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27

[[underlined]] City Club [[underlined]]--This occupied the ground floor of the Downing Block at 9th & Peach and until I joined the Erie Club around 1946, this came as close to being my "club" as any place I can recall. It was quite a joint and was run by a former bootlegger named Joe Donovan. There was a sort of octagonal bar placed in the center of the big high-ceiling'd room which had a balcony running around it, the place having originally been a very classy Victorian mansion. The rest of the room was occupied by a small dance floor and spot for a three-piece orchestra and numerous tables around the fringes for drinking and eating. The lighting was low intensity. The drinks and food were excellent as were the bartender and waitress delegation. At night, there was lots of action with music and dancing which went on to midnight or beyond. I enjoyed the City Club thoroughly and missed it after joining the Erie Club. And our guests enjoyed it. We'd assemble there after work, accompanied by our customers, sit up at the bar, and have a few drinks, shooting the breeze. Usually around 7 p.m. we'd adjourn to [[underlined]] The Den [[underlined]], which was in the basement of the same building, for dinner.

[[underlined]] The Den [[underlined]]--This was probably the best public eating spot in town. It was small, informal, but quite attractive with polished-maple furniture and lamp-lighted. It was run by Amos Flint and his wife. Amos was a Phi Delt brother who hailed from a restaurateur family in Erie who once owned the [[underlined]] O. K. Lunch [[underlined]] on upper Peach and despite its odd name, was famed for its superb food. We used to go way up there from the plant for lunch occasionally because it was so good. Amos went into the Navy in 1942 and when he returned to Erie, went into the real estate business, where he has prospered. After a few drinks at the City Club, we'd get a bit hilarious sometimes at the Den but they were quite tolerant and we were never obnoxious--at least, I don't think we were. The combination of City Club and Den was hard to beat and in those days, I suppose you could entertain a party of four or five people total, including three rounds of drinks and a full-course dinner of rare quality including tips, for fifteen to twenty dollars. The Erie Club was to represent a step up the social ladder but down the fun ladder as far as I was concerned.

There were several restaurants where we'd lunch if we didn't eat at the plant but we seldom took customers to these spots I refer to [[underlined]] The Tavern [[underlined]] (of test days), [[underlined]] The Erie Restaurant [[underlined]] (run by the Galanis brothers), [[underlined]] Pulakos [[underlined]] (also Greek), the [[underlined]] YMCA [[underlined]] (excellent), [[underlined]] The Bodega [[underlined]] (a dump back of Hall's Cigar Store), a [[underlined]] Chinese [[underlined]] place at 10th & Peach (now the Welfare office), a [[underlined]] Sandwich Shoppe [[underlined]] next to Shea's Theater, and a couple of others whose names escape me.