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Creator
Baum, Joseph H. (Joseph Harold), 1920-1998
Call number
MssCol 6181
Physical description
62 linear feet (158 boxes)
Preferred Citation
Joe Baum papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online.

Joe Baum (1920-1998) was the celebrated restaurateur responsible for some of New York City's most well-known restaurants during the period of the 1950s-1990s. The collection spans Baum's career from his years with Restaurant Associates, through the creation of the varied dining facilities of the World Trade Center (including Windows on the World), and his revival of the historic Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center. Materials in the collection include business correspondence, memoranda, and reports; publicity materials, menus, photographs, and scrapbooks documenting the work of Baum and his associates in the creation and operation of his signature restaurants, as well as copies of Baum's speeches, appointment books, awards, and letters of thanks received from friends and members of the public.

Scope and arrangement

The Joe Baum papers are arranged in five series:

  • I. Joe Baum personal files
  • II. Restaurant Associates, Inc

    The files contain press coverage of Restaurant Associates and its restaurants, advertisements and publicity material, some annual reports, and a corporate plan as well as menus and photographs. The files are arranged alphabetically.

  • III. Joseph H. Baum and Michael Whiteman Company

    This series concerns projects undertaken by the Joseph H. Baum and Michael Whiteman Company (and its predecessor, the Joseph H. Baum Company) with the exception of files concerning the Rainbow Complex at Rockefeller Center which can be found in Series IV.

  • IV. Rainbow Complex

    This series documents Baum's $25 million renovation of the Rainbow Complex, a suite of dining, dancing, entertainment, and club facilities on the 64th and 65th floors of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the tallest building in Rockefeller Center. The centerpiece was the celebrated Rainbow Room, a two-story high Art Deco-style restaurant/nightclub that had opened in 1934 to great acclaim. Other venues included, at various times, the Rainbow Grill, Rainbow Promenade, Rainbow Suites, Rainbow Pavilion, Rainbow Stars, and the Rockefeller Center Club.

    The files include information on the development and operation of the Rainbow Complex both before and after its reopening in 1987. Baum's staff assembled a "Rainbow Archive" of historical information on the construction of Rockefeller Center and the Rainbow Room and continued to maintain files until 1998.

    After Baum's death, and until its close in 2009, the complex was operated under management of Cipriani family.

  • VI. Video recordings

    Video recordings in the collection document Baum's public appearances and interviews during the late 1980s and 1990s. They are unavailable for viewing until preservation copies have been produced.

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328