Manhattan keeps losing its diners. Sometime recently, maybe earlier this month, we lost the Tramway Diner.
Located in the shadow of the 59th Street Bridge on 2nd Avenue, the Tramway sheltered me not long ago when I was wandering that neighborhood searching for a cheap, comfortable spot for dinner. The Tramway, with its tram-illustrated awning, beckoned, and fulfilled my need for a burger deluxe.
Today, the windows are dark and a sign says "All equipment for sale."
New York described the spot as featuring "nearly floor-to-ceiling windows with eye-catching views of the airborne cable cars ascending to and descending from Roosevelt Island with hypnotic consistency. Grab a window seat at one of the high-backed leather-and-wood booths and you’ll quickly find yourself glorifying the standard menu’s little enhancements like fresh-squeezed orange juice, burgers that weigh eight ounces, and a handful of sandwiches of the triple decker sort."
plazmasas
The interior was nothing special, typical contemporary diner design--except that the ceiling was hung with these adorable little tram cars (they used to light up). Where are they now?
fdelangle's panoramio
This is so sad to me. Being a long time Roosevelt Island resident, I would go to the Tramway for some quiet time and good food. We only had one diner on the Island and the Tramway was a welcome change. A great view, with a chance to do some good people watching. It will be greatly missed.
ReplyDeleteAlways liked the name of that diner.
ReplyDeletemajor bummer. a longtime standby for me on my way back to queens late, late at night. always kept that old school nyc diner vibe in the wee hours: quiet, radio tuned low to some pop station, no obnoxious drunks or tourists. it will probably become a nail salon or a bank now.
ReplyDeleteBack in the mid-to-late 70's, we used to lunch at the Tramway every day.
ReplyDeleteI walked past it about a month ago, noting that it was still open, and thinking how great it was that it was still here.
Ah, well.
Sorry I never made it to that diner. Too late now.
ReplyDeleteHow terrible---and how strange. A friend and I stopped in here on a whim less than a month ago. It was maybe 2 PM on a weekday, and the place was fairly full up, including a group of 10 European tourists drinking endless bottles of Heineken. As far as I can remember, there wasn't even a hint of impending closure.
ReplyDeleteDammit, I never made it in there. Those tram lights are really fantastic! I hope someone saved them.
ReplyDeleteI passed the Tramway Diner so many times coming home from work on the bus. Sadly I never made it inside either. I like diners.
ReplyDeleteGo 1 block over for a comfortable, quiet, affordable, casual and delicious Italian restaurant hidden in the back of this Pizzeria. Perfect after a long walk on the bridge. Then go get drunk at the Subway Inn.
ReplyDeletehttp://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=New+York&ll=40.760342,-73.961742&spn=0,0.00515&z=19&layer=c&cbll=40.760273,-73.961571&panoid=q1qSGOIfZBp94mqb3gcKbA&cbp=12,336.24,,0,-11.3
well, if only a kardashian, suri, the gossip girls, et. als., went there, instead of only going to serendipity 3...
ReplyDeleteadorable and iconic...yes. CHEAP? NO! The prix-fixe at Le Bernardin was a better deal. and Viand 61/Madison is much yummier
ReplyDeleteI hate to pour cold water on this, but as the last "anonymous" posted the food has gotten quite pricey in recent years, without the quality really justifying it. And the cute tram models haven't been there in the past ten years.
ReplyDeleteThis place was probably great in the 70s, but sometimes a business can become a shell of itself long before it officially closes.
What's gonna happen to the old guy in the wheelchair that sat outside? He once tricked me into pushing him five blocks. Now it will be an empty bank with a big sign... Ugh
ReplyDeleteMy best friend and I used to meet there when we were 16. it was nowhere near where either of us lived, but somehow that's the place we chose as our hangout. We would go smoke cigarettes and eat pancakes at midnight - at that hour the other diners were all older men and women, presumably insomniacs, drinking coffee and chatting with the waiters like old friends (which of course they were...) - this loss is hitting me hard.
ReplyDeleteMy partner and I would go to the Tramway diner everytime we came to the city. so sad to know that it is no longer open. Miss Anna was always so nice and cheerful. We will miss it.
ReplyDeleteI used to visit this diner when holidaying in NY from the UK. Gutted to now find out it is shut down. I went there with family one years and took my friends the next. Another memory bites the dust. hmph.
ReplyDeleteI moved from NYC to LA over twenty years ago, but I still harbor some of the fondest memories of late night meals and lazy weekend breakfasts with friends at the Tramway Diner. When I was living just up the block (on 61st west of 2nd Ave) in the mid 1990s, it always charmed me as a quintessential Manhattan diner (or at least so it seemed to me)--our own personal "Monk's," as it were (a la "Seinfeld"). And I must confess, merely passing by it on foot or in a cab was sufficient to strike up Simon & Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge Song" in my mind. Indeed, for me, crossing the threshold of the Tramway truly led to "Feeling Groovy," corny as that sounds. I'm sad to know it's long gone now, but it lives indelibly in my college day memories, and perhaps all the more so now for having finally faded away, as all things do sooner or later. "Slow down," time, "you move too fast."
ReplyDeleteBack in the early to mid eighties i would fly into nyc from Youngstown ohio. I would go to studio 54 and also the club area.after club would close i would go eat and sit at this diner until the first bus to Newark airport would leave the port authority and fly right back to Youngstown ohio. This was a safe shelter and decent food.
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