Antique Silverplated Tureen From Crillon & Café De L’Opera Nyc

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A beautiful and rare piece of New York City restaurant history, an antique circa 1913 heavy, silver plated soup tureen … Read more A beautiful and rare piece of New York City restaurant history, an antique circa 1913 heavy, silver plated soup tureen originally marked on the base for Café de Paris, which is crossed through, and then it was marked for a second restaurant Crillon. The tureen is in excellent condition for its age, no dents or damage, just some very small surface marks, light scratches from polishing, and signs of use. It has polished up beautifully with just a few pinpoint marks of discoloration inside.

This large piece measures approximately 14 inches handle to handle by 7 inches wide, 5 inches tall without the lid, 8 inches tall to the top of the lid. This piece weighs nearly 5 pounds empty.

The final images are ephemera I found while researching this piece, they’re included for historical context/interest only and do not come with the purchase of the tureen.

Some history on these two restaurants:

Cafe del'Opera Opened in 1910 and failed after only four months, after which it changed its name to Louis Martin’s. When it opened in 1910 Cafe del'Opera was considered the grandest of not only the Broadway lobster palaces, it was the most lavish and visually-staggering restaurant in New York City. The restaurant was built in the old Saranac Hotel building at the corner of Broadway and 41st Street and encompassed all eight floors of the building! This massive restaurant required a staff of 750. The New York Times reported at the time of opening that the renovation cost upwards of $4 million (a staggering sum 110+ years ago) and there were 200,000 pieces of silverware, 60,000 glasses, 250,000 pieces of linen and 100,000 pieces of china. Unfortunately the restaurant never could make a ends meet, and four months later was shuttered, many of the contents were sold off to pay creditors and a more streamlined version of the restaurant was reopened under the manager’s name, Louis Martin’s. Louis Martin couldn’t make a go of it with this lavish restaurant either, and in 1913 the restaurant was taken over by the Times Square Hotel Company, which renamed it the Café de Paris. Sadly, this new café would only be open about a year, and by 1915 the hotel that housed this incredible restaurant was raised to make way for a new Times Square office building.

The restaurant Crillon opened in 1919 at 15 East 48th Street, serving French and Viennese cuisine. The restaurant was opened by two Austrian brothers, Alfons and Otto Baumgarten, the same brothers who opened the iconic French restaurant Voisin (we have two Voisin copper pots in our shop right now). Six years after opening Voisin, the brothers left the restaurant to their staff to pursue even more ambitious projects, including the Crillon. The restaurant caused a sensation when it opened, it is called the "first modernistic interior in America," the Crillon featured flat, starkly delineated wall surfaces; prismatic hues; and large, simplified decorations, based on the patterns found in Navajo blankets and Indian pottery. The interiors by Winold Reiss proved so sensational the Baumgarten brothers partnered with him on all of their future projects, including hotels & restaurants, a bakery, and a Viennese chocolate shop. He designed absolutely everything that had to do with a project, from the interiors and signage to the advertisements, business cards, and guest checks, even their bakery delivery van! See less