Opened originally in 1907 as the Men's Bar. Used as a space for businessmen to talk, in contrast with the Men's Grill (now the Edwardian Room), which acted as a social club where business discussion was socially inappropriate.
The bar closed during Prohibition (1920-1933) during which time it was known as the Café or Oak Lounge.
The Men's Bar reopened in 1934 as a restaurant under the name Oak Room. Women were allowed in the Oak Room during the summers starting in the late 1940s. By the early 1950s, women were allowed inside the Oak Room and Bar during the evenings as well. The Oak Room and Bar still acted as a men-only space before 3 p.m. on weekdays, while the stock exchanges operated. This continued until, in February 1969, Betty Friedan and other members of the National Organization for Women staged a sit-in protest. The gender restriction was removed a few months later.
Protesting the Oak Room`s men-only policy at lunch, the National Organization for Women (more commonly known as NOW) staged a sit-in at The Plaza. The protest began at the Fifth Avenue entrance, and proceeded into the Oak Room where they sat down during lunch and waited to be served. After waiting for four hours and not being served, the group departed. The protest garnered significant press, and the incident proved to not be in vain, as four months later the Oak Room`s lunchtime men`s only policy was rescinded.
