The Mad Hatter Tearoom ca. 1892 The one-story building at left has early LGBT history in its incarnation as the Mad Hatter, which was located in the basement from 1916 to c. 1930. The first tearoom in the Village, the Mad Hatter attracted a bohemian crowd (and a number of upper class “slummers” who came to watch them). Eliza Helen Criswell – who went by “Jimmie,” had short hair, and wore sandals, artsy smocks, and tailored suits and ties for formal events – owned the establishment with her partner Mathilda Spence for a number of years. Beginning in 1945, the ground floor space was the location of the Pony Stable Inn, a lesbian bar. Like other Greenwich Village lesbian bars of the 1940s-1960s, such as the Sea Colony and the Bagatelle, the Pony Stable Inn attracted mostly working-class white women who adhered to strict butch/femme gender roles \[for an explanation on butch/femme, see the entry on the Sea Colony]. Almost all gay bars of the time in New York City were run by the Mafia and frequently raided by the police. A McCarthy-era tactic of infiltrating gay spaces with informants was also common, making women reluctant to talk to those they did not know for fear of police entrapment. As Lee Zevy (who would later co-found Identity House NYC) described of her first visit to the Pony Stable Inn with a few more experienced friends, “Nobody talked to anybody because everybody was deeply, deeply in the closet, even at the bar.” Acclaimed black lesbian feminist, writer, and activist Audre Lorde wrote of the reluctance to speak with anyone at a lesbian bar at the time for fear of coming across a plainclothes policewoman: “There were always rumors of plainclothes women circulating among us, looking for gay girls with fewer than three pieces of female attire. That was enough to get you arrested for transvestism, which was illegal.”

When searching through the chronicles of Greenwich Village history, some things almost seem too Village-y to be true, with all their quirky details and theatrical anecdotes. A prime example: The Pepper Pot Inn at 146 West 4th Street, a 1920s multi-level restaurant that became a sensation. Purchased in 1918 by Carlyle “Doc” Sherlock and his wife Viola, this spot came into being as the neighborhood surrounding Washington Square Park transitioned from affluent enclave to working-class territory and artists’ haven. Doc and Viola themselves tried to make it as actors on the big screen, but they soon left that world to become the owners of “the most popular eating place in the Village and a nation-wide destination.” The basement level of 146 West 4th served as the bustling restaurant of The Pepper Pot, where customers could enjoy a variety of cuisines, followed by Viola Sherlock’s own homemade desserts. Strings of peppers and paper lanterns decorated the ceiling, while the tables displayed enormous candles made of the wax drippings of all the candles that had sat there before. Artists seated at the table would carve figures into these mounds of wax, and the light from these candles illuminated the dark basement room. Home › South Village › The Pepper Pot Inn, “The Realest Thing in Bohemian Atmosphere” The Pepper Pot Inn, “The Realest Thing in Bohemian Atmosphere” A view down West 4th Street with The Pepper Pot's big vertical sign and ads on neighboring buildings. Via http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com. The Pepper Pot Inn, “The Realest Thing in Bohemian Atmosphere” Laura FleischmannLaura FleischmannPosted on August 2, 2019 Posted in South Village, Uncategorized — 4 Comments ↓ When searching through the chronicles of Greenwich Village history, some things almost seem too Village-y to be true, with all their quirky details and theatrical anecdotes. A prime example: The Pepper Pot Inn at 146 West 4th Street, a 1920s multi-level restaurant that became a sensation. Purchased in 1918 by Carlyle “Doc” Sherlock and his wife Viola, this spot came into being as the neighborhood surrounding Washington Square Park transitioned from affluent enclave to working-class territory and artists’ haven. Doc and Viola themselves tried to make it as actors on the big screen, but they soon left that world to become the owners of “the most popular eating place in the Village and a nation-wide destination.” A view down West 4th Street east from 6th Avenue with The Pepper Pot’s big vertical sign and ads on neighboring buildings. Via http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com. Lanterns, Candles, and Chili Peppers The basement level of 146 West 4th served as the bustling restaurant of The Pepper Pot, where customers could enjoy a variety of cuisines, followed by Viola Sherlock’s own homemade desserts. Strings of peppers and paper lanterns decorated the ceiling, while the tables displayed enormous candles made of the wax drippings of all the candles that had sat there before. Artists seated at the table would carve figures into these mounds of wax, and the light from these candles illuminated the dark basement room. On the parlor and second floors of this 1828 house, guests could dance and enjoy music. An image of the dance floor also appears to show a ceiling of greenery and more lanterns, with beautiful sunlight coming in from a tall window. Then above this was the Bridge Room, where Carlyle and Viola’s “friends of the motion picture, theatrical, bridge and chess world” could play and watch “exhibitions” of expert players. As The Pepper Pot continued to flourish through the Roaring ‘20s, it became a popular spot for a new wave the neighbors didn’t care for – jazz! As Daytonian in Manhattan describes, “In the days before air conditioning open windows let in the night breezes but also let out the blaring music.” As a result, the Sherlocks’ landlady across the street, Mrs. Creveling, and her neighbor stopped by Jefferson Market Court to file a complaint. The landlady told the magistrate of “those funny ditties that they play” and the liquor continuing to flow despite prohibition. Dr. Sherlock arrived in court on February 17, 1921 ready to fight this case. But according to the New York Times from the following day, he “waited in vain for the complaintants.” And so, the music and enjoyment continued at The Pepper Pot. A year later The Evening World newspaper described the place as still “extremely Greenwich Village – with an automatic piano in the candle-lit basement and a group of furious jazzers two floors above.” A few years later, Carlyle and Viola moved to their country home and another person managed the place, which by this time had expanded to include Nos. 148 and 150. Newspaper reviews continued to paint a picture of a funky hangout, complete with a fortuneteller, tap dancing, singing, dim lights, and neighborhood celebrities “of whom there have been many in the proud Pepper Pot past.” The good times k...

The former Mad Hatter tearoom, 150 West Fourth Street, 1932. The wood-framed, brick-fronted building at 150 West Fourth Street dates to the early 1800s, but became a Greenwich Village fixture in 1916 when the sculptor Edith Unger opened the Mad Hatter tearoom in its basement. The Mad Hatter claimed to be the first tearoom in Greenwich Village, a hangout for the neighborhood’s so-called Bohemian types: artists, writers, performers, and hangers on. As curiosity about the Bohemian lifestyle became fashionable, the Mad Hatter became a popular downtown destination. However, the tearoom’s popularity was to be short lived: by the time of Charles Von Urban’s 1932 photograph, the basement-level entrance had been sealed, though the “Mad Hatter” lettering is still visible, just above the sidewalk.

A collection that maps and celebrates NYC LGBT history for the month of October!