Joseph Harold Baum (August 17, 1920 – October 5, 1998) was an American restaurateur and innovator responsible for creating the country's first themed restaurants, including

The Four Seasons Restaurant The Four Seasons Restaurant (known colloquially as the Four Seasons) was a New American cuisine restaurant in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City from 1959 to 2019. The Four Seasons operated within the Seagram Building at 99 Ea ...

Windows on the World Windows on the World was a complex of dining, meeting, and entertainment venues on the top floors (106th and 107th) of the North Tower (Building One) of the original World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan. It included a restaurant calle ...

, and the restored

Rainbow Room The Rainbow Room is a private event space on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Run by Tishman Speyer, it is among the highest venues in New York City. The Rainbow Room serves cla ...

. He was the first restaurateur to bring contemporary architects, artists and designers into his restaurant designs.

Early life and career

Joseph Harold Baum was born to Leo and Anna Baum in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

, where his parents ran the Gross & Baum hotel. He graduated from high school in

Lakewood Township, New Jersey Lakewood Township is the most populous township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A rapidly growing community as of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 135,158 representing an increase of 41,415 (+45.5 ...

in 1938 and went on to earn a degree from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in hotel management in 1943. After college, he served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

aboard a destroyer-minelayer in the South Pacific.Grimes, William
"Joseph Baum, American Dining's High Stylist, Dies at 78"
''

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 ...

'', October 6, 1998. Accessed February 9, 2011. "After graduating from high school in Lakewood, N.J., in 1937, he worked for two years as a busboy, waiter and cook in hotels in New Jersey and Florida to earn tuition money to attend Cornell University, where he earned a degree in hotel administration in 1943." In 1946, he went to work for Harris, Kerr, Foster & Company in Manhattan and took over the management of one of its hotels, the Monte Carlo, in 1947. In 1949, he was hired by the Schine hotel chain in Florida. Several years later, he was hired by Rikers Restaurant Associates (later shortened to Restaurant Associates) to open and manage a restaurant at Newark Airport called the Newarker, which became famous for its elegant dining, grandiose portions, and over-the-top flambée.

Restaurant Associates

After Baum's success at the Newarker, he took over the specialty restaurant division of Restaurant Associates in 1955, attracting talented individuals such as Stuart Levin, George Lang, Alan Lewis, Tom Margittai, and Paul Kovi to run the company's themed restaurants. Baum spared no expense, hiring top architects, designers, and consultants such as

James Beard James Andrews Beard (May 5, 1903 – January 23, 1985) was an American chef, cookbook author, teacher and television personality. He pioneered television cooking shows, taught at The James Beard Cooking School in New York City and Seaside, ...

and Julia Child. He went on to become president of the company. The portfolio of restaurants grew to over 130 by 1965 and included La Fonda Del Sol, Zum Zum, the Hawaiian Room, Quo Vadis, the Trattoria, the Brasserie, the Forum of the Twelve Caesars,Andrew Coe
"Roman Mosaic Found in Midtown Manhattan: A Glimpse into the Lost Civilization of A.D. 1957" ''American Heritage'', Oct. 2006.

Tavern on the Green Tavern on the Green is an American cuisine restaurant in Central Park in Manhattan, New York City, near the intersection of Central Park West and West 66th Street on the Upper West Side. The restaurant, housed in a former sheepfold, has been o ...

, and

Independent work and the Rainbow Room

Baum left Restaurant Associates to consult on his own, often working with Arthur Emil, and later, Michael Whiteman. His projects included developing the 22 restaurants in the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

, including

at the top of the North Tower. Windows was equally renowned for its wine program and wine school, known as Cellars in the Sky. His other projects included development of restaurants in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, the Hallmark Cards Crown Center in Kansas City, and

Place Bonaventure Place Bonaventure is an office, exhibition, and hotel complex in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, adjacent to the city's Central Station. At in size, Place Bonaventure was the second largest commercial building in the world at the time of its ...

in Montréal. In 1986, he opened his own restaurant in New York City called Aurora. It remained open for five years. In 1987, after a two-year $25 million renovation backed by

David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of the Rockefeller family, ...

, Baum reopened the

in New York's

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...

. Baum also redesigned

in 1996, a destination restaurant on the 107th Floor of the

which he opened in 1976. During Baum's tenure, Windows on the World became the highest grossing restaurant in the world until its destruction on

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

. Baum died on October 5, 1998, at the age of 78 due to prostate cancer.

Honors

Baum was inducted into the

Culinary Institute of America Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

Hall of Fame in 1995.

References

* http://nymag.com/nymetro/food/reviews/insatiable/2230/ * https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/06/classified/paid-notice-deaths-baum-joseph.html
Joe Baum’s Company Will Soldier On
New York Times, Florence Fabricant November 18, 1998. Retrieved February 5, 2022

New York Times, Florence Fabricant September 13, 1995. Retrieved February 5, 2022 {{DEFAULTSORT:Baum, Joe 1920 births 1998 deaths American restaurateurs 20th-century American Jews Cornell University School of Hotel Administration alumni Deaths from prostate cancer People from Lakewood Township, New Jersey 20th-century American businesspeople James Beard Foundation Award winners United States Navy personnel of World War II Deaths from cancer in the United States