1931 Old Waldorf Bar Days by Albert Stevens Crockett

OldWaldorf Bar Days near getting him, but Tammany needed him too much." The Waldorf, however, was not Jimmie Walker's fa_ vorite place of refreshment when he affected Fifth Ave– nue. When he discovered Sherry's for himself, with its quieter and more exclusive atmosphere, his close friends, who had been told he was not to be found at any of the political hangouts, might chance upon him there, during one of his runs down from the State Capital. As a matter of fact, one recalls first making his acquaint– ance at Sherry's bar. The other figure was seldom seen at any time in the Bar. But it was seen there. More apt to be found, it was, .however, in the Men's Cafe, when Boss Croker and Charlie Murphy were "receiving" at one of its tables. He was a good-looking young man, smooth-faced, quick– eyed, though his most prominent feature, perhaps, was a nose of the build that expresses determination. He didn't seem to be in the habit of saying much when in the Waldorf in those days, but he did appear to be doing a good deal of listening-and observing. Ex-Governor Smith, if he reads this book, will prob– ably learn for the first time of one prediction made about him years ago. It was one Tuesday night in 1916 -the month one does not recall. The bi-weekly dinner dance, a formal occasion at which George Boldt himself always presided as hos~t to a party of his favorite patrons and a few other friends, was to take place that evening in the South Cafe, adjoining the Bar. Boldt stopped me in the corridor as I was goi~g home to dress. "Will you preside at my table tonight?" he asked. "There is som~thing going on upstairs that I wouldn't [42]