The Meridian Hotel requests the pleasure of your company at the last ball of the decade
THE MERIDIAN BALL
New Year's Eve 1929
The Evening
A night of gilt and glass
Let the old year take its bow in gold and glass,
and the new one waltz in on a river of champagne —
one last dance before the decade turns.
Eight hundred candles. One ballroom. An orchestra that has promised not to stop until the clock does. Come in from the cold; the doorman has been told to expect you.
The hour draws near
Until the stroke of midnight
to midnight, 31 December
The ballroom clock has been wound. At the last minute of the year it will be stopped, by hand, so that no one has to leave the dance.
Happy New Year — the ball begins anew
The Programme
From dusk to dawn
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8:00P.M.
Doors & the Champagne Tower
Coats are surrendered on the Marble Stair and the first coupe is poured from the crown of a fourteen-tier tower.
-
8:45P.M.
The Grand Promenade
Descend the emerald staircase into the Palm Court while the Meridian Orchestra plays its slowest, most flattering foxtrot.
-
9:30P.M.
Supper in the Gilded Hall
Seven courses: consommé à l'or, oysters on ice, roast squab, and a sorbet the exact colour of moonlight.
-
11:00P.M.
The Cabaret
Mademoiselle Odalys and the Sapphire Sisters, followed by a magician who is certainly not a fraud.
-
11:45P.M.
The Last Waltz of 1929
The chandeliers dim to a whisper. Take the hand nearest you. Do not look at the clock.
-
12:00Midnight
The Stroke of Midnight
A thousand corks, a rain of gold, one held breath — and then, all at once, nineteen-thirty.
-
1:00A.M.
Champagne on the Roof
Carry your glass up to the terrace and toast the first dawn of the new year with the whole city at your feet.
The Dress
Dress code
Black tie,jewels encouraged.
White tie is welcomed. Bring cufflinks, gloves, and a pocket watch that runs a little fast.
Beaded gowns, long gloves, feathers, headbands. The more it catches the light, the better.
Leave the daylight at the coat check. No denim, no umbrellas, no hurry.
Doors close on the dot of eight-fifteen
Répondez s'il vous plaît
Kindly reply by the twentieth
Tables are limited to one hundred and forty. Tell us who is coming, and whether you will join the champagne tower at midnight.
Reply received
Thank you, friend.
Your table is being polished as we speak.
- Your party
- 2 guests
- Champagne tower
- Not this time
- Reference
- MB-1929-0000