1930s: West 102nd Street and Broadway
By Caitlin Hawke
You may recall that last week I revealed matchbooks I'd unearthed from the Old Algiers restaurant. What I was after -- but have failed to turn up -- is any picture of that dining establishment. However I can tell you that the restaurant was located on the SE corner where Mama Mexico once was and now the site of Mexican Festival. And I can also tell you that its grand opening was on April 29, 1930. The NYT clip below is my source.
You may recall that last week I revealed matchbooks I'd unearthed from the Old Algiers restaurant. What I was after -- but have failed to turn up -- is any picture of that dining establishment. However I can tell you that the restaurant was located on the SE corner where Mama Mexico once was and now the site of Mexican Festival. And I can also tell you that its grand opening was on April 29, 1930. The NYT clip below is my source.
"Old Algiers" replaced "Archambault's" which billed itself as "The Up Town Restaurant De Luxe." I got the location thanks to Michael Susi who has some amazing postcard collections and has written histories of the Upper West Side and Columbia University's Morningside Heights all through the images in his collection. In his book on the Upper West Side, he has both an interior and an exterior of Archambault's.
But Old Algiers remains a mystery...for now.
But Old Algiers remains a mystery...for now.
As you can see from the little article, Old Algiers (and the other restaurant on the matchbook, Old London) were part of a mini empire of kitch dining emporia.
Clipping from the NYT on April 30, 1930
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