Category Archives: Venues

Venues

Murray’s Night Club

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Murray’s Night Club

Murray’s Night Club in Beak Street, London was opened in late 1913 by Jack Mays, an American and Ernest A. Cordell, an Englishman. It was part of the cabaret boom inspired by the tango craze that had been sweeping Europe and the USA and emerged at the same time as other venues such as the 400 Club the Lotus and slightly later the Cosmopolitan, the Tabarin, Macfarlane’s and The Cave of the Golden Calf.

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Venues

Restaurant Maxim, London

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Restaurant Maxim, London

In a London street, not known for its smartness, shone Restaurant Maxim, a beacon of culinary delight, providing dinners, suppers and dancing all for half a crown in 1914.

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Venues

Cafe des Ambassadeurs

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Cafe des Ambassadeurs

The Café des Ambassadeurs was one of most fashionable and best-known summer venues in Paris situated on the Avenue Gabriel at the entrance to the Champs-Elysées near the Place de la Concorde. Named after the nearby Hotel Crillon that had become the residence of foreign ambassadors, it was founded in 1764 as a simple open air bar, a small pavilion was added in 1772 and it evolved into one of the most famous of the Parisian café concerts.

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Venues

Lido des Champs Elysees

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The Lido des Champs Elysees

Clearly inspired by the growing status of the Lido in Venice as a fashionable haunt of high society,the Lido des Champs Elysees, Paris, opened its doors on 18th February 1928 and was a novelty being a unique combination of a swimming pool, cabaret and restaurant and was described as ‘the seaside resort of Paris.’

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Venues

Cafe de Paris, London

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Cafe de Paris, London

The Cafe de Paris was one of the most fashionable dining haunts in London in 1920s. Intimate and elegant it was described by Vogue magazine as ‘delightfully comfortable’ and by Dancing Times as ‘the smartest dance restaurant in London…’

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Venues

Excelsior Hotel, Lido

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Excelsior Hotel, Lido

The Excelsior Hotel Lido has always been the focal point of social life on the Venice Lido and is one of the most luxurious and famous hotels in the world. It was made famous during the mid 1920s when it became one of the most fashionable spots in Europe with its very own cabaret called Chez Vous.

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Venues

The Kit Cat Club

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The Kit Cat Club

The fashionable Kit Cat Club in the Haymarket, which to many people today still epitomises the gay carefree days of the 1920s, was opened in the summer of 1925 and immediately became one of the most famous nocturnal haunts in London. Decked out with the last word in restaurant and dance floor equipment it was regarded as the most sumptuous resort in Europe and was the only club in London that had been built expressly for the purpose of a club.

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Venues

The Frolics in Paris

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The Frolics in Paris

An interesting venue that glittered brilliantly for a few years in the early 1920s and then promptly disappeared was regarded at the time as the rendezvous of smart international society in Paris.

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Venues

Hotel Cecil, London

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Hotel Cecil, London

The Hotel Cecil was one of the largest and grandest hotels in the world when it opened in 1886 situated between the Embankment and the Strand and not far from the Savoy Hotel. It was one of the most popular places to visit in London with excellent cuisine, perfect ambiance, luxurious surroundings and one of the best dancing salons in the West end.

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Venues

The London Casino

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The London Casino

The Prince Edward Theatre on Old Compton Street, named after Edward Prince of Wales, opened on the 3rd April 1930 on the site of a drapers business called The Emporium. The area was soon to be known as London’s Quarter Latin now simply Soho and the venue later became The London Casino. The exterior was in the style of an Italian Palace, and the foyer pure art deco. The auditorium was on two levels (stalls and dress circle) and seated 1,650. From its inception the shows staged (Rio Rita, Nippy, Fanfare) did not do well and even an appearance of the famous Parisian music hall star Josephine Baker failed to click. After the pantomime Aladdin the theatre was forced to close in January 1935.

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