RIP ‘THE 21 CLUB’

1930 – 2021

The 21 Club, Manhattan’s iconic nightspot and restaurant, will close for good by March 2021. The former prohibition-era speakeasy is located at 21 West 52nd Street (hence the name) in New York City. 

Perhaps the most famous feature of 21 is the collection lawn jockeys adorning the balcony above the entrance.

In “Vacation From Marriage” (ILL S2;E6) Lucy and Ethel tell their husbands they have been to 21 four times (“That’s 84!”).  

In “Mr. and Mrs. TV Show” (ILL S4;E24), Lucy tells Ricky she met a TV producer while having lunch at 21 with Carolyn Appleby.

In “Lucy Wants A Career” (LDCH S2;E4) newly employed television presenter Lucy Ricardo says that after signing her new contracts everyone went out to 21.

In “Lucy Goes Duck Hunting” (TLS S2;E6), Viv says that she and her boyfriend Eddie will probably go to 21 for dinner, take in a Broadway show, and then go dancing at the Waldorf.  

– from the book “Contemporary American Business Leaders” (1990)

~ May 10, 1946

~ January 16, 1950 

[Note: Slightly Out of Focus, a biopic about photographer Bob Capa starring Lucy and Desi, was never filmed.]