The Persian Room

This legendary nightclub opened on April 1, 1934—four months after the repeal of Prohibition—and was quickly a favorite haunt of café society. Formerly the southern half of the Fifth Avenue dining room, the space had been reinterpreted in streamlined Art Deco by the Viennese designer Joseph Urban. Urban was both a stage designer and architect, responsible for everything from the sets of the Ziegfeld Follies to the design of the New School in Greenwich Village. The Persian Room proved to be one of his last commissions; he died shortly before its opening.

Over its forty-one-year run, the nightclub showcased an impressive array of talent. The opening act—Tony and Renee DeMarco (here)—were veterans of the exhibition dancing circuit, a popular nightclub entertainment since the days of Vernon and Irene Castle, which enjoyed renewed popularity in the thirties largely due to the success of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The DeMarcos made a career of it, later marking their “triumphant return” to the Persian Room in October 1946. Alternating with them on opening night was the Emil Coleman Orchestra, whose performance was broadcast over the Blue Network; live radio shows from the room continued intermittently until the late 1950s.

The Persian Room underwent a number of redecorations over the years, most significantly in 1950 and 1973. The view here was made two days before it opened. The whiskey bottle and cocktail glasses on the table in the foreground were no doubt carefully arranged to make sure the message was clear: Prohibition was over!