The pictures below show larger views of this May 20th, 1941 (dated inside) Autographed Times Square New York Hotel Astor Roof Restaurant Tommy Dorsey Advertising Menu. The cover of this menu has a great black & white image of great big bandleader Tommy Dorsey with a green background. The inscription on the front appears to be imprinted, and not signed, but there are (2) autographs on the back of the menu. The front reads as follows: “I’M GETTING SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU” TOMMY DORSEY ASTOR ROOF TIMES SQUARE The two autographs on the back page include: Big Band era Singer Connie Haines, signed: “BEST ALWAYS CONNIE HAINES”. Big Band Drummer Buddy Rich (idol of Great Percussionist Neil Peart of the band “RUSH”), signed: “BUDDY RICH”. The menu has advertising for “THE SKYWALK CAFE”, cocktail menu, beer slection, special dinner, and a long list of dinner specials. To judge the size the closed four page menu measures about 9-1/8'' x 12-1/2''. It appears to be in good used condition with wear, creasing and corner wear as pictured. Below here is some additional information found on the Hotel Astor’s Roof Gardens: Times Square’s Hotel Astor, opened in 1904 on West 45th Street, was an opulent 500 room palace boasting luxurious banquet halls, terraces, tea parlors, and a Louis XV decorated ballroom. It also had a huge, elaborate roof garden where Gilded Age New Yorkers dined, danced, and entertained themselves, catching cool river breezes in a pre air conditioned era. It’s been gone since 1967, replaced by an office tower. But back in the day, a New York Times article from 1920 had this to say: “Down near Times Square the Hotel Astor Roof Garden and Belvedere Restaurant make it possible for the wayfarer to leave the torrid stretches of Seventh Avenue and in a few moments find himself in a real garden surrounded by flowers. “There is the open air dancing floor and the restaurant is conspicuous for dangling ferns and trailing vines. A unique feature of the restaurant is the gabled glass roof over which flows a miniature Niagra.” |