Original interior of the Gage & Tollner Restaurant. Image Courtesy: Rosenbaum Design Group.
The interior landmark, which had been converted to a fast-food chain with Landmarks’ oversight, was illegally converted to a retail store. On January 22, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered and denied an application for the legalization of work already done to the former Gage & Tollner Restaurant, at 372 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The interior landmark occupies the Gage & Tollner building, also an individual City landmark. The interior is significant for its “Gay Nineties” architecture and décor, featuring arched mirrors, ornate woodwork, a paneled bar, and brass light fixtures.
The Gage & Tollner Restaurant opened in 1892 and closed in 2004. The property was later used for a TGI Friday’s restaurant. In 2009, an application was approved by Landmarks for the conversion of the space to an Arby’s franchise. The site is currently a retail establishment that sells jewelry and shoes. However, the site was converted without Landmarks’ approval after Arby’s vacated the space. The tenants put in a lighting system that obscured the wainscoted walls, and removed a wall that had stood between the dining room and the kitchen, as well as one of the signature mirrors.
