21 Club
New York’s venerable 21 was opened as a speakeasy in 1922, known to its neighborhood as the Red Head. Over the next few years, it moved often, changing names each time. By 1926 it was known as the Puncheon Club and catered to an exclusive clientele of patrons undeterred by the Volstead Act and its enforcers.
In the autumn of 1929 the club moved to the location, it occupies today and assumed its name as Jack and Charlies 21, Jack and Charlie being its two owners, always one or two steps ahead of the law. The number came from its address, 21 West 52nd Street.
Its frequent moves were always just ahead of or just after being visited by the prying eyes of the law. The club was raided frequently but managed to avoid the detection of illegal booze by either being warned by paid informers (or in some cases by customers who happened to work with the police), or a by an in-house use alarm system. In the event a raid took place without advance warning allowing the contraband to be hidden, a system of levers was activated which tipped the shelves and bars where the liquor was stored and consumed. The evidence slid down the shelves and into concealed chutes which routed it to the storm drains and sewers.
A hidden door concealed access to a storeroom which served to hold the club’s stock of liquor, and as a wine cellar. The door was in a brick wall, making its outlines difficult to see, and the room remains in use as a wine cellar today, with a portion of the room set aside for private functions.
The Stork Club throughout Prohibition had the reputation of serving high-quality imported (smuggled) liquor such as Scotch and Canadian Whiskey, rather than locally produced beverages of dubious quality. Then as now it was highly popular with New York and national celebrities. Babe Ruth frequently drank there and maybe the only person ever served hot dogs at the Club.