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Childs Restaurants

March 03, 2023

Childs Restaurants was one of the first national dining chains in the United States and Canada, having peaked in the 1920s and 1930s with about 125 locations in dozens of markets, serving over 50,000,000 meals a year, with over $37 million in assets at the time. Childs was a pioneer in a number of areas, including design, service, sanitation, and labor relations. It was a contemporary of food service companies such as Horn & Hardart, and a predecessor of companies such as McDonald's.

Childs Company
Childs' logo of 1907
Childs Restaurant, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, c. 1908
IndustryRestaurant
FoundedManhattan, New York City, United States (1889 (1889))
FounderSamuel Childs, William Childs
FateNone in operation since late 1960s
Number of locations
107 locations in 29 cities in 1925
Area served
New York City and other northeastern U.S. cities
ProductsPancakes, American cuisine

History

 
A Childs menu, c. 1907

The first Childs Restaurant was launched in 1889 by brothers Samuel S. Childs and William Childs, on the ground level of the Merchants Hotel (current site of One Liberty Plaza, also previously the Singer Building), at 41 Cortlandt Street (between Broadway and Church Street), in New York City's Financial District.[1] The brothers' concept for the establishment was to provide economical meals to the working class, quickly, and with an unusually high emphasis – for the period – on cleanliness and hygiene. Their novel design format included white tiles, white uniforms, and waitresses instead of the then-common waiters.[2] In addition to these signature characteristics, Childs locations also featured their pancake griddles in the front window. Within five years, Childs had grown to five profitable locations.[3] They also are credited as inventors of the "tray line" self-service cafeteria format, which they introduced in 1898 at their 130 Broadway location.[4]

In 1898, the brothers, confident and ready for more aggressive expansion, combined with several investors to legally incorporate the Childs Unique Dairy Company, with capitalization of $1,000,000, and the stated intent to "establish and operate restaurants in New York City and elsewhere".[5] It was widely speculated, and finally confirmed in 1912, that several officers of the Standard Oil Company were investors in the restaurant chain, including Henry Morgan Tilford and Charles Sweeney.[6] At some point, "duPont interests" also gained a significant stock position, which would eventually cause problems for the family owners.[7][8]

In 1899, F.O. Hendrick, a nephew of Samuel and William Childs, launched a casual luncheon restaurant at 142 Fulton Street, practically across the street from his uncles' first location on Cortlandt Street, which was by then 10 years old and highly successful.[9] After a short period of family competition, Hendrick ultimately brought his restaurant under the Childs umbrella, and remained an operating executive of Childs Restaurants until the family lost control.

 
Childs Company Stock Certificate – 1908

In 1906, fifteen similar restaurants (called "green doors") which were independently owned and operated by Ellsworth Childs (brother of Samuel and William) were consolidated into the company. Thereafter, Ellsworth remained an executive of Childs until his death in 1929, and is cited as a driving force behind the physical expansion during that period.[10][11]

Peak years

 
Exterior of a Childs on Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC, in 1917
 
Interior of a Washington, DC location, c. 1920

In September 1919, the company launched an employee stock ownership plan for its restaurant managers, and three years later, extended the plan to all employees. Within 10 years, employees would own almost 25% of the company's common stock.[12]

In November 1920, an article in The Magazine of Wall Street, entitled "Where Everybody Eats Now and Then," called Childs "a national institution. Millions of people eat there at least once in a while and some eat much more often. . . . Most of the people who go into Childs' go in for quick lunches but you can get anything there from a doughnut to a steak."[13]

By 1925, the chain operated 107 locations in 29 cities, served 50,000,000 meals every year, and was reporting consistent annual profits of $2,000,000. The company also grew to include other real estate interests. In March 1925, company president Samuel S. Childs died, although he had not been personally involved in the business for some time, instead focusing on his political career and many other civic and business activities. Operation of the restaurants had long been delegated to his brother and co-founder William, as vice president and general manager, and other family members.[3]

The late 1920s witnessed a roller-coaster of events for the company. In November 1925, the Childs company became a major partner in the development of the landmark Savoy-Plaza Hotel, at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street.[14] Around 1927, William Childs began to impose his vegetarian dietary preferences on the chain's menu, which generated significant backlash from customers and his fellow managers and investors.[7] The company's stock reached a low of $44 in 1928,[15] and during a board meeting on December 12, 1928, William was pressed into resigning as president, but remained chairman of the board. At the following board meeting on January 30, 1929, William attempted to turn the tide by firing several executive officers and company directors, replacing them with family members.[8][16] A proxy battle ensued, but on March 7, 1929, William and his supporters lost the fight to retain control of the company he co-founded 40 years before, by then valued around $37,000,000.[17] He did retain a modest non-controlling equity position, which he eventually sold and/or bequeathed.[18][19]

Decline and rebirth

In the 1930s, no longer under the direction of the Childs family, the chain returned meat to its menus, introduced alcohol at many locations (after the repeal of Prohibition),[20] and launched a new subsidiary division called "The Host", meant to be lower-priced than Childs. The company also obtained the hot dog vending license for the 1939 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, which turned out to be a financial mistake.

 
Childs WWII era menu cover c. 1943

In August 1943, under pressure of significant debt maturity, the company filed for bankruptcy reorganization.[1] Childs emerged from bankruptcy in 1947,[21] and continued to operate through the 1940s and 1950s.

 
Childs menu from Toronto, Ont.1946
 
Childs menu
 
Childs menu

By 1950, the company had shrunk to only 53 locations, and was losing money. Nonetheless, it managed to acquire the candy and ice cream maker Louis Sherry Inc., and announced several significant operational changes, including "returning to its old custom of flap-jack making in the windows" and the introduction of prepared meats, to eliminate the need for butchering on-site.[22]

In 1955, a young hotelier named A.M. "Sonny" Sonnabend assumed the presidency of the Childs company, and pointed the enterprise in a new direction. In a series of coordinated transactions, the company's name was changed to Hotel Corporation of America, it acquired the Plaza Hotel in New York (across the street from the Savoy-Plaza Hotel, which Childs had developed), and entered into long-term leases for three other hotels in Boston, Cleveland, and Chicago.[23][24][25] The company was then structured into three divisions: restaurants, manufacturing and distribution of packaged foods (via subsidiaries Recipe Foods, Fred Fear, and Louis Sherry), and hotels.[26]

In 1961, substantially all of the remaining Childs restaurant operations, now greatly diminished in number and considered part of the company's past, were sold to the Riese Organization (National Restaurants Management Inc.),[27] which as of 2009 operates more than 100 restaurants throughout New York City, including franchised units of Dunkin' Donuts, KFC, Pizza Hut, T.G.I. Friday's and Houlihan's. A number of the Riese properties are former Childs Restaurants.[28]

In 1970, Hotel Corporation of America (formerly Childs) was again renamed, to Sonesta International Hotels Corporation (Nasdaq: SNSTA).[29] As of 2009, the company operates 25 hotels on 3 continents, and owns several cruise ships, and is still led by the Sonnabend family.[24]

Architecture

 
Surf Avenue, Coney Island, completed 1917
 
Boardwalk, Coney Island, completed 1923
 
Washington, DC, completed 1925

Despite their market position, Childs Restaurants were distinguished for their architectural quality, and former locations continue to be appreciated by historic preservationists.[30][31][32][33][34] In his design and construction efforts, William Childs and his internal architect of 30 years, John Corley Westervelt,[35] consulted and engaged respected architects including William Van Alen (modernist designer of the Chrysler Building), Hirons & Dennison, Pruitt & Brown, and McKim, Mead, and White.[31] One design critique from 1924 declared that Childs "stands as a milestone marking an enormous advance in the taste of what we are pleased to describe as the 'common people' of America".[36] In more recent years, celebrated architect Robert A.M. Stern described the Childs design as "austerely-elegant", and recognized their savvy in tailoring design to environment, such as in midtown Manhattan, where Childs was the first to make "dramatic use of large sheets of curved glass for corner windows", now a common technique.[30][37]

Notable locations

The table that follows is an incomplete list of locations that were built for Childs and reflect the company's style. Note that references often have pictures and more detailed histories, and links in the Address column, where provided, link to individual Wikipedia articles about the buildings listed:

Place Address Completed Notes and 2014 Status References
Manhattan, NY 815 Broadway 1897 By John C. Westervelt. In use as a small commercial building. [38]
Manhattan, NY 36 West 34th Street 1904 By John C. Westervelt (alteration of 1885 building). In use as a commercial building. Westervelt's office was here until his death in 1934. [39]
Manhattan, NY 194 Broadway 1911 By John C. Westervelt. Demolished in 2007 to build the Fulton Center at the existing Fulton Street station. [40]
Brooklyn, NY 1208 Surf Avenue 1917 By John C. Westervelt. Closed 1943. Designated New York City landmark, home of Coney Island USA arts organization. [41][42]
Toronto, ON 279 Yonge Street 1918 By John C. Westervelt. Closed by 1963. In use as a Hard Rock Cafe until c. 2015. Vacant as of February 2018. [43][44]
Brooklyn, NY 530 Fulton Street 1919 By John C. Westervelt. In use as a commercial building. [45][46][47]
Manhattan, NY 377 Fifth Avenue 1921 By Severance and Van Alen. In use as a commercial building. [48][49][50]
Brooklyn, NY 219 South 4th Street 1922 Has plaque with what looks like a Childs logo and year built, but Brooklyn phone books of the period indicate it was occupied by a ladies tailor business called "Childs Bros." that despite its similar name had no known connection to the restaurant chain. Presently a commercial building. [51][52][53][54]
Brooklyn, NY 2102 Boardwalk 1923 By Dennison & Hirons. Closed 1952. Designated New York City landmark, now part of Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island. Prototype for later nautical themed buildings. [55][56]
Manhattan, NY 604 Fifth Avenue 1925 By William Van Alen. Altered, in use as a T.G.I. Friday's until 2015. [57][58]
Queens, NY 63-19 Roosevelt Avenue 1925 Nautical theme. In use as a commercial building. [59][60][unreliable source?]
Manhattan, NY 421 Seventh Avenue 1926 By William Van Alen. 14 story building housed a restaurant on ground floor and some corporate functions above. By 1940 restaurant had moved next door to 425 Seventh Ave. Altered, in use as an office building with ground floor retail. [61][62][63][64]
Washington, D.C. 2 Massachusetts Avenue NW 1926 By William Van Alen. Closed 1955. In use as a bank. [65][66]
Atlantic City, NJ Boardwalk at South Carolina Avenue 1927 Nautical theme. Attributed to George P. Post. In use as a commercial building. [67]
Queens, NY 36-01 Broadway 1928 Nautical theme. In use as a commercial building. [68][69][unreliable source?]
Trenton, NJ 12-14 East State Street 1928 Modernist, designer not known. Closed by 1950s. Demolished in 1987. [70]
Manhattan, NY 811 6th Avenue 1930 Nautical theme. Altered, in use as a McDonald's. [71][unreliable source?]
Queens, NY 67-09 Fresh Pond Road 1930 est. Nautical theme. In use as a bank and small office building. [72][73][unreliable source?]
Brooklyn, NY 534 Flatbush Avenue 1931 Nautical theme. In use as a commercial building. [74][unreliable source?]
Queens, NY 59-37 Queens Boulevard 1931 Nautical theme. In use as a commercial building. [75][76][unreliable source?]
Queens, NY 45-02 43rd Avenue 1931 Nautical theme. In use as a commercial building. [77][78][unreliable source?]
Brooklyn, NY 6620 18th Avenue 1931 Nautical theme. Demolished c. 2007. [79][80][81][unreliable source?]
Queens, NY 15-02 College Point Blvd. 1931 est. Nautical theme. In use as a commercial building. [82][83][unreliable source?]
Brooklyn, NY 1801 Avenue M 1931 est. Nautical theme.In use as a commercial building. [84][85][unreliable source?]
Queens, NY 245-01 Jamaica Avenue 1932 Nautical theme. In use as a commercial building. [86][87][unreliable source?]

Closing dates, where known, are indicated in the above table. None of the nautical themed restaurants built in the early 1930s appear in 1940 telephone directories, indicating that Childs' had vacated those structures by that date. The earlier locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn do appear in those directories, except for the very early location at 815 Broadway and the South 4th Street location, which is not known to have been a restaurant.[46][64][88]

The following locations were not necessarily built by the Childs Company, but are notable for other reasons:

  • New York
    • 41 Cortlandt Street, New York, NY (first location)
    • 42 East 14th Street, New York, NY (longtime corporate headquarters, also housed a restaurant)[89]
    • 200 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY (corporate headquarters in later years)[64]
    • 3 Beaver Street, New York, NY (Demolished in 1928 to build part of 26 Broadway, also known as the Standard Oil Building)[90]
    • 1501 Broadway (at 43rd Street), New York, NY (below the Paramount Theater)[91][92]
    • 1551–1553 Broadway (at 46th St NW corner), New York, NY[93]
    • 1546 Broadway (between 45th & 46th Streets), New York, NY[92]
    • 2276 Broadway (at 82nd Street), New York, NY[94]
    • 300–304 W 59th St (SW Corner Columbus Circle), New York, NY[95][96][97]
    • 1939 New York World's Fair: this temporary location, in the Fair's Railroad Building, seated 1000 patrons, and featured elaborate murals.[98]
  • Washington, D.C.
    • 1423 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Washington, DC[99]
  • New Jersey
    • Tennessee Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ, replaced in 1927 by a company-built location one block away at South Carolina Avenue[100][101]
  • Missouri
    • 218-220 North Seventh St & 614-616 Olive St, St. Louis. The North Seventh location was leased in 1903 in expectation of the crowds at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904.[102] In 1912 Child's leased 614–616 Olive St, which backsided their N. Seventh St location, allowing for entrance to the expanded restaurant from both streets.[103][104] Childs added a second story to the building in 1915 by which point they were the stated owners of the property.[105] Both locations would become referenced in advertising from 1915 until 1935, when the location closed.[106]
    • 804 Washington St, St. Louis.[107]
    • 1121 Walnut St, Kansas City.[108]
  • Maryland
    • 18 North Charles St, Baltimore. 1906-1953[109]
  • Rhode Island
    • 142 Westminster St., Providence. 1910-1974[110]
  • Georgia
    • 10 Marietta St., Atlanta.[111]

Related businesses

 
Grain House Restaurant in Franklin Corners

Although legally separate from the core Childs Restaurants chain, the founders and various family members operated a number of other businesses throughout the 20th century. Below are brief summaries of those operations.

In 1929, William Childs purchased a historic property near his home in Franklin Corners, New Jersey and converted it – without making any structural modifications – to an inn and restaurant. The Olde Mill Inn and The Grain House Restaurant. This upscale operation was distinctly different from the traditional Childs Restaurants, yet it also met with great success. The family continued to operate it for some time,[112] but The Olde Mill Inn and Grain House Restaurant was eventually acquired by The Bocina Group, which continues to operate it as of 2009.

In December 1929, after being ousted from the core company, William Childs announced that the family had taken over the Archambault Restaurant at 2678 Broadway, and would relaunch it as "Old Algiers" – the first in a series of "old-world" themed restaurants. In this business, he partnered primarily with three nephews, Ellsworth E. Childs, William S. Childs, and Wallace A. Childs.[15][113] The new company was soon organized under the corporate name Old London Inc., which was also the theme of their second 1,000-seat location, launched in 1931 at 130 West 42nd Street.[114] This enterprise did not expand much further, likely due to William's advancing age. He died in 1938, and is buried behind the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church near his New Jersey estate, with a large number of other Childs family members.[115]

As of 2009, the original F.O. Hendrick location is still an operating diner, now called the Anytime Cafe.

Key executives

Family-controlled period

  • Samuel S. Childs, co-founder and president (1889–1925)
  • William Childs, co-founder, vice president and general manager (1889–1925), chairman and president (1925–1929/30)
  • Luther Childs, director (? – 1929)
  • Ellsworth Childs, director (1906–1929), treasurer (1929)
  • William S. Childs, director (? – 1929)
  • F.O. Hendrick, general manager (? – 1929)
  • William A. Barber, general counsel[116]

Later period

  • S. Willard Smith, president (1929–1931)[117]
  • William P. Allen, president (c. 1932)[118]
  • George D. Strohmeyer, president (1933–1941)[118][119]
  • Edward C. Field, president (1941–1948)[120]
  • John F.X. Finn, court-appointed trustee (1943–1947)
  • John L. Hennessey, president (1948–1949) (former president of Statler Co., Inc.)[121][122][123]
  • John J. Bergen, chairman (c. 1950)[124]
  • N. Clarkson Earl Jr., president (1950–1951) (former executive at Howard Johnson's Restaurants)[125]
  • Charles Crouch, executive vice president (c. 1950)
  • Abraham M. Sonnabend, president (1954–1963) (Converted Childs into Hotel Corporation of America, later Sonesta International Hotels Corporation)[25][126]

Popular culture

In music

The song "Manhattan", written by Rodgers and Hart in 1925 for the musical Garrick Gaities, and famously recorded by Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald and others, includes the lines:

We'll go to Yonkers – where true love conquers – in the wilds,
And starve together dear – in Childs

In print

The poem "Spain in Fifty-Ninth Street", written by E.B. White, tells the story of a brief but emotional interaction between a Childs hostess and a random customer (described as a "man of affairs") at the "Spanish Childs" location, presumably on 59th Street.[127] White wrote a number of other short stories and poems that referenced or featured Childs, likely due to the daily presence of the establishments in his life during the late 1920s and 1930s in New York City.

The book "Main Street", written by Sinclair Lewis, talks of the main characters eating at a Childs restaurant to economize while traveling to Minneapolis.

In film

The opening montage sequence of Neil Simon and Gene Saks' 1968 film The Odd Couple includes a shot of a neon-signed Childs restaurant in New York City, one of several locations Felix Ungar (Jack Lemmon) visits before checking into a fleabag hotel to try to commit suicide.[128]

In television

Jimmy Darmody suggests to Richard Harrow, "Let's go get a steak" [at Childs] in the season 2 finale of Boardwalk Empire, "To the Lost".

Onstage

Playwright David Belasco incorporated a complete reproduction of a Childs Restaurant in his 1912 production of Alice Bradley's The Governor's Lady.

 
Childs Restaurant Scene in The Governor's Lady

Composer George Antheil, who spent part of the 1920s in New York City, selected a Childs Restaurant as one of several iconic American locations (along with the Bowery and the Brooklyn Bridge) for the setting of his 1930 opera Transatlantic.[129][130]

In the 1953 musical Wonderful Town, which depicted life in New York City during the 1930s, the song "What A Waste" (music by Leonard Bernstein; lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green) in Act I includes the lyrics:

Girl from Mobile,
Versatile actress,
Tragic or comic,
Any old play,
 
Suffered and starved,
Met Stanislavsky.
He said the world would
Cheer her some day.
Came to New York,
Repertoire ready,
Chekhov's and Shakespeare's and Wilde's.
Now, they watch her flipping flapjacks at Childs.
 
What a waste,
What a waste,
What a waste of money and time![131]

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  85. ^ "Coney Island to Midwood, Brooklyn, Part 2". Forgotten New York. December 19, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  86. ^ "JERICHO TURNPIKE, Floral Park-Bellerose, Queens". Forgotten NY. August 5, 2007. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
  87. ^ "NYCityMap". Borough: Queens Block: 8659 Lot: 1. City of New York. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
  88. ^ "Queens Telephone Directory, Winter 1939-1940". New York Telephone Company. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  89. ^ "1907 Childs Menu". Menu with locations on reverse. New York Public Library. p. 2. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  90. ^ "NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission Report on Standard Oil Building" May 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, See Note 4, obtained March 5, 2010
  91. ^ Thurber, James, "The Talk of the Town, Childs in Paramount", The New Yorker, June 9, 1928, p. 9
  92. ^ a b "Stench Bombs in Childs; Three Restaurants Raided, but Diners Are Not Affected", The New York Times, August 18, 1936
  93. ^ "Times Square Plot Bought By Childs", The New York Times, Page 31, June 23, 1920
  94. ^ "New Childs Restaurant", The New York Times, May 14, 1920
  95. ^ "About New York: Noted Night-Life Restaurant Quits in Tearful Memory of 42 Years" (PDF). The New York Times. December 11, 1953. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  96. ^ Biederman, Marcia, "Journey to an Overlooked Past", The New York Times, June 11, 2000
  97. ^ "In The Real Estate Field: Big Lease In Columbus Circle", The New York Times, Page 17, December 23, 1910
  98. ^ "George D. Strohmeyer (President of Childs Company) with hostesses". See caption on reverse. New York Public Library.
  99. ^ "Childs Restaurant: 1917", Shorpy.com Blogsite, March 9, 2009, obtained April 24, 2009
  100. ^ Ristine, James D. & Pergament, Allen, Atlantic City (Arcadia Publishing, 2008, ISBN 0-7385-5704-8), Pages 61–62
  101. ^ "Beach Skyscraper Open...", The New York Times, Page 12, March 4, 1906
  102. ^ The St. Louis Republic. [volume], November 12, 1903, Page 2
  103. ^ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 28, 1912, page 28
  104. ^ The St. Louis Star and Times, July 6, 1913, page 18
  105. ^ The American Contractor, Volume 36, 1903, page 16
  106. ^ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 5, 1935, page 24
  107. ^ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 11, 1984, Page 19
  108. ^ The Kansas City Times, August 17, 1911, Page 9
  109. ^ The Baltimore Sun, September 6, 1906, Page 3; The Baltimore Sun, December 27, 1953, Page 24
  110. ^ Lost Restaurants of Providence By David Norton Stone, 2019, Arcadia Publishing, Page 95
  111. ^ The Atlanta Constitution, January 19, 1919, Page 6
  112. ^ "William S. Childs, A Restaurateur, 52", The New York Times, Page 30, February 20, 1952
  113. ^ "New Restaurant Chain: William Childs Opens 'Old Algiers'", The New York Times, April 30, 1930
  114. ^ E. B. White, "The Talk of the Town, Newest Old Place", The New Yorker, June 20, 1931, p. 7
  115. ^ "William Childs Dead; Restaurant Man", The New York Times, May 23, 1938
  116. ^ "William Barber, Legal Leader, 80", The New York Times, Page 28, February 9, 1950
  117. ^ "S. Willard Smith, 77, Once Headed Childs", The New York Times, Page 13, July 9, 1949
  118. ^ a b "Strohmeyer Heads Childs Company", The New York Times, Page 29, March 31, 1933
  119. ^ "George D. Strohmeyer Is Dead, Lead Chain of Childs Restaurants, The New York Times, Page 39, February 11, 1965
  120. ^ "Heads Childs Company, E.C. Field Elected President of Restaurant Chain", The New York Times, Page 25, June 27, 1941
  121. ^ , Time, December 13, 1948
  122. ^ "Food Authority Elected Head of Childs Company", The New York Times, Page 41, November 30, 1948
  123. ^ "Childs President Quits; John L. Hennessy Will Remain As Director", The New York Times, Page 19, August 27, 1949
  124. ^ Smith, Gene, "Personality: Navy, Baseball and Business; Graham-Paige Chief...", The New York Times, Page F3, July 27, 1958
  125. ^ "N. Clarkson Earl Dies at 68; Led Childs Restaurant Chain", The New York Times, Page 47, February 19, 1969
  126. ^ "A.M. Sonnabend Is Dead At 67", The New York Times, February 12, 1964
  127. ^ White, E. B., Poetry: "Spain In Fifty-Ninth Street", The New Yorker, June 15, 1935, p. 14
  128. ^ The Odd Couple theme song, film soundtrack, original music score, YouTube
  129. ^ "New Opera To Be Laid In Childs Restaurant...", The New York Times, February 16, 1930, Page 28
  130. ^ Watson, Steven (2000). Prepare for Saints: Gertrude Stein, Virgil Thomson, and the Mainstreaming of American Modernism. University of California Press. p. 327. ISBN 978-0-520-22353-0. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  131. ^ Lyrics from "What A Waste", Wonderful Town, 1953, based on life in New York City.

External links

  •   Media related to Childs Restaurants at Wikimedia Commons

March 03, 2023
childs, restaurants, first, national, dining, chains, united, states, canada, having, peaked, 1920s, 1930s, with, about, locations, dozens, markets, serving, over, meals, year, with, over, million, assets, time, childs, pioneer, number, areas, including, desig. Childs Restaurants was one of the first national dining chains in the United States and Canada having peaked in the 1920s and 1930s with about 125 locations in dozens of markets serving over 50 000 000 meals a year with over 37 million in assets at the time Childs was a pioneer in a number of areas including design service sanitation and labor relations It was a contemporary of food service companies such as Horn amp Hardart and a predecessor of companies such as McDonald s Childs CompanyChilds logo of 1907Childs Restaurant Philadelphia Pennsylvania c 1908IndustryRestaurantFoundedManhattan New York City United States 1889 1889 FounderSamuel Childs William ChildsFateNone in operation since late 1960sNumber of locations107 locations in 29 cities in 1925Area servedNew York City and other northeastern U S citiesProductsPancakes American cuisine Contents 1 History 1 1 Peak years 1 2 Decline and rebirth 2 Architecture 2 1 Notable locations 3 Related businesses 4 Key executives 4 1 Family controlled period 4 2 Later period 5 Popular culture 5 1 In music 5 2 In print 5 3 In film 5 4 In television 5 5 Onstage 6 References 7 External linksHistory Edit A Childs menu c 1907 The first Childs Restaurant was launched in 1889 by brothers Samuel S Childs and William Childs on the ground level of the Merchants Hotel current site of One Liberty Plaza also previously the Singer Building at 41 Cortlandt Street between Broadway and Church Street in New York City s Financial District 1 The brothers concept for the establishment was to provide economical meals to the working class quickly and with an unusually high emphasis for the period on cleanliness and hygiene Their novel design format included white tiles white uniforms and waitresses instead of the then common waiters 2 In addition to these signature characteristics Childs locations also featured their pancake griddles in the front window Within five years Childs had grown to five profitable locations 3 They also are credited as inventors of the tray line self service cafeteria format which they introduced in 1898 at their 130 Broadway location 4 In 1898 the brothers confident and ready for more aggressive expansion combined with several investors to legally incorporate the Childs Unique Dairy Company with capitalization of 1 000 000 and the stated intent to establish and operate restaurants in New York City and elsewhere 5 It was widely speculated and finally confirmed in 1912 that several officers of the Standard Oil Company were investors in the restaurant chain including Henry Morgan Tilford and Charles Sweeney 6 At some point duPont interests also gained a significant stock position which would eventually cause problems for the family owners 7 8 In 1899 F O Hendrick a nephew of Samuel and William Childs launched a casual luncheon restaurant at 142 Fulton Street practically across the street from his uncles first location on Cortlandt Street which was by then 10 years old and highly successful 9 After a short period of family competition Hendrick ultimately brought his restaurant under the Childs umbrella and remained an operating executive of Childs Restaurants until the family lost control Childs Company Stock Certificate 1908 In 1906 fifteen similar restaurants called green doors which were independently owned and operated by Ellsworth Childs brother of Samuel and William were consolidated into the company Thereafter Ellsworth remained an executive of Childs until his death in 1929 and is cited as a driving force behind the physical expansion during that period 10 11 Peak years Edit Exterior of a Childs on Pennsylvania Avenue Washington DC in 1917 Interior of a Washington DC location c 1920 In September 1919 the company launched an employee stock ownership plan for its restaurant managers and three years later extended the plan to all employees Within 10 years employees would own almost 25 of the company s common stock 12 In November 1920 an article in The Magazine of Wall Street entitled Where Everybody Eats Now and Then called Childs a national institution Millions of people eat there at least once in a while and some eat much more often Most of the people who go into Childs go in for quick lunches but you can get anything there from a doughnut to a steak 13 By 1925 the chain operated 107 locations in 29 cities served 50 000 000 meals every year and was reporting consistent annual profits of 2 000 000 The company also grew to include other real estate interests In March 1925 company president Samuel S Childs died although he had not been personally involved in the business for some time instead focusing on his political career and many other civic and business activities Operation of the restaurants had long been delegated to his brother and co founder William as vice president and general manager and other family members 3 The late 1920s witnessed a roller coaster of events for the company In November 1925 the Childs company became a major partner in the development of the landmark Savoy Plaza Hotel at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street 14 Around 1927 William Childs began to impose his vegetarian dietary preferences on the chain s menu which generated significant backlash from customers and his fellow managers and investors 7 The company s stock reached a low of 44 in 1928 15 and during a board meeting on December 12 1928 William was pressed into resigning as president but remained chairman of the board At the following board meeting on January 30 1929 William attempted to turn the tide by firing several executive officers and company directors replacing them with family members 8 16 A proxy battle ensued but on March 7 1929 William and his supporters lost the fight to retain control of the company he co founded 40 years before by then valued around 37 000 000 17 He did retain a modest non controlling equity position which he eventually sold and or bequeathed 18 19 Decline and rebirth Edit In the 1930s no longer under the direction of the Childs family the chain returned meat to its menus introduced alcohol at many locations after the repeal of Prohibition 20 and launched a new subsidiary division called The Host meant to be lower priced than Childs The company also obtained the hot dog vending license for the 1939 World s Fair in Flushing Meadows which turned out to be a financial mistake Childs WWII era menu cover c 1943 In August 1943 under pressure of significant debt maturity the company filed for bankruptcy reorganization 1 Childs emerged from bankruptcy in 1947 21 and continued to operate through the 1940s and 1950s Childs menu from Toronto Ont 1946 Childs menu Childs menu By 1950 the company had shrunk to only 53 locations and was losing money Nonetheless it managed to acquire the candy and ice cream maker Louis Sherry Inc and announced several significant operational changes including returning to its old custom of flap jack making in the windows and the introduction of prepared meats to eliminate the need for butchering on site 22 In 1955 a young hotelier named A M Sonny Sonnabend assumed the presidency of the Childs company and pointed the enterprise in a new direction In a series of coordinated transactions the company s name was changed to Hotel Corporation of America it acquired the Plaza Hotel in New York across the street from the Savoy Plaza Hotel which Childs had developed and entered into long term leases for three other hotels in Boston Cleveland and Chicago 23 24 25 The company was then structured into three divisions restaurants manufacturing and distribution of packaged foods via subsidiaries Recipe Foods Fred Fear and Louis Sherry and hotels 26 In 1961 substantially all of the remaining Childs restaurant operations now greatly diminished in number and considered part of the company s past were sold to the Riese Organization National Restaurants Management Inc 27 which as of 2009 operates more than 100 restaurants throughout New York City including franchised units of Dunkin Donuts KFC Pizza Hut T G I Friday s and Houlihan s A number of the Riese properties are former Childs Restaurants 28 In 1970 Hotel Corporation of America formerly Childs was again renamed to Sonesta International Hotels Corporation Nasdaq SNSTA 29 As of 2009 the company operates 25 hotels on 3 continents and owns several cruise ships and is still led by the Sonnabend family 24 Architecture Edit Surf Avenue Coney Island completed 1917 Boardwalk Coney Island completed 1923 Washington DC completed 1925 Despite their market position Childs Restaurants were distinguished for their architectural quality and former locations continue to be appreciated by historic preservationists 30 31 32 33 34 In his design and construction efforts William Childs and his internal architect of 30 years John Corley Westervelt 35 consulted and engaged respected architects including William Van Alen modernist designer of the Chrysler Building Hirons amp Dennison Pruitt amp Brown and McKim Mead and White 31 One design critique from 1924 declared that Childs stands as a milestone marking an enormous advance in the taste of what we are pleased to describe as the common people of America 36 In more recent years celebrated architect Robert A M Stern described the Childs design as austerely elegant and recognized their savvy in tailoring design to environment such as in midtown Manhattan where Childs was the first to make dramatic use of large sheets of curved glass for corner windows now a common technique 30 37 Notable locations Edit The table that follows is an incomplete list of locations that were built for Childs and reflect the company s style Note that references often have pictures and more detailed histories and links in the Address column where provided link to individual Wikipedia articles about the buildings listed Place Address Completed Notes and 2014 Status ReferencesManhattan NY 815 Broadway 1897 By John C Westervelt In use as a small commercial building 38 Manhattan NY 36 West 34th Street 1904 By John C Westervelt alteration of 1885 building In use as a commercial building Westervelt s office was here until his death in 1934 39 Manhattan NY 194 Broadway 1911 By John C Westervelt Demolished in 2007 to build the Fulton Center at the existing Fulton Street station 40 Brooklyn NY 1208 Surf Avenue 1917 By John C Westervelt Closed 1943 Designated New York City landmark home of Coney Island USA arts organization 41 42 Toronto ON 279 Yonge Street 1918 By John C Westervelt Closed by 1963 In use as a Hard Rock Cafe until c 2015 Vacant as of February 2018 43 44 Brooklyn NY 530 Fulton Street 1919 By John C Westervelt In use as a commercial building 45 46 47 Manhattan NY 377 Fifth Avenue 1921 By Severance and Van Alen In use as a commercial building 48 49 50 Brooklyn NY 219 South 4th Street 1922 Has plaque with what looks like a Childs logo and year built but Brooklyn phone books of the period indicate it was occupied by a ladies tailor business called Childs Bros that despite its similar name had no known connection to the restaurant chain Presently a commercial building 51 52 53 54 Brooklyn NY 2102 Boardwalk 1923 By Dennison amp Hirons Closed 1952 Designated New York City landmark now part of Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island Prototype for later nautical themed buildings 55 56 Manhattan NY 604 Fifth Avenue 1925 By William Van Alen Altered in use as a T G I Friday s until 2015 57 58 Queens NY 63 19 Roosevelt Avenue 1925 Nautical theme In use as a commercial building 59 60 unreliable source Manhattan NY 421 Seventh Avenue 1926 By William Van Alen 14 story building housed a restaurant on ground floor and some corporate functions above By 1940 restaurant had moved next door to 425 Seventh Ave Altered in use as an office building with ground floor retail 61 62 63 64 Washington D C 2 Massachusetts Avenue NW 1926 By William Van Alen Closed 1955 In use as a bank 65 66 Atlantic City NJ Boardwalk at South Carolina Avenue 1927 Nautical theme Attributed to George P Post In use as a commercial building 67 Queens NY 36 01 Broadway 1928 Nautical theme In use as a commercial building 68 69 unreliable source Trenton NJ 12 14 East State Street 1928 Modernist designer not known Closed by 1950s Demolished in 1987 70 Manhattan NY 811 6th Avenue 1930 Nautical theme Altered in use as a McDonald s 71 unreliable source Queens NY 67 09 Fresh Pond Road 1930 est Nautical theme In use as a bank and small office building 72 73 unreliable source Brooklyn NY 534 Flatbush Avenue 1931 Nautical theme In use as a commercial building 74 unreliable source Queens NY 59 37 Queens Boulevard 1931 Nautical theme In use as a commercial building 75 76 unreliable source Queens NY 45 02 43rd Avenue 1931 Nautical theme In use as a commercial building 77 78 unreliable source Brooklyn NY 6620 18th Avenue 1931 Nautical theme Demolished c 2007 79 80 81 unreliable source Queens NY 15 02 College Point Blvd 1931 est Nautical theme In use as a commercial building 82 83 unreliable source Brooklyn NY 1801 Avenue M 1931 est Nautical theme In use as a commercial building 84 85 unreliable source Queens NY 245 01 Jamaica Avenue 1932 Nautical theme In use as a commercial building 86 87 unreliable source Closing dates where known are indicated in the above table None of the nautical themed restaurants built in the early 1930s appear in 1940 telephone directories indicating that Childs had vacated those structures by that date The earlier locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn do appear in those directories except for the very early location at 815 Broadway and the South 4th Street location which is not known to have been a restaurant 46 64 88 The following locations were not necessarily built by the Childs Company but are notable for other reasons New York 41 Cortlandt Street New York NY first location 42 East 14th Street New York NY longtime corporate headquarters also housed a restaurant 89 200 Fifth Avenue New York NY corporate headquarters in later years 64 3 Beaver Street New York NY Demolished in 1928 to build part of 26 Broadway also known as the Standard Oil Building 90 1501 Broadway at 43rd Street New York NY below the Paramount Theater 91 92 1551 1553 Broadway at 46th St NW corner New York NY 93 1546 Broadway between 45th amp 46th Streets New York NY 92 2276 Broadway at 82nd Street New York NY 94 300 304 W 59th St SW Corner Columbus Circle New York NY 95 96 97 1939 New York World s Fair this temporary location in the Fair s Railroad Building seated 1000 patrons and featured elaborate murals 98 Washington D C 1423 Pennsylvania Avenue N W Washington DC 99 New Jersey Tennessee Avenue Atlantic City NJ replaced in 1927 by a company built location one block away at South Carolina Avenue 100 101 Missouri 218 220 North Seventh St amp 614 616 Olive St St Louis The North Seventh location was leased in 1903 in expectation of the crowds at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904 102 In 1912 Child s leased 614 616 Olive St which backsided their N Seventh St location allowing for entrance to the expanded restaurant from both streets 103 104 Childs added a second story to the building in 1915 by which point they were the stated owners of the property 105 Both locations would become referenced in advertising from 1915 until 1935 when the location closed 106 804 Washington St St Louis 107 1121 Walnut St Kansas City 108 Maryland 18 North Charles St Baltimore 1906 1953 109 Rhode Island 142 Westminster St Providence 1910 1974 110 Georgia 10 Marietta St Atlanta 111 Related businesses Edit Grain House Restaurant in Franklin Corners Although legally separate from the core Childs Restaurants chain the founders and various family members operated a number of other businesses throughout the 20th century Below are brief summaries of those operations In 1929 William Childs purchased a historic property near his home in Franklin Corners New Jersey and converted it without making any structural modifications to an inn and restaurant The Olde Mill Inn and The Grain House Restaurant This upscale operation was distinctly different from the traditional Childs Restaurants yet it also met with great success The family continued to operate it for some time 112 but The Olde Mill Inn and Grain House Restaurant was eventually acquired by The Bocina Group which continues to operate it as of 2009 In December 1929 after being ousted from the core company William Childs announced that the family had taken over the Archambault Restaurant at 2678 Broadway and would relaunch it as Old Algiers the first in a series of old world themed restaurants In this business he partnered primarily with three nephews Ellsworth E Childs William S Childs and Wallace A Childs 15 113 The new company was soon organized under the corporate name Old London Inc which was also the theme of their second 1 000 seat location launched in 1931 at 130 West 42nd Street 114 This enterprise did not expand much further likely due to William s advancing age He died in 1938 and is buried behind the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church near his New Jersey estate with a large number of other Childs family members 115 As of 2009 the original F O Hendrick location is still an operating diner now called the Anytime Cafe Key executives EditFamily controlled period Edit Samuel S Childs co founder and president 1889 1925 William Childs co founder vice president and general manager 1889 1925 chairman and president 1925 1929 30 Luther Childs director 1929 Ellsworth Childs director 1906 1929 treasurer 1929 William S Childs director 1929 F O Hendrick general manager 1929 William A Barber general counsel 116 Later period Edit S Willard Smith president 1929 1931 117 William P Allen president c 1932 118 George D Strohmeyer president 1933 1941 118 119 Edward C Field president 1941 1948 120 John F X Finn court appointed trustee 1943 1947 John L Hennessey president 1948 1949 former president of Statler Co Inc 121 122 123 John J Bergen chairman c 1950 124 N Clarkson Earl Jr president 1950 1951 former executive at Howard Johnson s Restaurants 125 Charles Crouch executive vice president c 1950 Abraham M Sonnabend president 1954 1963 Converted Childs into Hotel Corporation of America later Sonesta International Hotels Corporation 25 126 Popular culture EditIn music Edit The song Manhattan written by Rodgers and Hart in 1925 for the musical Garrick Gaities and famously recorded by Tony Bennett Ella Fitzgerald and others includes the lines We ll go to Yonkers where true love conquers in the wilds And starve together dear in Childs In print Edit The poem Spain in Fifty Ninth Street written by E B White tells the story of a brief but emotional interaction between a Childs hostess and a random customer described as a man of affairs at the Spanish Childs location presumably on 59th Street 127 White wrote a number of other short stories and poems that referenced or featured Childs likely due to the daily presence of the establishments in his life during the late 1920s and 1930s in New York City The book Main Street written by Sinclair Lewis talks of the main characters eating at a Childs restaurant to economize while traveling to Minneapolis In film Edit The opening montage sequence of Neil Simon and Gene Saks 1968 film The Odd Couple includes a shot of a neon signed Childs restaurant in New York City one of several locations Felix Ungar Jack Lemmon visits before checking into a fleabag hotel to try to commit suicide 128 In television Edit Jimmy Darmody suggests to Richard Harrow Let s go get a steak at Childs in the season 2 finale of Boardwalk Empire To the Lost Onstage EditPlaywright David Belasco incorporated a complete reproduction of a Childs Restaurant in his 1912 production of Alice Bradley s The Governor s Lady Childs Restaurant Scene in The Governor s Lady Composer George Antheil who spent part of the 1920s in New York City selected a Childs Restaurant as one of several iconic American locations along with the Bowery and the Brooklyn Bridge for the setting of his 1930 opera Transatlantic 129 130 In the 1953 musical Wonderful Town which depicted life in New York City during the 1930s the song What A Waste music by Leonard Bernstein lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green in Act I includes the lyrics Girl from Mobile Versatile actress Tragic or comic Any old play Suffered and starved Met Stanislavsky He said the world would Cheer her some day Came to New York Repertoire ready Chekhov s and Shakespeare s and Wilde s Now they watch her flipping flapjacks at Childs What a waste What a waste What a waste of money and time 131 References Edit a b Austin Kenneth L Childs Company Ups and Downs The New York Times August 29 1943 Women would work for lower wages than men a b Childs Restaurant Founder Is Dead Samuel S Childs The New York Times March 18 1925 Zuber Amy William amp Samuel Childs Nations Restaurant News February 1996 Childs Unique Dairy Company The New York Times November 27 1898 Standard Oil Money To Extend Childs The New York Times June 6 1912 a b Going Vegetable wise Time March 19 1928 a b Childs War Time February 11 1929 In The Real Estate Field The New York Times August 1 1899 Ellsworth Childs Dies Suddenly At 60 The New York Times Page 23 April 18 1929 Ellsworth Childs Leaves Small Estate The New York Times Page 12 July 3 1929 Owner Employees Face Two Tests Battles for Control of Childs and Standard Oil The New York Times March 3 1929 Miller A T November 13 1920 Where Everybody Eats Now and Then The Magazine of Wall Street 27 1 27 28 Retrieved December 8 2021 10 500 000 Bonds for Savoy Plaza The New York Times November 29 1925 a b Childs Returns to the Restaurant Business Buys the Archambault The New York Times December 9 1929 Childs Co Control Seized By Family The New York Times January 31 1929 Childs Is Ousted At Stormy Board Session The New York Times Page 17 March 8 1929 Business amp Finance Stewart Out Childs Out Time March 18 1929 William Childs Left Estate to Relatives The New York Times July 29 1938 Repeal Cuts Price of Drinks In Half The New York Times December 5 1933 Childs Plan Approved Order of Confirmation Is Issued The New York Times Page 29 December 24 1947 Childs Executive Now Heads Sherry The New York Times May 25 1950 Childs Co Changes Name The New York Times Page 42 February 23 1956 a b Sonesta Intl Hotels Corp Company History retrieved April 25 2009 a b Childs Vote Scheduled Company Proposes Lease and Purchase of Hotels The New York Times Page 53 September 28 1955 Childs Approves Plaza Purchase The New York Times Page 37 November 18 1955 Fowler Glenn Irving Riese 71 A Restaurateur Specializing In Fast Food Outlets The New York Times December 11 1990 The Riese Organization Corporate History Archived April 26 2009 at the Wayback Machine obtained April 23 2009 Entity Information for Sonesta International Hotels Corporation formerly known as Childs Company permanent dead link New York Department of State Division of Corporations a b Report of New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission February 3 2003 Designation List 344 LP 2106 Archived March 20 2009 at the Wayback Machine obtained April 24 2009 a b Gray Christopher Streetscapes The Childs Building Fast Food Then and Now On Stylish Fifth Avenue The New York Times November 6 1988 Gray Christopher Streetscapes The Former Childs Restaurant in Coney Island The New York Times July 1 2002 Gray Christopher Streetscapes William Van Alen An Architect Called the Ziegfeld of His Profession The New York Times March 22 1998 Dunlap David W A Long Farewell to a Restaurant s White Tiled Past The New York Times March 20 2008 J C Westervelt Architect 61 Dies The New York Times April 9 1934 Laurence F S The American Architect amp The Architectural Review September 10 1924 Stern Robert A M et al New York 1930 Architecture and Urbanism Between the Two World Wars New York Rizzoli 1987 pp 275 6 815 Broadway CastIronNYC org Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society in America Retrieved May 24 2014 The 1904 Facelift of No 36 West 34th Street Daytonian in Manhattan Blog January 18 2014 Retrieved May 24 2014 Fade From White Memories of Pancakes at Childs The New York Times July 31 2007 Retrieved April 27 2014 Childs Restaurant Building Designation Report PDF New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Archived from the original PDF on March 26 2013 Retrieved April 28 2014 Baldock Melissa From Food To Freak Shows Coney Island s Unsung Childs Restaurant Archived April 28 2009 at the Wayback Machine Municipal Art Society of New York April 14 2009 retrieved on April 24 2009 Yonge Street Then and Now Lost Toronto January 5 2011 Retrieved May 17 2014 My Toronto Art Deco trip Part 1 Natalie Servant Designs Retrieved May 17 2014 530 Fulton Street Certificate of Occupancy PDF New York City Department of Buildings Archived from the original PDF on May 25 2014 Retrieved May 24 2014 a b Brooklyn Telephone Directory Winter 1939 1940 New York Telephone Company Retrieved May 24 2014 530 Fulton Street View Google Maps Retrieved May 24 2014 Manhattan New Building Database 1900 1986 Enter Childs in owner field Office for Metropolitan History Retrieved May 28 2014 377 Fifth Avenue Certificate of Occupancy PDF New York City Dept of Buildings Archived from the original PDF on May 25 2014 Retrieved May 24 2014 Latest Dealings in the Realty Field PDF The New York Times October 19 1919 Retrieved May 24 2014 NYCityMap Borough Brooklyn Block 2433 Lot 39 City of New York Retrieved May 3 2014 Google Maps 219 S 4th Street Brooklyn NY Google Inc Retrieved May 3 2014 Child s Restaurant South 4th Street TUESDAY JULY 22 2008 Joel Kimmel Retrieved May 3 2014 Brooklyn Queens Staten Island New York City Telephone Directory 1927 New York Telephone Company 1927 Former Childs Restaurant Building Designation Report PDF New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Archived from the original PDF on March 26 2013 Retrieved April 27 2014 Next on the List for Coney Island A New Theater The New York Times April 10 2013 Retrieved April 28 2014 The History of 3 Midtown Neighbors The New York Times July 22 2010 Retrieved April 27 2014 TGI Friday s departure from Fifth Avenue doesn t upset building owners July 5 2015 Woodside Queens Part 2 Forgotten New York October 22 2005 Retrieved April 27 2014 NYCityMap Borough Queens Block 1233 Lot 49 City of New York Retrieved April 27 2014 Certificate of Occupancy 421 23 Seventh Avenue PDF New York City Department of Buildings Retrieved June 17 2014 permanent dead link Manhattan Block 809 Lot 1 CityMap City of New York Retrieved June 17 2014 421 23 7th Avenue Childs Building mcny org Museum of the City of New York Archived from the original on June 17 2014 Retrieved June 17 2014 a b c Manhattan Telephone Directory 1940 Issue New York Telephone Company p 189 Retrieved May 25 2014 Lost Fast Food Childs Restaurants in Washington StreetsofWashington Retrieved April 27 2014 http greatergreaterwashington org post 8319 lost washington childs fast food restaurants Greater Greater Washington November 30 2010 obtained December 2 2010 Lorraine hair nets Child s Restaurant Hotel Belmont 3 advertisements 1938 photo showing Childs in operation at this site Duke University Libraries Retrieved September 23 2020 NYCityMap Borough Queens Block 649 Lot 5 City of New York Retrieved May 16 2014 Broadway in Queens Part 1 Forgotten New York January 17 2009 Retrieved May 16 2014 Historic American Buildings Survey PDF HABS No NJ 963 U S Department of the Interior Archived from the original PDF on April 29 2014 Retrieved April 27 2014 This is not just another McDonald s Ephemeral New York Retrieved April 27 2014 NYCityMap Borough Queens Block 3620 Lot 7 City of New York Retrieved May 16 2014 Ridgewood Queens Forgotten New York July 28 2005 Retrieved May 16 2014 NYCityMap Borough Brooklyn Block 5024 Lot 67 City of New York Retrieved May 17 2014 Childs Restaurant Building Still Standing on Queens Boulevard Brownstoner Queens June 19 2013 Retrieved April 27 2014 NYCityMap Borough Queens Block 1334 Lot 77 City of New York Retrieved April 27 2014 Childs Restaurant Eating In Translation Retrieved May 3 2014 NYCityMap Borough Queens Block 160 Lot 23 City of New York Retrieved May 3 2014 NYCityMap Borough Brooklyn Block 5560 Lot 52 City of New York Retrieved May 16 2014 18th Avenue Brooklyn Forgotten New York February 10 2008 Retrieved May 16 2014 StreetView 2007 view showing intact Childs building which later views do not Google Inc 15 02 College Point StreetView maps google com Google Inc Retrieved June 17 2014 Queens Block 4076 Lot 14 CityMap City of New York Retrieved June 17 2014 NYCityMap Borough Brooklyn Block 6738 Lot 49 City of New York Retrieved May 16 2014 Coney Island to Midwood Brooklyn Part 2 Forgotten New York December 19 2010 Retrieved May 16 2014 JERICHO TURNPIKE Floral Park Bellerose Queens Forgotten NY August 5 2007 Retrieved May 3 2014 NYCityMap Borough Queens Block 8659 Lot 1 City of New York Retrieved May 3 2014 Queens Telephone Directory Winter 1939 1940 New York Telephone Company Retrieved May 25 2014 1907 Childs Menu Menu with locations on reverse New York Public Library p 2 Retrieved May 25 2014 NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission Report on Standard Oil Building Archived May 24 2011 at the Wayback Machine See Note 4 obtained March 5 2010 Thurber James The Talk of the Town Childs in Paramount The New Yorker June 9 1928 p 9 a b Stench Bombs in Childs Three Restaurants Raided but Diners Are Not Affected The New York Times August 18 1936 Times Square Plot Bought By Childs The New York Times Page 31 June 23 1920 New Childs Restaurant The New York Times May 14 1920 About New York Noted Night Life Restaurant Quits in Tearful Memory of 42 Years PDF The New York Times December 11 1953 Retrieved April 28 2014 Biederman Marcia Journey to an Overlooked Past The New York Times June 11 2000 In The Real Estate Field Big Lease In Columbus Circle The New York Times Page 17 December 23 1910 George D Strohmeyer President of Childs Company with hostesses See caption on reverse New York Public Library Childs Restaurant 1917 Shorpy com Blogsite March 9 2009 obtained April 24 2009 Ristine James D amp Pergament Allen Atlantic City Arcadia Publishing 2008 ISBN 0 7385 5704 8 Pages 61 62 Beach Skyscraper Open The New York Times Page 12 March 4 1906 The St Louis Republic volume November 12 1903 Page 2 St Louis Post Dispatch July 28 1912 page 28 The St Louis Star and Times July 6 1913 page 18 The American Contractor Volume 36 1903 page 16 St Louis Post Dispatch May 5 1935 page 24 St Louis Post Dispatch December 11 1984 Page 19 The Kansas City Times August 17 1911 Page 9 The Baltimore Sun September 6 1906 Page 3 The Baltimore Sun December 27 1953 Page 24 Lost Restaurants of Providence By David Norton Stone 2019 Arcadia Publishing Page 95 The Atlanta Constitution January 19 1919 Page 6 William S Childs A Restaurateur 52 The New York Times Page 30 February 20 1952 New Restaurant Chain William Childs Opens Old Algiers The New York Times April 30 1930 E B White The Talk of the Town Newest Old Place The New Yorker June 20 1931 p 7 William Childs Dead Restaurant Man The New York Times May 23 1938 William Barber Legal Leader 80 The New York Times Page 28 February 9 1950 S Willard Smith 77 Once Headed Childs The New York Times Page 13 July 9 1949 a b Strohmeyer Heads Childs Company The New York Times Page 29 March 31 1933 George D Strohmeyer Is Dead Lead Chain of Childs Restaurants The New York Times Page 39 February 11 1965 Heads Childs Company E C Field Elected President of Restaurant Chain The New York Times Page 25 June 27 1941 New Chef At Childs Time December 13 1948 Food Authority Elected Head of Childs Company The New York Times Page 41 November 30 1948 Childs President Quits John L Hennessy Will Remain As Director The New York Times Page 19 August 27 1949 Smith Gene Personality Navy Baseball and Business Graham Paige Chief The New York Times Page F3 July 27 1958 N Clarkson Earl Dies at 68 Led Childs Restaurant Chain The New York Times Page 47 February 19 1969 A M Sonnabend Is Dead At 67 The New York Times February 12 1964 White E B Poetry Spain In Fifty Ninth Street The New Yorker June 15 1935 p 14 The Odd Couple theme song film soundtrack original music score YouTube New Opera To Be Laid In Childs Restaurant The New York Times February 16 1930 Page 28 Watson Steven 2000 Prepare for Saints Gertrude Stein Virgil Thomson and the Mainstreaming of American Modernism University of California Press p 327 ISBN 978 0 520 22353 0 Retrieved March 2 2020 Lyrics from What A Waste Wonderful Town 1953 based on life in New York City External links Edit Media related to Childs Restaurants at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Childs Restaurants amp oldid 1138005088, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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