Four Seasons Restaurant's Furnishings Fetch More Than $4 Million at Auction

Few New York City eating establishments are considered more influential than The Four Seasons Restaurant, which recently closed its original location to prepare for a pending move. That’s why foodies looking to own a piece of culinary history shelled out more than $4 million dollars on Tuesday, July 26, to purchase the restaurant’s dishes, furniture, and other pieces of memorabilia at auction, The New York Times reports.

Last spring, the iconic establishment—which first opened on Manhattan’s East 52 Street in 1959—made headlines when it announced that it wasn’t renewing its lease in Midtown’s Seagram Building. On July 16, the Four Seasons finally shuttered its doors, with plans to move to a new Park Avenue space in 2017.

To prepare for its relocation, the restaurant sold all its interior belongings in a frenzied sale, held in its luxurious Pool Room. None of them went cheap, Curbed reports:  Someone bought the Four Seasons’ bronze entrance sign for $96,000. Ottomans fetched $18,000; a curved banquette and table, $50,000. A set of four ashtrays even sold for $10,000. Many of these objects were designed by important modernist designers, Bloomberg points out, but bidders were definitely paying a premium for nostalgia.

In all, the auction raised around $4.1 million, exceeding The Four Seasons'  original estimate of $1.33 million. Check out a few of its offerings below.

[h/t The New York Times]

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