When the Westbury Met the Parker
by ilcorago
The next stop on the Philadelphia Gayborhood history tour takes us to the corner of 13th and Spruce Streets, toward the southern end of the ‘hood. This story tells how the Parker Hotel and the Westbury Bar & Restaurant ended up together. Only a few doors down from the William Way Center, the Westbury is the place you will find us Archives volunteers after an evening of sorting, processing and cataloguing.
THE SPRUCE: A PROHIBITION ERA “BACHELOR HOTEL”
Busy Thirteenth Street runs north and south and acts as the Gayborhood’s Main Street. The once seedy north end, near Chestnut St., has only recently blossomed into a chic restaurant and shopping row, through a lot of imagination and the hard work of people like Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran. The southern end of the strip, however, is still held back by that 12 story eyesore, the Parker Hotel, at 261 S 13th St. It’s hard to believe that the Parker began life in 1924 as an elegant bachelor apartment building called the Spruce Hotel, left. The Spruce contained 209 furnished rooms meant either long term for single males who worked in the downtown city area, or short term for those who were visiting Philadelphia. Each room had a wash basin, a wall cabinet with shelves and either a shared or private bath and shower, which is pretty much true today. The street level lobby contained a restaurant and lounge and in the basement were a barber shop and laundry, see postcard below. In 1926, when Jack Dempsey fought Gene Tunney at Philadelphia’s Sesquicentennial Municipal Stadium, Tunney stayed at the Spruce Hotel.
From the 20s through the 60s, the Spruce Hotel was also a favorite residence for popular musicians staying in the city, including many African Americans. The post-war period in Philadelphia was really a golden age of music bars and dinner clubs; the city was a major stop on the national circuit.
During the mid 1930s, Samuel and Anna Friedman, above, left the drug store they had run on Diamond Street and opened the Spruce Hotel Drugs, later the Parker Hotel Drugs, at the NE corner of 13th and Spruce Streets. The photo below, shows their drugstore and luncheonette in 1960. Many thanks to Stacia Friedman for sharing these photos of her grandparents and their store with me.
In the late 1960s, the Friedmans sold the business and the space became a cocktail lounge called The Fireplace Room. By 1971, the Parker Hotel Bar, as it was now called, was listed in the new national Gayellow Pages as a Philadelphia gay bar.
THE WESTBURY WHEN IT WAS WEST
The Westbury began life as the hotel bar of the Westbury Hotel, (later, apartments), at 15th and Spruce Streets. The Westbury Grill, as it was called, was a music bar and restaurant and was frequently mentioned in Billboard Magazine in the 40s. Here’s an ad, right, for the Westbury from 1948, when $1.50 bought a lot more of a dinner than it does today. The bar and restaurant were popular with the theatre and concert crowds from nearby Broad Street.
In this photo from 1950, below, which looks west on the north side of Spruce St. toward 15th St., you can just see the “Westbury Grill & Bar” sign through the trees in the upper center. The photo has the same neighborhood feel that the street has today.
The Westbury Bar began appearing in gay guides about 1962 and by the 70s it became a staple of Philadelphia LGBT nightlife, always listed as “very popular” in those guides. Some of them describe the old Westbury as “semi-leather and denim.” Here’s the sign, left, from the original Westbury on 15th St., circa 1973. That neighborhood thrived in the 70s, with the Allegro on Spruce St. to the east and Roscoe’s to the west and Steps around the corner on Delancey St..
Below is a photo from The Atlantic City News of two Westbury bartenders from 1980; Chuck Bongarde, left, who had already been working there 10 years when the picture was taken and Jack Applegate, right, who would later take over the business:
Here’s the corner today, below, with the Westbury Apartments still there, and a shoe repair shop partially occupying the old Westbury Bar space.
THE NEW WESTBURY MEETS THE PARKER
After expanding rapidly in the 70s, Philadelphia’s “gay ghetto” began to shrink in the late 80s, with the epicenter definitely moving toward the 13th St. strip east of Broad, where it would coalesce into today’s Gayborhood. The Bike Stop, Woody’s, Uncles and the 2-4 had all opened east of Broad St. in those years. In 1986, the Westbury made the move and re-opened on the southeast corner of Spruce and 13th Sts. as “The New Westbury,” occupying the old Parker Hotel Bar space. It was the only business to migrate from west of Broad St. to east in that era. The Westbury finally dropped the “New” in 1992. The bar and restaurant were owned by Jack Applegate in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, then for a few years by Ned Katuran.
TODAY
The Westbury has been at its present location for 24 years. Owner Chuck Brault took over management from Ned Katuran in August 2009, when the bar underwent major renovations, morphing into the friendly neighborhood sports bar it is today.
UPDATE
On October 20th, 2014 a small fire broke out on the 9th floor of the Parker Hotel and the 12 story building was evacuated. The fire showed that the hotel’s sprinkler system was not up to code and the hotel has been closed. The fate of the building, which is now being sold, is unclear. On Friday, November 14, the owner of the Westbury announced that the bar would not re-open and Philadelphia’s shocked LGBT community learned that it has lost one of its oldest bars. Goodbye, Westbury.
* * *
The old Westbury had a large and wonderful stained glass window by gay stained glass artist Bolton Morris depicting that Rooster or Cock. It had a Latin inscription which translated was “Every cock is king of his own dung hill”.
Thank you, I’m glad you’re enjoying the stories. I knew about the window, but I’ve never seen pictures of it. I have seen pictures of the old Westbury sign with the big rooster. By the way, the old sign from the 247 was donated to the William Way Center and it’s hanging in the ballroom there now. I hope more bits and pieces of Philly gay history turn up!
Glad they saved that 247 sign – it was my guidepost for many years! HaHa
I wish I knew what happened to that window – it was wonderful and quite large. Probably it’s decorating some bar or restaurant somewhere.
So glad to have found your blog on Philadelphia gay history. I met my partner, soon to be husband 49 years ago this July 3rd 1964 at the Westbury Bar at 15th and Spruce. I don’t have any photos of the bar then. I am happy that I have a few now from your blog. Do you know if there are any other photos?
Thanks!
Ron (retiredindelaware.blogspot.com)
Ron, first of all, congratulations on your upcoming marriage. Photos of the interiors of bars are pretty rare, so I’m sorry to say I don’t know of any others of the old Westbury. I do keep an eye out for that type of thing, though.
ilcorago,
Oh how I wish I had taken more pictures of the interior of the Westbury Bar. For all the time I spent there and the way I like to take photos but now I remember why I didn’t take photos, too many people would object. Remember back then just about everyone was in the closet and didn’t want to be “exposed.” I did take some pictures of the interior of bars when I visited the gay bars in Rehoboth Beach in the 70’s but that quickly stopped too when one of the bars instituted a policy of no picture taking. Of course this is all a moot issue now with the advent of digital cameras but then few care if their photo is taken. I have a lot of pictures of my summer vacations in Provincetown but again, none of the interior of bars (or dance clubs) for the same reason – too many closeted gays were afraid they would be outed.
Thank you again for your blog on Philadelphia gay history. Let me know if I can contribute any information. I will be posting some Philadelphia gay history on my blog. If you don’t mind, I will be using your Westbury photos.
Have a great day!
Ron Tipton
Thanks Ron. You’re welcome to use any photos, just be sure to mention where they’re from and maybe add a link.
Thank I will do!
Thanks!
Ron
Trying to get in touch with Jack Applegate, Billy Carlin, Harry, Hedda or Joe, from the ’90s Westbury. Former employee from back then, and I have a debt of gratitude to pay. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Hello. I don’t have connections with any of those people, but maybe someone who reads this blog does. If I get any leads, I’ll let you know. – Bob
Hedda is the only surviving of that list.
I worked there from fall of ’89 – fall of ’90 – Jack was the owner then too. Also – are you certain that the Westbury opened up in ’88 at the 13th and Locust location? I lived right near 15th and Spruce and I’m pretty certain that the Westbury on that corner was well closed – JR’s was open though and there definitely was a bar at 13th and Locust Sts in ’86 on, but I couldn’t vouch with total certainty that it was the Westbury that we all knew and loved.
You could be right. The Westbury may have moved to 13th Street as early as 1986. good memory—JP’s was at 1511 Spruce from 1978 to 1986. Before that, it was Roscoe’s. Let me go back and check my sources for the exact date of the Westbury move. Thanks for catching that!
I believe you are correct. Also, it was JP’s (not JR’s) which used to be the old Roscoes .
it’s funny – all the gay folks that I met in Philly when I moved here Sept. of ’86 told me to steer clear of JP’s – so I never went it and I practically lived across the street and used the laundry mat next door.
[…] rugby players scarfing pizza. We agreed that our late friend would have enjoyed that. Visit the Gayborhood Guru for a fascinating history of the […]
Joe – thanks for the shout out! – Bob Skiba, Gayborhood Guru
15th St. Westbury was the first gay bar I was ever in.
Taken there by two neighbor/co-worker/lover/tricks in 1968.
I was 19 and didn’t such places existed.
Thanks for sharing that, Bert!
Does anyone remember JP’s Bar at 15th and Spruce Street? When did they close?
Bill, JP’s was Roscoe’s from 1973 to 1977, then JP’s from 1978 to 1986. It’s a Rita’s Water Ice today.
Wow! I never knew that. Thank you. I have a pic of two bartenders that worked at the old Westbury around 1986. I will try and put it on to see if anyone remembers them.
Thanks, Bill. If you don’t mind, I’d love it if you could send me pics at bskiba@waygay.org and identified the two. Many thanks! -Bob
The old Westbury at 15th street was the first gay bar that I discovered in the gay community, when I came out in 1985. I was 19. Jack and Darryl ran it. Miss the guys and gals that first accepted me. Miss Jack, Jamie,Gary, Harry, Joe K., Billy and Harry, Etc.. RIP y’all, till we meet again!
Hi, do you remember JP’s across the street at 15th & Spruce?