USA 1946: Coat/hat checks, and layout of NYC
First off, I'll just say this is the community I've dreamed of finding for years, and I am stoked to have discovered it.
I'm writing a noir-style mystery set in New York City in 1946. Now, I have never been to NYC, am not familiar with it's geography, and have no idea what the layout was like in 46'. What I'm basically looking for is something that gives me not only a layout of the city, but some breakdown of what would have been where in the 40s. Where would a run-down apartment have been? What neighborhood would someone build a chic club in? Was there a strong "business section", and would a newspaper have set up there, that kind of thing. I welcome off-site resources or actual text breakdowns (or even books) just anything that might help me flesh the location out correctly.
My second question concerns the process of checking hats and coats at restaurants. The heroine visits a fancy club and sneaks back to the coat check to ask the employees some questions, so I need to know the actual process of checking in/out. Did customers take a number, a slip, or leave their name? And when coming to pick your item up, would you have provided your information first thing, or did the girls ask you for it?
Thank you!
I'm writing a noir-style mystery set in New York City in 1946. Now, I have never been to NYC, am not familiar with it's geography, and have no idea what the layout was like in 46'. What I'm basically looking for is something that gives me not only a layout of the city, but some breakdown of what would have been where in the 40s. Where would a run-down apartment have been? What neighborhood would someone build a chic club in? Was there a strong "business section", and would a newspaper have set up there, that kind of thing. I welcome off-site resources or actual text breakdowns (or even books) just anything that might help me flesh the location out correctly.
My second question concerns the process of checking hats and coats at restaurants. The heroine visits a fancy club and sneaks back to the coat check to ask the employees some questions, so I need to know the actual process of checking in/out. Did customers take a number, a slip, or leave their name? And when coming to pick your item up, would you have provided your information first thing, or did the girls ask you for it?
Thank you!