It’s Throwback Thursday, when Upper West Siders and formers UWSers send in their photos of life in the neighborhood back in the day. Today’s contribution is from Meredith Ann Brothers; the photo below shows her parents in their apartment in the historic El Dorado on Central Park West between 90th and 91st streets street in the early 1960’s.
“My parents at a dinner party in their first apartment at the El Dorado, early 60s, before I arrived and they moved to the apartment where I grew up. (And yes, they still had dinner parties even after I was born.)”
Her parents look almost like 1920’s movie stars, don’t they? Meredith writes that they used to have dinner parties in their apartment where they’d serve salmon mousse in a salmon mold with black olives for the eyes.
The El Dorado, an art deco building constructed in 1929, is the northernmost of four twin-towered buildings on Central Park West. “The Eldorado’s Art Deco character defined Central Park West as New York’s most modern avenue — the bronze relief panels, the vertical striping and diagonally cut corners, and what Norval White and Elliot Willensky in ”The A.I.A. Guide to New York City” called the ”Flash Gordon finials,” seemed to supersede the older, traditional limestone buildings on Fifth Avenue.” Celebrities including Michael J. Fox and Alec Baldwin have lived there. Learn more about it here.
Meredith’s family goes back generations in the neighborhood — one grandfather was born here in 1900. The photo below shows her father as a young boy.
“Here’s my Dad in 1937, in front of his building on 79th. I think between Amsterdam and B’way because that’s where I think the funeral parlor is/was? But it might be B’way and west end ave? Anyway, I have a number of photos of him and him with his Mom and little sister in front of that brick facade. I love this picture, too. My twelve year old daughter calls it “I’m Comin’ to Steal Your Girl.” The building is wherever there would be a clear view of the funerals back then. He used to tell me he and his friends would look out the window and watch the funerals of gangsters and sing that terrible song about ‘never laugh when a hearse goes by…'”
To participate in Throwback Thursday, please send us a photo, preferably by email to westsiderag@gmail.com. The subject line of the email should be “Throwback Thursday.” In the email include the photo and a brief description of who is in it and where it’s taken and when.
The best way to send an older photo, if you don’t have your images scanned, is to scan them into your computer or take a photo of the photo with a phone or digital camera. We’re not looking for perfect clarity, just a good sense of the image and some information. If this isn’t an option email us and we’ll figure out how to get a digital version of the image. (And yes, we’ll even accept photos from after 2000.)
Check out our other Throwback Thursday posts here.
El Dorado image via Wikipedia.
As I mentioned to Meredith before, my parents used to have those parties too. They used to hire a bar man to serve drinks as well. They used to put out cigarettes for guests in little silver ash cans.
I still have those ash cans.
I would come out of bed and hide under a table in the hall. My dad would later say, “you think I didn’t know you were hiding under there?”
used to work at the El Dorado 1980-85.Can tell many stories about the celebs/tenants that lived there.
Hey Bill, tell your stories about the El Dorado! Would love to hear them!!
just for you liz….one well known talk show host and his celeb wife and their weekly pot parties…..one well known Star Wars actress, (whose father used to send me out to buy booze) passed out on the hall lobby couch from drug od……..oh so many others