and her Victorian Establishment
@ Times_Square
”ABOUT LILLIE”
Lillie Langtry was a highly successful British actress, a renowned beauty, and socialite of the late 19th century. She was notorious for her long list of prominent suitors, which included the future King of England, Edward VII. She was born on the Isle of Jersey, which lies off the southern coast of England, and was later known as the “Jersey Lillie”.
Lillie landed on the shores of America in 1882 to fulfill her dream of becoming a world-renowned actress. On the evening of her debut, An Unequaled Match, at the New York Park Theatre, the building burned to the ground, leaving only a charred sign bearing the words “Lillie Langtry”. This incident assured Lillie’s everlasting fame throughout the states.
Lillie was at home in the company of princes and presidents, artists and poets, or simply alone in her garden. Envied, respected, adored, and lampooned, her fame spanned over half a century. A controversial figure who challenged Victorian society’s attitudes to women, Lillie Langtry was years ahead of her time. We created Lillie’s Victorian Establishment in honor of her legacy.
The ornate wooden carvings and antiquities you’ll find at Lillie’s were procured from a ballroom in an 1800′s estate in Northern Ireland. The establishment combines an authentic ostentatious decor with a down-to-earth, mellow ambiance, that represents one of the last great Victorian “gin palaces” that once flourished in the industrial cities of Northern Ireland and England.
The antique marble bar and furnishings, the likes of which have not been seen in many years, were acquired from a Victorian mansion in Belfast, Ireland. Great care was taken to have them wrapped, packed and shipped across the Atlantic to their new home in the heart of New York City. [source: Lillie’s Victorian Establishment]
November 11th, 2018 (and already dressed for Christmas)
The Humble Fabulist 