Stillman's neighborhood, pictured above. Living in the Upper East Side, Allan Stillman found few places for single New Yorkers to hang out. He and his friends grew tired of racking up lists of cocktail parties to crash, and few bars at the time allowed singles of the opposite sex mingle. According to the franchise itself, "His idea was to attract trendy models and stewardesses into the neighborhood by jazzing up this unassuming beer joint."

The block that Stillman lived on. "I lived on 63rd Street between First and York. Easy access to the 59th Street bridge meant you could get out of New York quickly, so in that two or three block neighbor­hood, there was a pile of airline stewardesses — and for whatever reason, there was also a whole bunch of models. Basically, a lot of single people all lived between 60th and 65th and between York Avenue and 3rd Avenue. It seemed to me that the best way to meet girls was to open up a bar.”

Pictured at the left corner is the original T.G.I. Fridays bar. Supposedly Stillman tried numerous times to convince his local haunts to revamp themselves to attract younger women who lived in the area. After a conversation with the bartender of "The Good Tavern," Stillman's regular dingy corner hangout, he decided, with no restaurant experience, that he'd buy the bar and make it his own.

Though this photo is in black and white, it depicts a still-operational location of Fridays that was encrusted in its infamous shade of blue. He outfitted the corner on 63rd Street with "gay nineties" decor on the inside, with fake Tiffany Lamps, hardwood floors, brass railings, and bentwood chairs. Seeking the appeal of passerby's, Stillman painted the building blue and dressed up the windows with red and white striped awnings. Inside, waitstaff wore uniforms reminiscent of umpires shirts to match the awnings. Food served was bar food and American dishes, purposefully lacking a refined edge. The menu included items like a burger served on an English muffin, to "make people feel that they were going to someone's apartment for a cocktail party," according to Stillman.

The Union Square Fridays has closed but was located on the corner of this block. Stillman is often credited with inventing the first "single's bar," and the timing, he claims, had everything to do with it. The sexual revolution and the invention of birth control brought more singles together at Fridays than he could have ever predicted. The restaurant quickly gained recognition nation-wide, and weekends were so packed they had to hire a doorman. Eager patrons waited outside organized in neat lines by velvet ropes, which, in the late 60s was still a novel site.

A Fridays even made itself into former Gage and Tollner's. T.G.I. Fridays went on to open its first franchise in Nashville, Tennesse after a fan approached Stillman looking to join the venture. The number of restaurants grew and grew. However, once Fridays hit the suburbs, it morphed into the family-friendly affair that the restaurant is today.

This building houses the Times Square location of the chain. After propagating the restaurant in the suburbs, Stillman took a step back from T.G.I. Fridays. He went on to found Smith & Wollensky in 1977. He was inspired by travels to France, which he claims sophisticated his palate. While dining abroad with his wife, Stillman noticed French restaurants proudly serving French fare alongside the region's wines.

Child's restaurant near the beginning of Broadway has also been replaced by T.G.I. Fridays. Stillman realized few restaurant chains offered American food of that caliber existed among American and thus opened Smith & Wollensky: an American Steak house serving wine from California. He said, "it was the American version of the French restaurants I loved in France.” If Smith & Wollensky celebrated the sophistication of American cuisine, T.G.I. Friday celebrates the ingenuity of American desire.