5. There Was Once a Hidden Restaurant in Bloomingdale’s That Looked Like a Train Car

Though now closed, this quirky gem of a restaurant had been located inside Bloomingdale’s since 1979. Le Train Bleu was modeled after a dining car of the French luxury train, The Calais-Mediterranée Express which was an overnight train between Calais, in the north of France, and the French Riviera that ran from 1886 to 2007. The hallway to the “dining car” had the feel of a real train (and some vintage travel posters to boot), and the car itself was decorated with mahogany, plush green detailing and Victorian-style lamps.

As Scouting NY reports, “Le Train Bleu restaurant was the brainchild of Marvin S. Traub, who fought in World War II, received a master’s in Business from Harvard, and worked his way up from the bargain basement of Bloomingdales to become president in 1969. In his NY Times obituary, he is credited with transforming Bloomingdale’s ‘from a stodgy Upper East Side family department store into a trendsetting international showcase of style and showmanship.'”