The Subtle Elegance

Three views of the cavernous and airy Dining-Room of the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel...

 The Dining-Room

Dining the strains of a soft orchestra high atop a lofty balcony. The accented decorations co-mingling in harmony with the Hotel fare... Windows with a view...

The Dining-Room of the Bellevue-Stratford was nothing short of spectacular! The ingenuity and design of this long-since faded elegance fit for the most opulent of ocean liners of the day! Entered via great wrought-iron and glass inset entrances with transoms, one could truly see the majesty and regality of this chambre! The great floor-to-ceiling windows featured each a stained-glass transom of alternating patterns throughout while the windows themselves were hung with simple satin and beaded lace curtains. The great floor carpeted in floral diamond patterns while polished wood furniture dotted the space and moved with flowing grace between the ten massive columns with their gilt-crowned capitals! The pink tones of the cream-painted walls and the subtle bas-relief really made this space pop! A orchestra balcony above service doors added more then a touch of class to this already premiere restaurant! 

The unbridled beauty and grace of such subtly really made its mark with the Bellevue-Stratford. The most luxurious and grandiose hotels of the time had stained glass ceilings, marble walls and beautiful appointments that set the stage for dining in true elegance. But at the Bellevue-Stratford, she gave you a different elegance... An elegance that popped and wasn't over-the-top... Unfortunately, the modern styles and tastes of 1970s and even as early as the 1930's made their undulating, and scarring mark on the Grand Dame... The Dining-Room changed over the years, changing from subtle Edwardian to flamboyant Art Deco, its crisp and clean bas-relief and subtle cream tones changing to chrome and stainless steel decoration... For years after she operated as the "Stratford Garden" Restaurant which by 1986 had lost sales and revenue along with the Hotel... The once elegant and spacious Dining-Room would soon meet an untimely end...

The great tragedy of the Bellevue-Stratford in all honesty was this very room. The un-matched opulence and beauty was handed over on a silver platter. The restaurant venue known as "The Palm," took over... Its decoration scheme forever changing the times and historic-ism of the Bellevue-Stratford.. floating heads against a modern yellow... Low ceilings marring the grandeur... Painted heads everywhere. A true disgrace and shameful deed done to a beautiful Belle...