Howard Johnson’s in Greenwich Village
The show Mad Men reminded us all that Howard Johnson’s, that slice of mass-produced Americana, had a home in Greenwich Village in the mid-20th century, even as Greenwich Village was one of the spots in this country known for most visibly rejecting mass-produced Americana. Digging back we found scant but interesting evidence of the chain’s time in the Village, including the fact that like much of mid-20th century Americana, Howard Johnson’s appeared to have a race problem — even in liberal/radical Greenwich Village.
The first Howard Johnson’s restaurant we found was located at 415 6th Avenue, at the corner of Greenwich Avenue. Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York unearthed an advertisement for the restaurant in a 1955 issue of the Village Voice, showcasing its special Thanksgiving dinner menu….and boy was it a steal! According to another historic Voice article, on May 9, 1963, the Chelsea-Greenwich Village Branch of the NAACP began picketing the Howard Johnson’s Restaurant at 415 Sixth Avenue, charging it with discriminatory hiring practices. These pickets were taking place at Howard Johnson’s all over the country.
According to the Howard Johnson’s history blog, HoJoLand.com, there was a second location at the corner of 14th Street and 1st Avenue, although which corner it does not say.
While historic information on the Howard Johnsons of the Village appears to be sparse, GVSHP has been able to unearth some pretty surprising details about some other diners of historic interest in the Village. Read our research about the possible location of the diner in the Village which may have served as the inspiration for Edward Hopper’s painting “Nighthawks” HERE.
Please share with us any recollections or stories you may have of either of the Village Howard Johnson’s or any other classic neighborhood diners!
Kerouac mentions this Howard Johnson’s location in his collection “Lonesome Traveler,” in the short piece “New York Scenes.”
Thanks for sharing, Nick! That’s really interesting.
In the fifties, Howard Johnson’s was air conditioned and I remember my mother and I used to go there for dinner during the worst heat waves because our apartment on the top floor of our 5 story tenement on Barrow Street was unbearably hot.
in the 1950’s and 60’s, Howard Johnson’s in New Yorjk City was a widely known spot where homosexuals gathered and met. The restaurant chain gladly served alcoholic beverages to their homosexual clientlele ,no questions asked,(illegal at the time.) Along with good food at fair prices and offered a venue for gays and lesbians to meet outside of bars and nightclubs; that were often the object of police raids in those dark and ignorant times. Manhattan had several location in the 1950’s and 60’s,including one near Herald Sq. at 34th street and at Times Sq. at 42nd Street. The founder, Hoeeard Johnson wanted to create a safe and comfortable place for oppressed and misunderstood homosexuals withour actually advertising his restaurants as “gay-friendly.” Gay men and lesbians always found eachother no matter where they lived. Afterall, they were and remain human-beings and consenting-adults.