While the Upper East Side may be filled with an endless supply of fun bars and restaurants, the neighborhood – especially along First and Second avenues – was once known best known for its “dullness after sunset,” according to a 1970 New York Times article which seems to have marked the area’s official transformation into something cool.
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The 1960s Upper East Side was a “wasteland” – at least according to Dr. Jessica Spector, a Yale professor who specializes in intellectual history, ethics and drink culture. But that would all soon change, thanks in large part to Alan Stillman, who opened the first T.G.I. Friday’s on 63rd Street and First Avenue – a meeting place that would become legendary and catalyze change in the area.
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The first T.G.I. Friday’s (now home to Baker Street Irregulars) opened at 1152 First Avenue in 1965. The neighborhood’s social scene would soon revolve around the establishment, which – unlike most NYC watering holes – catered to young women with its Tiffany decor, sweet drinks, and $1 admission for men.
c/o TGI Fridays via Facebook
“Now it’s not true there weren’t places for women to drink [in New York] at the time,” Spector told InsideHook in 2020. “But women of a particular subset of society, the kinds of women who went to college, didn’t go to bars before this. And then they did.”
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A perfume salesman who wanted to create a female-friendly bar vastly different from the male-dominated saloons and dives that dotted the city, Stillman positioned the first T.G.I Friday’s near the Queensboro Bridge to cater to stewardesses who lived in or passed through the area on the way to or from NYC airports. The success of Friday’s began a trend that was soon adopted by other bars, both existing and newly opened, in the area.
“We’re from Queens, but there’s a Brooklyn Group and a Bronx group, too,” Jill Bell, a mid-20s kindergarten teacher, said at the time from a seat at Friday’s bar. “I guess I looked down my nose on this before I came, but now I look at it as a pleasant place to meet people.”
“It’s not necessary to always end up with a date. If it happens, fine. But I really just enjoy the companionship.”
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In the 1970 article titled “Upper East Side No Longer Dullsville to Young,” the NYT cites Maxwell’s Plum (64th and First) and Mr. Laff’s (right next door, owned by former Yankee Phil Linz) as other area bars that helped transform the neighborhood into an attraction for singles from all over New York City.
Postcard photo of the now defunct Maxwell’s Plum restaurant and bar in New York City.
“This place used to be the dullest around,” a young male UES resident said of the neighborhood. “Now it’s the place to be in the city. It’s ‘The Scene’!”
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By the late 1970s, the Times had dubbed Manhattan’s East Side as “the singles’ Gold Coast.” Single twenty-somethings flocked to the area, which tried to both accommodate and capitalize on the shift. Local boutiques changed their hours to stay open until midnight or later. Movie theaters popped up along Third Avenue. First Avenue between E. 63rd and 64th streets shut down every Friday night at 8 p.m. to allow room for overflow crowds.
“During the day, this is a family neighborhood,” 59-year-old Milton Weber, walking through crowds with his wife, told the NYT in 1965. “But we love to come here and look at people. Lately, it’s become very honky-tonk. Such hordes of people, with that young opulent look, you know. There are more kooks, but I wouldn’t miss it.”
I guess Don Draper slummed it at Peggy’s dingy apartment, pre-1965.
I was there for the whole show. A regular at Friday’s, Maxwell’s Plum, Mr. Laffs and Adam’s Apple. Great times.
Oh yeah, Adam’s Apple. Haven’t heard that name in a long time. Moved to the UES in 1980.
How bout Who’s on First. Dangerfields. Rascals. Altos. Further up Oren and Aretsky and McMullens. All gold in the day. Icing on the cake – Elaine’s.
What about Gleason’s?
Gleason’s Tavern on York and 75 St. was outstanding!
It was a single’s haven. Joe Gleason, the owner, and the staff were outstanding. All of the bartenders were on-the-money. I do remember Patty ,and my apologies for not recalling the other great servers. If they and Joe Gleason are still in touch please contact me. I would love to hear from you. The burgers were great and the ladies were beautiful. Surely, it was great to be single in New York City in the 1970s. At this stage of my life I would give anything to re-live just one Friday night in the best singles bar ever in NYC.
George McIntyre
I remember those days..Maxwells, Mr. Laffs, Ginger Man, Rums, too many to remember. I was a young woman, 22 yrs. old and very good looking…I had such fun in those days….I am grateful for the wonderful memories. I had a one room apartment at One University Square, in the Village, 8th St. next to Loeb Student Center. rent was $85 a month and we had a doorman and a telephone operator….sometimes I wish I had written a book.
Kathleen – Since u were 22 and very pretty I am positive we dated. Not sure for how long though.
Great to journey down memory lane!!!