Central Park Casino

The Central Park Casino, originally the Ladies Refreshment Salon, was a restaurant near East 72nd Street, in Central Park in New York City. The name of the building came from the Italian for "little house"; the Casino itself was not a gambling business. Built in 1864, the restaurant was once intended for unaccompanied female visitors to Central Park, but was soon patronized by both men and women. While the building that housed the Casino belonged to the City of New York, the City often leased the Casino to independent operators. Mayor Jimmy Walker exercised this power in 1929 by terminating the lease of C.F. Zittel, allowing Walker's friend, Sidney Solomon, to transform the Casino into one of New York's most expensive nightclubs. Besides entertaining elite guests in the restaurant, Walker had an office in the Casino and conducted city administration there while meeting with political cronies.

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When the Great Depression hit four months after the Casino reopened, the nightclub faced increasing criticism for operating on city land while maintaining prices only the wealthiest New York residents could afford. As part of their personal vendetta against Jimmy Walker, the new Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia and his Park Commissioner Robert Moses demolished the Casino in 1936 and built the Mary Harriman Rumsey Playground over the site of the former restaurant.