If we had tried to find them, we wouldn’t have. On a trip out to Calverton, NY my family and I stopped to eat lunch at J&R’s Steakhouse (a Long Island restaurant). Previously there had been a little village of shops behind the restaurant, mostly antique shops and boutiques. Now, the small dollhouse looking buildings remain empty and overgrown with weeds. However, one antique shop & art gallery is still open, so we went to wander in there. When I walked in my dad showed me that he found a set of six bowls from The Lido Club Hotel in Long Beach, NY.
The Lido Hotel in 1942.
The Lido Club Hotel opened in 1929, attracting stars of the day and their guests. Its history includes serving as Naval Receiving Station, closing during WWII, and suffering under poor management. According to “Toasting an Icon of Lido Beach’s Golden Era” by Marcelle S. Fischler (October 3, 2004, The New York Times), the hotel officially closed in 1981 (after many struggles and ups and downs) and was converted to condominiums. The Lido Club Hotel is now the Lido Beach Towers. The grand days of Lido-Long Beach had faded and its former pink stucco is now gray, though the building retains its Moorish style.
The Lido Club Hotel
To most people these restaurant ware bowls wouldn’t mean much, but to my family they are significant. The Lido-Long Beach-Point Lookout area is where my grandmother lives and where my father and my uncle grew up during the summers. My father worked at the Lido Hotel one summer as a valet parker and driving a shuttle bus between the resort and the golf course. He remembers driving some fancy cars. Plus, we love all things related to Point Lookout and the history of that small piece of Long Island. The price tag on the plates read that they were from the Lido Hotel in Long Beach, NY and were $9.95 each. Now, if just the price tag said Lido Hotel, I might not have believed it, but the bottom of the bowls read “Lido” and one said “Lido Club Hotel.” We loved them. As we were mulling over a purchase, the owner came down from the gallery to tell us that he was closing in about one month and would make anything a very desirable price for us. Bingo! He sold us the bowls for 50% off the asking price.
A bowl from the Lido Club Hotel.
Close up view of the pattern.
Another close up view of the pattern.
We are thrilled to have these pieces, but the next step and the hard part is trying to find information about the pattern and looking for additions to our new collections. There are five bowls with the red writing on the back and one with the green writing.
The back of the bowls. Lamberton China - Lido - Nathan Straus & Sons - New York.
The back of one of the bowls. "Royal Schwarzburg - Germany - Made expressly for Club Lido Hotel - Long Beach, L.I. - By Nathan Straus & Sons - New York."
An internet search isn’t much help and Nathan Straus & Sons only appears on Replacements, Ltd. but not with the Lido pattern. I would like to find out more about the pattern and if any pieces exist anywhere else. I would assume that everything was auctioned off when the hotel was closed, so the restaurant ware could be anywhere. Can anyone help with finding more information, determining the age, learning about the company, or any other relative information?
Preservation in Pink 
What a find, and so pretty! Unfortunately, Replacements is all I’d know to try too.
That’s so cool! I love antique stores for this reason. When the one on my street moved, it was a very sad day for me. Stopping in just to browse what they had was a great trip through the past.
Have you found any general info about Royal Schwarzburg china? I have a pink floral set that seems to have been in my family forever. I am trying to date it. Can’t find much of anything by way of history.
I don’t have any information about the hotel but I do have a plate I am selling on ebay if you are interested.
Carrie, unfortunately I have not found any information since. However, if I do I will let you know. Good luck with dating your set.
The Lido Beach Towers aren’t gray anymore! They got re-done and bought back to the original pink look. Take a drive by.
Anthony, thanks so much for the update. I thought I had seen a pink building – I guess it is since the 2004 article.
I’m so interested in any information, articles, memories your family has collected from the Lido Hotel. If you’ve been in the area in recent months you can see the restoration of the magnificent Pink Lady. We are in the early stages of planning a grand re-opening of this historic building and would love to include you and your family in this endeavor. Please contact me ASAP if you’re interested. Thanks.
Arline
I’ll be sending you an email, Arline!
Hi Arline,
My family is going through some papers and found a bond certificate dated July 11, 1928 for the construction of the Lido Club Hotel. Etc
Would you happen to know any further information?
Ellen
I am researching the history of the Lido Hotel. I am hoping to write a book on the subject. Would you be kind enough to send some info on the July 11, 1928 bond.
Hi, Kaitlyn:
I was googling about for Lamberton china and saw your blog – those are great dishes, and I think someone from the Restaurantware Collector’s Network may ask you if they can use your photos to create an identification page at that website for the Lido Hotel.
Unfortunately, the pattern doesn’t have a name. Most commercial china didn’t; patterns were ordered by number and many manufacturers used identical patterns, as you can see by your dishes, which were made by two different companies, one in Trenton, NJ and the other in Germany. Nathan Strauss was a big distributor and it’s even possible they had blanks on hand from both manufacturers and had a third party finish the dishes all in the same pattern. None of this stuff is well documented, so almost any imaginable sequence could and did occur.
Nathan Straus was known as Nathan Strauss and Sons from 1923 until 1933, and Scammell was founded in 1923, (and the hotel was built in 1929) so the dishes are at least 77 and perhaps as much as 82 years old. $5 each was a fair price.
Dennis – what wonderful information! Thank you so much for sharing that information. Interesting and I’m glad to have more history to add to the bowls.
I have a silverplate teapot from the LIDO that is what it says on the side “THE LIDO” on the back is International Silver co. and a date code of 1935. There is a Pink set of cup and saucer from The LIDO on Ebay right now.
Neat! Glad to know others love this stuff too.
I have one of these plates for sale if anyone is interested in purchasing.
Yes Bill..interested in purchasing the plate…
I have an eleven and one-quarter inch platter I’m willing to sell if anyone is interested. It has the red marking on the back and the art work is in very good condition given it was used in a hotel and it’s age.
I am interested. My family owned the hotel and I am collecting whatever I can find.
Found your blog due to researching some china I have found. Great passion you have.
I have 4 pieces from W.S. George and they are in the “Lido” shape which I have read W.S. George traveled and was known to use names of hotels for his pottery works.
Seems these pieces (which I cannot locate as a “pattern”) may be just that….Lido Hotelware pieces.
Would love to have somebody treasure these if possible.
Thank you!
Thank you! Is there a stamp on the back of the plates? Can you share some photos?