New York Theatre

Bonus history of the Toffenetti Restaurant on the corner. Courtesy of Cathy Dorsey, via the ‎Manhattan Before 1990 FB Group.

Dario Toffenetti immigrated to the US from Austria in 1910. After success as a restaurateur in Chicago he expanded eastward. He commissioned architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to design his restaurant at the SE corner of W 43rd St. and Broadway, one of the firm’s earliest projects. It was a sleek two-story building fronted with curved blue-glass panels, outfitted with an escalator. It had an exposed show-off gleaming stainless steel kitchen separated from the diningroom by a glass wall so that diners could see the action. It had murals painted by Hugh Troy. Toffenetti Restaurant opened on August 7, 1940, with seating for 1,000 and service 24/7.