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Unpacking Last Night's <em>Mad Men</em>: From The Oak Room To Port Authority

Jen Carlson

Published Apr 20, 2015

Modified Apr 20, 2015

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Jen Carlson

Published Apr 20, 2015

Modified Apr 20, 2015

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Last night the 3rd episode in the final season of Mad Men aired, and it looks like we're still in 1970—below, some information on the real life details we saw in last night's episode. Plus, a little history mystery...

THE OAK ROOM

Cary Grant in North By Northwest, circa 1959, enjoying a drink in the Oak Room

Last week, we saw Megan and Harry at the Plaza's Palm Court for lunch, and this week Joan suggests the Oak Room as a venue for a date.

1970 was the first year that the Oak Room didn't have Men Only hours. In February of 1969, the NY Times reported that, "Three women invaded the Oak Room of the Plaza Hotel yesterday during the hours reserved for men only and succeeded in temporarily ruffling the serenity of the male haven. The women representing NOW, the National Organization for Women, told Victor Pons, manager of the dining room, that they had made a reservation by telephone in the name of Dr. Gartner." They declared that the policy was illegal discrimination, and were told by the manager to talk to the hotel's lawyer. They ended up leaving after 10 minutes, but their small protest led to change.

Next year, the outrage that made it to print included the room's prices—in May 1970, the Times reported on the rising cost of eating out, and one patron told them, "What shocked me, though, was going to the Oak Room at the Plaza the other evening and the prosciutto and melon was $4.20."

You can skim through the Oak Room's menu from 1969 at the NYPL.

SESAME STREET

This is the 1970s opening, which you hear in Mad Men

You can hear Sesame Street on the television in the background. At this point, the show wasn't even a year old yet. Even though it was young, that year the show "won twenty awards, including a Peabody Award, three Emmys, an award from the Public Relations Society of America, a Clio, and a Prix Jeunesse." A few years later it would become an American institution.

GREYHOUND @ PORT AUTHORITY

Port Authority in 1965. (Photo courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York)

Sally and her classmates are going on a "teen trip," which includes passing through 12 states on a bus. Don brings them to their Greyhound, which would have been running out of Port Authority. The bus depot was notably dangerous at the time, and that year, the Times reported that two types of people could be found inside, "Some are waiting for buses. Others are waiting for death.” And others are going to Colonial Williamsburg, apparently (which, btw, was just gifted "Carter's Grove Plantation, a 215 year old estate on the James River").

RYE PLAYLAND

Glen and his new girl friend drop by to see if Sally wants to go to Rye Playland with them. At this time, the amusement park just underwent a few renovations, and proposals for the roadway there were brought to the table by Robert Moses:

"During the mid-1960s and early-1970s, the parkway was part of a proposal to create a new bridge across the Long Island Sound connecting Rye to Oyster Bay. Led by Robert Moses and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, the bridge would have demolished homes and used a part of the Playland Parkway for the right-of-way. Opposition was heavy within Rye, and in 1973, once more opposition was raised in Long Island, Nelson Rockefeller killed the project."

MISC.

"Don't listen to Jane Fonda here," Betty tells Glen, who has just joined the Army. Fonda's famous mugshot is from 1970—that year she was helping organize the Free the Army tour, and was calling for a revolution (watch the above clip).
Glen Bishop has a beer while talking to Betty—the bottle seemed a little short and stout, and the Bowery Boys point out that they were called "stubby bottles."

NYC real estate market: the most unbelievable thing ever to happen on this show is the idea that Don won't be able to sell his sweet penthouse on the UES, which comes with a sunken living room to die for. His agent is upset the apartment is basically empty, which she believes makes it a harder sell. The Times reported that year that the real estate game was a growing field for women, so it's possible she just got into the game... or that many weren't in the market to buy in 1970.

Don's going through a stack of magazines on his desk, all of which appear to be from January 1970. This was their first issue of the decade.
And finally, Don takes Sally and her classmates out to a Chinese restaurant. "Will the food come on time?" one girl asks. "Only if they run out of stray cats!" Don replies.

The restaurant from last night's episode

Do you know which restaurant this was? It likely would have been near Port Authority.

Tagged

mad men

unpacking mad men

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Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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