| El Morocco | |
| Nickname: | Elmo |
| Location: | Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Coordinates: | 40.7588°N -73.9698°W |
| Type: | Nightclub |
| Tenants: | Milan Condominium |
El Morocco, sometimes nicknamed Elmo or Elmer, was a 20th-century nightclub in the Manhattan borough of New York City. It was frequented by the rich and famous from the 1930s until the decline of café society in the late 1950s. It was known for its blue zebra-stripe motif, designed by Vernon MacFarlane, and its official photographer, Jerome Zerbe.
In 1931, John Perona (born Enrione Giovanni Perona in Chiaverano in the Province of Turin, Italy),[1] an Italian immigrant, with Martín de Alzaga[2] [3] opened El Morocco as a speakeasy at 154 East 54th Street, on the south side of 54th Street in the middle of the block between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue, where the Citigroup Center now stands.
After prohibition was repealed, it became one of the most popular establishments in New York City. Its regular clientele consisted of fashionable society, politicians, and entertainers. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz had their wedding reception here. Part of what made the club the "place to be" was the photographs taken by Jerome Zerbe which were always in the news the next day. Everyone always knew where the celebrities had been from the background zebra stripes on the banquettes.
The neighborhood started changing after World War II. Eventually, Perona moved El Morocco to a four-story townhouse at 307 East 54th Street, on the north side of the street near the corner of Second Avenue, in 1960.
Perona died in 1961, and his son, Edwin took over the proprietorship. Later that year, Edwin Perona sold the club to John Mills, who owned it for three years.[4] It was then owned by Maurice Uchitel (1964 - 70) and Sheldon Hazeltine.[5] Before taking over El Morocco, Uchitel owned the Eden Roc Hotel in Miami Beach for several years.[6] In 1981, the Second Avenue wing operated briefly as a steakhouse.[7] [8] In 1992, it operated as a topless bar.[9] In 1997, Desmond Wootton bought the property and opened the Night Owls nightclub. The site is now occupied by the Milan Condominium.
In the “Lucy Is Envious” episode of I Love Lucy, which aired 3/29/1954, Lucy is reading the society section of the paper, learning that her old, and very wealthy school friend Cynthia, is in town. The article talks about the opera opening the night before, and all of the parties that the attendees went to afterwards, including at 21 Club and El Morocco.The 1955 film My Sister Eileen includes the club, starring Janet Leigh and Jack Lemmon.
. Lucius Beebe . Charles Clegg and Duncan Emrich (eds.) . The Lucius Beebe Reader . registration . 1967 . Doubleday . New York .
. Jerome Zerbe . Introduction by Lucius Beebe . John Perona's El Morocco Family Album . 1937 . privately published . New York .
. Jerome Zerbe . Introduction by Lucius Beebe . People on Parade . 1934 . D. Kemp . New York .