why am i sad?

I heard on the news today that the famous Tavern of the Green in NYC is closing. It made me sad. Then i wondered, why am i sad? I've been to NY several times, and not once did i even try to find the Tavern, let alone try to dine there. (i'm sure it's out of my price range) So why do i care? Hmmmm...

If it's possible to miss your own birth date, i think i missed mine by about 50 years. Well, i love anything vintage, old, or retro and when i hear about an old landmark/kitschy tourist trap/historical building it make me sad because i can't experience it now. When i find vintage clothing at goodwill - i snatch it up (if it fits!). I mostly listen to recording artists that are dead - that sounds morbid. And i think movies are better in black & white. But when a "landmark" like the Tavern is closing, i can't do anything about it. But instead of staying in that "sad place", i looked up the history of the Tavern of the Green and found out that it has actually closed several times! But after some renovation, it always opens up to new life. So maybe one day i'll get my date at the Tavern :-)

Here's some of the history with pictures...

Built in 1870, the rural Victorian Gothic structure now known as Tavern on the Green was designed by Jacob Wrey Mould as a sheepfold. It housed 200 South Down sheep, which grazed across the street in Central Park's Sheep Meadow.

It served admirably in that capacity until 1934, when legendary Parks Commissioner Robert Moses decided the building had a higher calling - that of a restaurant. Moses banished the sheep to Brooklyn's Prospect Park and assigned their shepherd to the lion house in the Central Park Zoo.

The first incarnation of Tavern on the Green -- the restaurant -- was launched on October 20, 1934. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia opened the restaurant with a brass key and, in the company of a proud Moses, took a tour of the facility. After chatting with the chef and sampling a breakfast sausage, Fiorello and Moses pronounced their satisfaction with Central Park's newest attraction.

Embraced by New Yorkers as a gathering place and Tavern on the Green quickly became an integral part of the city's summer social life. From the late 1930s until 1943, it was the headquarters of the Civilian Patrol Corps, until it was taken over and renovated by the Claremont Inn to become a year-round restaurant. By the 1950s, Tavern on the Green was showing some wear and tear and the brilliant designer Raymond Loewy was engaged to renovate the building, yet again.

A succession of management companies operated the restaurant until 1962 when Restaurant Associates took it over. By the early '70s, Tavern on the Green was a restaurant no longer in sync with the times, and Restaurant Associates shuttered it in 1974.

Rather than signaling the end of an era, however, its closing was the beginning of an exciting new one for the tavern. Warner LeRoy acquired the lease and embarked upon a spectacular $10 million renovation. With LeRoy's addition of the glass enclosed Crystal and Terrace Rooms, his lavish use of brass, stained glass, etched mirrors, original paintings, antique prints and, above all, chandeliers, Tavern was reincarnated. It became a glittering palace, Central Park's most spectacular structure.

The reincarnated Tavern on the Green took New York by storm from the moment it re-opened on August 31, 1976. It dazzled the city with its decorative whimsy, its eclectic menu and its playfulness. Tavern, once so "out" that it had to close, was now very "in" indeed. Celebrities flocked to the restaurant to see and be seen.

Always a fantastic work in progress, Tavern on the Green underwent yet another renovation in 1988 to expand its popular Tavern Store, relocate the bar, and create the lovely Park Room and Garden.

Subsequently, the beautiful Crystal Garden overlooking the Sheep Meadow was remodeled to accommodate dancing during the summer months. And, in 1993, a celebrated "Menagerie of Topiaries", created by the Hollywood wizards who fashioned the fantastic greenery for the hit film 'Edward Scissorhands', took up residence in Tavern's gardens.

Since LeRoy's death in 2001, Tavern on the Green has continued to thrive under the direction of his daughter Jennifer LeRoy. She has also commissioned new hand-painted murals and installed additional antique treasures to dazzle the eye of the next generation of Tavern diners.