1935 Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book

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OLD WALDORF-ASTORIA BAR BOOK the central space of the rectangle, he must satisfy the de– mands of at least half a dozen accumulated patrons, either for breakfast appetizers or for something to take away what was left of the jag of the night before. From five o'clock in the evening until eight, the room was jammed at its tables and at its counter, and late-comers, whose "innards" were sending out an SOS, found themselves impeded in their progress toward satisfaction by S.R.O. conditions. During those three hours named, the Waldorf-Astoria Bar was Wall Street moved bodily uptown for an ad– journed session of the Stock Exchange, with men betting on how stocks would perform the next day. In one dis– creet corner a ticker kept clicking off news. Here market pool!! were often formed. Here were to be found men who were willing to bet on anything, and to any amount. Financiers and market operators, with names that gained newspaper front pages every day or so, clustered about the tables, or joined in the maggot-like surge that squirmed for a foothold on the substantial brass tradition that ran along the bottom of the counter. Some who once gained such a post of vantage never left until the Bar closed. Many forms of beverage dated their origin to the in– spiration of some clever Waldorf bartender. Or, perhaps, it was a translation of the passing fancy of a patron who wanted something different to drink, and entirely of his own conception. If the result met his expectations, he might thereafter call only for his own cocktail, or what– ever it was, and the bartender, out of compliment, would christen the new drink after its godfather. A school of drinking, and a distinctive one, the old Wal– dorf Bar undoubtedly was. And-which may surprise many -it was a real school of art-a school in which more than