Manufacturer: Scammell China
Name of user: Casino de Paree, New York City
Date of examples: 1933
Notes: The 16-story building at 254 West 54th Street opened Nov. 8, 1927, with a 998-seat theater named Gallo Opera House on the lower three floors. In 1933, it was reconfigured – at a cost of $130,000 – with dining tables and chairs replacing the original rows of seats, as Casino de Paree, a restaurant with lavish revue-type shows.
Showman Billy Rose was paid $1,000 per week to produce the shows which featured 50 attractive young showgirls wearing as little costumes as possible.
The Casino de Paree only lasted about three years before closing. It reopened in 1936 as the Palladium Theater. The theater was renamed several times before being converted into a CBS radio studio in 1942. The building is probably best known now as the infamous disco club of the Seventies, Studio 54.
Scammell made the service of Ivory Lamberton China which is crested "Casino de Paree" in script font. This is the only decoration on the china.
Sources:
New York Public Library – handbill
Chris Suhr's Menu Collection – menu, history of building
Playbill – Gallo Opera House information
Newspapers.com – ad, Daily News, Dec. 28, 1934
Contributors:
Larry Paul: author
Joe Conklin: photos of oval