Sherry's - New York

To many New Yorkers living during the Gilded Age, Louis Sherry was synonymous with Delmonico's. In fact, Delmonico's was the one business which Louis Sherry himself was happy to consider a rivial. 

In 1896 work began on a new building for Sherry and on October 8, 1898, he re-opened his business uptown in a predominantly residential neighborhood on the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and West 44th Street. Shortly thereafter Delmonico's would follow and would set themselves up across the street. Designed by McKim, Mead & White, the 11-story apartment building was the new home to Louis Sherry, which occupied the first three floors of the building. Built of a steel frame, the façade was made of cut limestone in the style of the Renaissance. 

Main Entrance on West 44th Street

The special feature of Sherry's was a large ballroom, which with an accessory of halls and anterooms, occupied the entire third floor of the building, with the dancing space proper being 80 feet square. From the southeast corner of the ballroom was a lounging room, which had no equal in the city at the time of its opening. The sides of this room were of beautifully green-streaked marble, and the chandeliers and sconces were of oxidized brass. In the center of the room was a small electric fountain which threw myriad of jets of colors. Across the hall was a conservatory.

Ballroom

Detail of the Ballroom

Corner of the Ballroom

Below the big ballroom was a small ballroom, 50 feet by 60 feet.

Small Ballroom

Small Ballroom

On the ground floor, three entrances were arranged along West 44th Street, and one on Fifth Avenue, exclusive of employee entrances and supply halls.

The café was almost square, with four square pillars in the middle, each with beautifully veined marble, and set off with oxidized brass scroll work. The marble panels were relieved with medallions of oxidized brass, and frames with metal scroll designs. The café also featured rich red hangings and green leather chairs.

Main Restaurant

The main dining room or restaurant was finished in highly polished oak. tinted a dark green. The window posts and panels were relieved with bright brass flambeaux, with deep red stalks. The palm garden was also on that floor.

Corner of the Palm Garden

On the floors above Sherry's were 30 private apartments.

Sherry's Menu September 30, 1900

Sheery's was the scene of notorious parties. At one held by C.K.G. Billings in 1903 to celebrate the opening of his stables, the guests sat on horseback and the waiters dressed as jockeys. At another, James Hazen Hyde, vice president of Equitable Life Insurance, was accused of spending $200,000 of his company's money at a party meant to recreate Versailles. Following the party, news of the cost and where it was alleged that the money came almost causing a crash on Wall Street, and public outrage forced Hyde to flee the country and prompted reform of the insurance industry.

First Floor Plan

Third Floor Plan

Typical Residential Floor Plan

In 1919 Sherry closed his business because of prohibition and the Bolshevism of New York waiters, and Cross & Cross converted it to offices, with J.P. Morgan taking space there. The building was extensively renovated in 1960 by Eggers & Higgins, removing the original façade of the building and adding additional floors, creating a "ziggurat peak" rising to 23 stories.

Following the closure of the restaurant, Louis Sherry moved into the confectionery business, before a new Sherry's was opened at 300 Park Avenue. This too would eventually close, but the confectionery business continues to this day.

 Louis Sherry's Confectionery - Northwest Corner of Madison and East 62nd Street

Perhaps the most famous of the confectionery store fronts opened in 1928, at the northeast corner of Madison Avenue and East 62nd Street. While it was not long a Louis Sherry shop, the art deco masterpiece still stands today, and Louis Sherry Chocolates are still available today.