University Hall, site of Lüchow's
110 East 14th Street | also 106 East 14th Street | East Village | built 1998
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1882
August Luchow buys out his employer and takes over the restaurant at 110 East 14th Street
German-born August Guido Luchow reached New York in 1879 at age 23 and found work at the small von Muehlbach restaurant here. In 1882 he bought the place from his boss and soon began enlarging it, until it was widely known for German cooking and beer. He later absorbed the neighboring buildings at Nos. 108 and 112. This was an earlier building on the site, long before NYU's University Hall.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1909
An off-duty policeman waves a revolver at Luchow's after being refused a drink without a necktie
On a Sunday morning, patrolman William O'Connor walked in collarless and tieless and ordered drinks, but the waiter said Sunday service required a meal and that the house served no one so dressed. O'Connor pulled a revolver at the bar and sent diners fleeing. Police arrested four waiters on his word, yet weeks later he got off with a fine of ten days' pay. This was an earlier building on the site.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1914
Victor Herbert and associates meet at Luchow's to plan ASCAP
In February 1914 the composer Victor Herbert and eight associates met at Luchow's to draft plans for a performing-rights group that grew into the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Members came back to the restaurant on June 28, 1951, when about 200 of them held an all-star dinner in his memory. This was an earlier building on the site, in the old 14th Street theater district.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1915
August Luchow publicly denies his restaurant cheered the sinking of the Lusitania
After a German submarine sank the Lusitania on May 7, 1915, at least one newspaper reported that patrons at Luchow's had celebrated. August Luchow answered through his lawyer in a letter the New-York Tribune printed on May 9: he was a longtime American citizen, his orchestra was instructed to play no foreign national airs, and most guests were Americans. This was an earlier building on the site.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1934
Nazi supporters crash a German-American Conference meeting upstairs at Luchow's
A newspaper report of May 27, 1934 said Nazis had crashed the previous Friday night's meeting of the German-American Conference, held in an upper room here. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency called it the most significant meeting since Hitler's rise to power. German-born New Yorkers decided that night to stop holding the Conference's meetings, fearing disruption or a Nazi takeover. This was an earlier building on the site.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1982
Luchow's closes on 14th Street, then becomes a disco within months
The owners left 14th Street for Broadway and 51st Street in 1982, and former patrons packed the restaurant on closing night, July 11. In August a demolition permit was filed for Nos. 108 through 112, and a rally followed, but the Landmarks Preservation Commission did not act. In November the interiors became a disco called The Palace, renamed the New Palladium three years later. This was an earlier building on the site.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1994
A mysterious fire destroys the last historic remnants of the old Luchow's building
After Luchow's moved out, the building briefly held the Palace, a nightclub-cabaret-restaurant, and later a gay bar. An attempt to demolish it in 1985 failed, and it stood vacant for years without landmark status. A fire in 1994 wiped out what historic character remained, the city ordered it demolished, and it came down in 1995. NYU's University Hall now stands on the site, and this was an earlier building.
“The 14th Street building was finally demolished in 1995 after being gutted by a fire the year before.”
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- A Landmark Lost -- Luchow's German Restaurant, No. 110 E 14th StreetDaytonian in Manhattan
- 106 East 14th Street, 106-112 East 14th Street, 105-109 East 13th StreetVillage Preservation: East Village Building Blocks
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