Chuckling with Elaine in the wee large hours at her restaurant surrounded by boisterous journalists, editors and authors, quiet movie directors and producers, attractive movie stars, big-time law enforcers, to say nothing of the coterie of other restaurateurs, television and baseball celebrities sure was hell.
Imagine, as they say, all the people....
Today, Diane Becker, Elaine Kaufman's loyal and lovely manager, sadly announced that the eponymous eating Establishment on the west side of Second Avenue between 87th and 88th streets will close at 4AM, May 27, 2011. Elaine opened it in 1963 and ruled it as the undisputed queen of the city, a remarkably urbane, feisty, loving and lovable woman at whose feet celebrities danced, if not groveled. She died December 3, 2010 at the age of 81.
When she opened it, Yorkville was a boisterous and rowdy strip of German dance halls along 86th Street that attracted airline stewardesses from all over and their male pursuers. It was also a low-cost entertainment magnet for New Yorkers not eager for the tourists of Times Square.
Elaine's brought the swarms to the Far Upper East Side that physically grew taller in her wake. Yeah, it was swellegant! Michael Caine, Clint Eastwood, and the Law & Order gang trod her brightly lit sidewalk to make the city safe for dreams and the neighborhood Tabloid Heaven.
Elaine's was the last great restaurant in a city that drank, smoked and did not fall to sleep.
Perhaps some nerd will make a great video/computer game of it all....
The restaurant occupies the street level of two buildings that also have 16 apartments.
Imagine, as they say, all the people....
Today, Diane Becker, Elaine Kaufman's loyal and lovely manager, sadly announced that the eponymous eating Establishment on the west side of Second Avenue between 87th and 88th streets will close at 4AM, May 27, 2011. Elaine opened it in 1963 and ruled it as the undisputed queen of the city, a remarkably urbane, feisty, loving and lovable woman at whose feet celebrities danced, if not groveled. She died December 3, 2010 at the age of 81.
When she opened it, Yorkville was a boisterous and rowdy strip of German dance halls along 86th Street that attracted airline stewardesses from all over and their male pursuers. It was also a low-cost entertainment magnet for New Yorkers not eager for the tourists of Times Square.
Elaine's brought the swarms to the Far Upper East Side that physically grew taller in her wake. Yeah, it was swellegant! Michael Caine, Clint Eastwood, and the Law & Order gang trod her brightly lit sidewalk to make the city safe for dreams and the neighborhood Tabloid Heaven.
Elaine's was the last great restaurant in a city that drank, smoked and did not fall to sleep.
Perhaps some nerd will make a great video/computer game of it all....
The restaurant occupies the street level of two buildings that also have 16 apartments.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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