A combination of dance hall, theater and saloon, Hill’s was just one of a number of similar establishments that had sprung up in New York City in the second half of the 19th century.
A “sprawling, dingy, two-story frame house which had two front entrances, a small door for the ladies who were admitted free, and a larger one for gentlemen, who paid twenty cents.[1]” The dance hall, originally a series of small rooms, there was no regular bar on the main floor but on one side of the long hall was a counter over which the waiter girls distributed the drinks that had been brought up from the basement where the more disreputable of Hill's customers spent their evenings... On the other side of the room was the stage, with a tall box for a Punch and Judy show - a popular form of entertainment at that period. His place was also a favorite of various boxers and he frequently held prize fights there.
Before the main door hung a huge red and blue lantern, which cast its rays onto a gigantic signboard … composed by Hill… ‘Punches and juleps, cobblers and smashes. To make the tongue waggle with wit’s merry flashes.'
The rules of the house were written in rhyme … ‘no loud talking; no profanity; no obscene or indecent expressions will be allowed; no one drunken will be permitted to remain in the room; no man can sit and allow a woman to stand; all men must call for for refreshments as soon as they arrive, and the call must be repeated after each dance; if a man does not dance, he must leave. Mr Hill keeps the peace of his own concern, and does not hesitate to knock any man down, or throw him out of the door, if he breaks the rules of the establishment. He keeps jealous women from tearing out each other’s eyes.'
