Bid on a Piece of New York History, Tavern On The Green Auction Planned

by Carrie N. Culpepper (RSS feed)
Dec 23rd 2009 at 9:02AM

Famed Central Park restaurant Tavern on the Green, with its six elaborate dining rooms and 10 miles of white Christmas lights wrapping trees out front, will sadly twinkle no longer. The restaurant is closing its doors for good on Dec. 31, when its operating license expires. That New Year's Eve party will be one for the ages, but hopefully revelers won't be too destructive - the restaurant's ornate decorative objects are being auctioned off a few weeks later.

Tavern on the Green is a Central Park landmark dating back to 1934, when Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia opened it. In 1974 it was reopened after a $10 million renovation by the colorful LeRoy family, who still own it today. The LeRoys filed for bankruptcy after the city didn't renew their operating license.

Current manager, Jennifer Oz LeRoy, is named in honor of her showman grandfather, Mervyn LeRoy, who was a producer of The Wizard of Oz. Perhaps as a way to seal the restaurant in history, Jennifer, along with Kay LeRoy, have written a 300-page book about the restaurant's history, including recipes.

Guernsey's Auction House is handling the sale, which includes decorative items from the 25,000-square-foot restaurant. Previews take place Wednesday, Jan. 6 through Tuesday, Jan. 12, noon to 8 p.m. each day. The public auction is Jan. 13-14 with 1 p.m. afternoon sessions and 6 p.m. evening sessions each day. The auction will take place in the Tavern's Crystal Room at 67th Street and Central Park West.

Some of the items being auctioned include:

Antique Tiffany stained-glass lamp shades
large, art nouveau mirrors, etched glass and Venetian glass
Baccarat crystal chandeliers
copper weathervanes
stone sculpture
garden furniture
Japanese lanterns
china place settings, silverware, glassware and linens
canvas murals from the walls
holiday decorations
outdoor topiaries

Gallery: The Tavern on the Green

The Rafters Room decorated for the holidays.

The Park Room's murals will be part of the auction.

Tags: guernseys auction house, new years eve, new years eve new york, New Years Eve parties, new york city, new york city restaurants, tavern on the green, tavern on the green closure

Filed under: Dining, Auctions

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Aqualung Dec 23rd 2009 10:19AM

they lost their operating license...what's the future hold? Will there continue to be a restaurant on this site, just under different management?

pinkthenred Dec 26th 2009 4:00AM

Alone, those are some beautiful items. It's hard to tell when there is so much crap in those rooms.

al schrader Dec 26th 2009 9:34AM

Pinkthered- Thought I was only one who noticed was too cluttered.
Plus, I am hard pressed to see where the $10,000,000 dollars went.
A few chandeliers, nice round table, a few antiques, maybe two million at Macy's.
The kind of restaurant I could build for $10,000,000 dollars would blow your mind...Alfred-

Nancy Dec 25th 2009 9:00PM

How can we find out if there will be a similar restaurant on the same spot? What a shame that NY is losing another landmark.

Nancy Dec 25th 2009 8:57PM

Will another restaurant open in it's place? What a shame. NY is losing another landmark.

Nancy Dec 25th 2009 9:03PM

Will another restaurant open in it's place? A restaurant of it's caliber. What a shame. NY loses another landmark.

Karen Dec 25th 2009 10:56PM

Why wasn't their license renewed?

PlanetScout4 Dec 26th 2009 3:38PM

Oh I'm sure since it's closing down a new Starbucks will open up real fast

honor1211 Dec 25th 2009 11:26PM

I had the worst service at Tavern on the Green and the snooty servers looked down their noses at us. We weren't dressed sloppily or acted disrespectively; but dining there was part of our travel package we had purchased for a weekend getaway. It was a terrible experience and I couldn't believe we were treated so poorily. It was a shoddy way of conducting business. Good ridence to such a horrible place that only caters to whom they believe are superior.

georgiablew Dec 25th 2009 11:35PM

The iconic spot on the western edge of Central Park will undergo major renovations under a new operator and may even retain its famous name, but to many patrons, this is indisputably the end of an era.

You can read the whole story here http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/12/22/tavern.on.green.closing/index.html

GET REAL Dec 25th 2009 11:45PM

I WORKED THERE INTHE KITCHEN AS A LIASON BETWEEN MGMT AND KITCHEN STAFF AFTER IT WAS UNIONIZED.
THE FOOD, COMPARATIVELY, WELL BETTER COULD BE HAD AT ANY ONE OF A NUMBER OR RESTAURANTS FOR LESS. THE CHEF AT THAT TIME USED TO LAUGH AT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD ORDER LOBSTER BISQUE, BECAUSE AMERICANS (HE WASN'T) THOUGHT IT ACTUALLY HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH LOBSTER (IT'S MADE FROM SHELLS), THE STAFF MEALS SUCKED AND WE ALL KNEW BETTER THAN TO EAT WHAT THE GUY PREPARED FOR US UNLESS IT HAD COME FROM THE BANQUET SECTION AS LEFT OVERS. THE CHANDLIERS OFTEN LEAKED WATER DURING HEAVY RAINS, BUT THE CRYSTAL ROOM WAS MAGIC DURING THE HOLIDAYS AND PEOPLE WOULD SELL THEIR FIRST BORN TO GET A RESERVATION. THE MERCHANDISE IN THE GIFT SHOP WAS HIDEOUSLY OVER PRICED, THE WAITSTAFF COULD COP AN ATTITUDE SO FAST YOUR HEAD WOULD SPIN. ALL AND ALL, A LOVELY EXPERIENCE. I LEFT BECAUSE I REALIZED I WOULD HAVE NO FRIENDS LEFT AND COULDN'T AFFORD THE XANAX I WOULD NEED TO STAY THERE.

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