THEN

Transformed by waves of construction and demolition, two low-rise commercial buildings on the northside of 86th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues, recall the lively entertainment district that once flourished here. The latter of the two, a four-story amber brick structure at 157 East 86th Street, was rebuilt by theater architect William I. Hohauser in 1929. Topped by five female busts, it originally contained the New Hof Brau, a German restaurant advertised as “The Only Place Of Its Kind: Bavarian Songs, Music, Dancing.” Directly east, at 163 East 86th Street, was a branch of Horn & Hardart, where customers ate reasonably-priced meals and filled their ceramic coffee cups from dolphin-shaped spouts throughout the day. Though the 1927 cafeteria’s glassy double-height first story is long gone, some Art Deco ornament enlivens the parapet.