Jimmy Ryan's was a jazz club in New York City, located at 53 West 52nd Street, Manhattan, from 1934 to 1962, and 154 West 54th Street from 1962 to 1983. It was a venue for performances of Dixieland jazz.
The location on 52nd Street, Manhattan, New York City, was one of a row of brownstones with clubs operating in basements. As the last surviving jazz club on 52nd Street, its brownstone â along with all the other brownstones on the north side of the street â were demolished in 1962 to make way for construction of the new CBS Building. CBS had given Jimmy Ryan $9,000 to relocate.
The club was owned by partners Matthew C. (Matty) Walsh (1914âÂÂ2006) and Jimmy Ryan (1911âÂÂ1963). Walsh, Ryan's brother-in-law, continued ownership following Ryan's death in July 1963 at the French Hospital. Gilbert J. Pincus (1907âÂÂ1980) â who served as doorman from 1942 to 1962 at the original location and from about 1963 until his death in 1980 â became known as the "Mayor of 52nd Street".
During the 1940s, three New York nightclubs stood out as centers for traditional style jazz: Jimmy Ryan's, Nick's in Greenwich Village, and Eddie Condon's, just a few blocks away.
Resident musicians in the 1940s
Musicians of the Sunday jam sessions, organized and managed by Milt Gabler