Photo Coverage: Fran Drescher, Christopher Sieber & More Celebrate Reopening of Tavern on the Green
By: Walter McBride May. 13, 2014
The newly restored Tavern on the Green, located in Central Park just west of the Sheep Meadow near 67th Street, just celebrated its historic re-opening last night, May 12. The new Tavern on the Green, with executive chef Katy Sparks at the helm, serves Contemporary American cuisine with global influences offering a new take on a Park dining establishment serving all New Yorkers and visitors to Central Park. BroadwayWorld takes you inside the historic event below!
The Central Park Conservancy has invested more than $600 million to enhance, repair and maintain the Park''s 843 acres, attracting more than 40 million visitors annually and making it the most visited park in the United States. The tremendous popularity of Central Park has created a need for more services and amenities for the park user. The City felt the time was right for a fresh take on a dining establishment with a focus on serving visitors to the park and the surrounding community in a historic building, rather than formal dining and catering. The new Tavern on the Green is envisioned as a neighborhood destination that will act in harmony with its natural park environs.
Central Park is one of the most popular destinations in New York City and the most visited park in the world. It is a recreational and economic hub of activity for New York City''s millions of residents and visitors. In addition to ballfields, gardens, lakes, bicycling and running paths, outdoor performance venues, tennis courts, ice skating rinks, a zoo and carousel, Central Park hosts dozens of dining options, from pushcarts to cafes and restaurants.
Tavern on the Green, originally known as the Sheepfold in Central Park, was designed by Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould and constructed in the latter half of the 19th century. It is one of the city''s finest examples of Victorian Gothic architecture and one of the park''s most treasured landmarked buildings. The preliminary sketch for the building was published in the First Annual Report of the Department of Public Parks of 1871. Sixty years later, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses converted the Sheepfold (which actually housed 200 sheep that grazed across the street) into a restaurant named Tavern on the Green, which opened to the public on October 20, 1934.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride
Tavern on the Green
Tavern on the Green
Tavern on the Green
Tavern on the Green
Tavern on the Green
Tavern on the Green
Bruce Vilanch and mom
Bruce Vilanch and mom
Jim Caiola
David Salama
David Salama
Kristen Taekman
Bob Gruen
Stephen Sorokoff and EDa Sorokoff
Stephen Sorokoff and EDa Sorokoff
Goodbye Motel
Goodbye Motel
Andrew Fitch and Orion Griffiths
Kevin Burrows and Christopher Sieber
Kevin Burrows and Christopher Sieber
The cast of 'CABARET'
The cast of 'CABARET'
Mickey Conlon and Tom Postillo
Mickey Conlon and Tom Postillo
Michael Gelman and Laurie Hibberd
Michael Gelman and Laurie Hibberd
Fran Drescher and Jim Caiola
Fran Drescher and Jim Caiola
Bruce Vilanch and mom
Bruce Vilanch and mom
Julianne Michelle
Julianne Michelle
Beth Stern and Kristen Taekman
Beth Stern, David Salama, Jim Caiola and Kristen Taekman
Kristen Taekman
Josh Taekman and Kirsten Taekman
Bob Gruen
David Salama, Michael Imperioli, Jim Caiola and kids
Shiva Ayyadurai and Fran Drescher
Shiva Ayyadurai and Fran Drescher
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