In 1933, they welcomed the big, roomy, hotel grills and Broadway cafés.
Of the 50-odd blind pigs in 52nd Street, between Fifth and Sixth, only two remained. But those two have become national institutions.
By far the most famous cabaret night club in the country is Leon & Eddie's, at 33 West 52nd Street. It started in 1929 as a narrow, dingy speak, directly across the street from its present premises, at No. 18, now part of Rockefeller Center.
The 21 Club, next door to Leon & Eddie's, technically is a restaurant, not a night club, inasmuch as only food and liquor are served; no show or music.
A history of the 21 parallels the decline of society, about which more in a succeeding chapter.
Its proprietors, former speakeasy operators, came to be considered arbiters of high fashion. It was supposed to be a great honor to be permitted to enter their saloon. And if one of the bosses deigned to talk to you, it was regarded by many as equal to being a box-holder at the Metropolitan Opera.
When one of them (Jack Kriendler) got scorched in the papers, however, it was over a mess with a middle-aged Long Island matron, and the whole town howled with the anticlimax of it all. Kriendler died at the early age of 48. His funeral, attended by top names, was the social event of the season.
Though most of 52nd Street's gin joints folded and died in 1933, the thoroughfare did not lose its essential character as an entertainment avenue.
People were used to it, the traffic advantages remained, and it was near to the Music Hall, Broadway and the East Side.
Many of the undercover locations blossomed out under new management, and with new decorations, as intimate night clubs.