, Baltimore. 1906-1953
* Rhode Island
** 142 Westminster St., Providence. 1910-1974
* Georgia
** 10 Marietta St., Atlanta.
Related businesses
![Grain House Restaurant, Franklin Corners, NJ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Grain_House_Restaurant%2C_Franklin_Corners%2C_NJ.jpg)
Although legally separate from the core Childs Restaurants chain, the founders and various family members operated a number of other businesses throughout the 20th century. Below are brief summaries of those operations.
In 1929, William Childs purchased a historic property near his home in
Franklin Corners, New Jersey and converted it – without making any structural modifications – to an inn and restaurant
The Olde Mill Innand The Grain House Restaurant. This upscale operation was distinctly different from the traditional Childs Restaurants, yet it also met with great success. The family continued to operate it for some time,
''The New York Times'', Page 30, February 20, 1952 bu
The Olde Mill Inn and Grain House Restaurantwas eventually acquired by The Bocina Group, which continues to operate it as of 2009.
In December 1929, after being ousted from the core company, William Childs announced that the family had taken over the Archambault Restaurant at 2678 Broadway, and would relaunch it as "Old Algiers" – the first in a series of "old-world" themed restaurants. In this business, he partnered primarily with three nephews, Ellsworth E. Childs, William S. Childs, and Wallace A. Childs.
''The New York Times'', April 30, 1930 The new company was soon organized under the corporate name
Old London Inc., which was also the theme of their second 1,000-seat location, launched in 1931 at 130 West 42nd Street. This enterprise did not expand much further, likely due to William's advancing age. He died in 1938, and is buried behind th
Basking Ridge Presbyterian Churchnear his
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
estate, with a large number of other Childs family members.
["William Childs Dead; Restaurant Man"](_blank)
''The New York Times'', May 23, 1938
As of 2009, the original F.O. Hendrick location is still an operating diner, now called the Anytime Cafe.
Key executives
Family-controlled period
* Samuel S. Childs, co-founder and president (1889–1925)
* William Childs, co-founder, vice president and general manager (1889–1925), chairman and president (1925–1929/30)
* Luther Childs, director (? – 1929)
* Ellsworth Childs, director (1906–1929), treasurer (1929)
* William S. Childs, director (? – 1929)
* F.O. Hendrick, general manager (? – 1929)
* William A. Barber, general counsel
''The New York Times'', Page 28, February 9, 1950
Later period
* S. Willard Smith, president (1929–1931)
["S. Willard Smith, 77, Once Headed Childs"](_blank)
''The New York Times'', Page 13, July 9, 1949
* William P. Allen, president (c. 1932)
''The New York Times'', Page 29, March 31, 1933
* George D. Strohmeyer, president (1933–1941)
["George D. Strohmeyer Is Dead, Lead Chain of Childs Restaurants](_blank)
''The New York Times'', Page 39, February 11, 1965
* Edward C. Field, president (1941–1948)
["Heads Childs Company, E.C. Field Elected President of Restaurant Chain"](_blank)
''The New York Times'', Page 25, June 27, 1941
* John F.X. Finn, court-appointed trustee (1943–1947)
* John L. Hennessey, president (1948–1949) (former president of Statler Co., Inc.)
''Time'', December 13, 1948
''The New York Times'', Page 41, November 30, 1948
''The New York Times'', Page 19, August 27, 1949
*
John J. Bergen, chairman (c. 1950)
[Smith, Gene]
"Personality: Navy, Baseball and Business; Graham-Paige Chief..."
''The New York Times'', Page F3, July 27, 1958
* N. Clarkson Earl Jr., president (1950–1951) (former executive at
Howard Johnson's
Howard Johnson's, or Howard Johnson by Wyndham, is an American hotel chain and former restaurant chain. Founded by Howard Deering Johnson in 1925 as a restaurant, it was the largest restaurant chain in the U.S. throughout the 1960s and 1970s, ...
Restaurants)
["N. Clarkson Earl Dies at 68; Led Childs Restaurant Chain"](_blank)
''The New York Times'', Page 47, February 19, 1969
*
Charles Crouch
Charles Crouch, merchandising executive, was born in Augusta, Georgia, September 15, 1898, son of Joseph William and Lily (Strom) Crouch. In 1932, he purchased six of the former Clarence Saunders stores in the San Francisco peninsula area and foun ...
, executive vice president (c. 1950)
* Abraham M. Sonnabend, president (1954–1963) (Converted Childs into Hotel Corporation of America, later Sonesta International Hotels Corporation)
["A.M. Sonnabend Is Dead At 67"](_blank)
''The New York Times'', February 12, 1964
Popular culture
In music
The song "
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
", written by
Rodgers and Hart
Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart ...
in 1925 for the musical ''
Garrick Gaities'',
and famously recorded by
Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...
,
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
and others, includes the lines:
We'll go to Yonkers – where true love conquers – in the wilds,
And starve together dear – in Childs
In print
The poem "Spain in Fifty-Ninth Street", written by
E.B. White
Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including ''Stuart Little'' (1945), '' Charlotte's Web'' (1952), and ''The Trumpet of the Swan'' ...
, tells the story of a brief but emotional interaction between a Childs hostess and a random customer (described as a "man of affairs") at the "Spanish Childs" location, presumably on 59th Street.
[White, E. B.]
Poetry: "Spain In Fifty-Ninth Street"
''The New Yorker'', June 15, 1935, p. 14 White wrote a number of other short stories and poems that referenced or featured Childs, likely due to the daily presence of the establishments in his life during the late 1920s and 1930s in New York City.
In film
The opening montage sequence of
Neil Simon
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...
and
Gene Saks
Gene Saks (born Jean Michael Saks; November 8, 1921 – March 28, 2015) was an American director and actor. An inductee of the American Theater Hall of Fame, his acting career began with a Broadway debut in 1949. As a director, he was nominated ...
' 1968 film ''
The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to:
Neil Simon play and its adaptations
* ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon
** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play
*** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televisi ...
'' includes a shot of a neon-signed Childs restaurant in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, one of several locations
Felix Ungar (
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadin ...
) visits before checking into a fleabag hotel to try to commit suicide.
In television
Jimmy Darmody suggests to Richard Harrow, "Let's go get a steak"
t Childsin the season 2 finale of ''
Boardwalk Empire
''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and ...
'', "
To the Lost
"To the Lost" is the twelfth episode of the second season of HBO television series ''Boardwalk Empire'' and the season finale, which premiered on HBO December 11, 2011. The episode was written by series creator Terence Winter and directed by Tim Va ...
".
Onstage
Playwright
David Belasco
David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story ''Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of m ...
incorporated a complete reproduction of a Childs Restaurant in his 1912 production of Alice Bradley's ''
The Governor's Lady
''The Governor's Lady'' is a 1912 play written by Alice Bradley, directed by David Belasco and produced by Belasco and his son-in-law David Elliott. It is known for its unconventional set.
Production
After previews in Philadelphia and Washingto ...
''.
![Childs_Restaurant_Scene_in_The_Governor’s_Lady](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Childs_Restaurant_Scene_in_The_Governor%E2%80%99s_Lady.jpg)
Composer
George Antheil
George Johann Carl Antheil (; July 8, 1900 – February 12, 1959) was an American avant-garde composer, pianist, author, and inventor whose modernist musical compositions explored the modern sounds – musical, industrial, and mechanical – of t ...
, who spent part of the 1920s in New York City, selected a Childs Restaurant as one of several iconic American locations (along with the
Bowery
The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "B ...
and the
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...
) for the setting of his 1930
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
''Transatlantic''.
["New Opera To Be Laid In Childs Restaurant..."](_blank)
''The New York Times'', February 16, 1930, Page 28
In the 1953 musical ''
Wonderful Town
''Wonderful Town'' is a 1953 musical with book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Leonard Bernstein. The musical tells the story of two sisters who aspire to be a writer and act ...
'', which depicted life in New York City during the 1930s, the song "What A Waste" (music by
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
; lyrics by
Betty Comden
Betty Comden (May 3, 1917 - November 23, 2006) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to numerous Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century. Her writing partnership with Adolph Green spanned s ...
and
Adolph Green
Adolph Green (December 2, 1914 – October 23, 2002) was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved film musicals, particularly as part of Art ...
) in Act I includes the lyrics:
Girl from Mobile,
Versatile actress,
Tragic or comic,
Any old play,
Suffered and starved,
Met Stanislavsky.
He said the world would
Cheer her some day.
Came to New York,
Repertoire ready,
Chekhov's and Shakespeare's and Wilde's.
Now, they watch her flipping flapjacks at Childs.
What a waste,
What a waste,
What a waste of money and time![Lyrics from "What A Waste", '']Wonderful Town
''Wonderful Town'' is a 1953 musical with book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Leonard Bernstein. The musical tells the story of two sisters who aspire to be a writer and act ...
'', 1953, based on life in New York City.
References
External links
* {{commons category-inline, Childs Restaurants
Defunct restaurants in New York City
Defunct restaurant chains in the United States
Restaurants established in 1889
1889 establishments in New York (state)