Refreshment Concession

Central Park has always had various forms of food concessions, ranging from high to low. Most people are aware of Tavern on the Green, a pricey restaurant, on the west side of the park near 68th Street; most people are not aware that the core of its building is the sheepfold for the adjacent Sheep Meadow. After the sheep were forcibly removed from the park in 1934, the building was converted. About the same time, the restaurant called the Central Park Casino, operating out of a converted “Ladies’ Refreshment Salon” on the east side of the park near 72nd Street, was demolished. Another example that I never heard of before today was McGowan’s Pass Tavern: That’s a substantial building (photo by the Wurts Brothers) and it fits in nicely with the architectural design of the park’s buildings. Note the car: this photo is well into the twentieth century. “McGowan’s Pass” is a winding route through the hills at the north end of the park, now the part of the East Drive that doubles back on…