"The Tavern on the Green -- soon to be gone"

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The Tavern on the Green, a landmark New York restaurant and watering hole of the rich and famous, is being sold off piece by piece, right down to its topiary giraffe.

Set in a former sheep fold in Central Park, the restaurant closed after a final party for 1,700 revellers on New Year’s Eve. Its contents, including 59 chandeliers and a 14ft (4m) topiary King Kong, are to be auctioned to help to settle the owner’s debts.

The highlight of the three-day sale, which began on Wednesday, is the emerald-coloured chandelier that hung in the Crystal Room. It was made in Austria for the Maharajah of Udaipur and is expected to fetch $100,000-$300,000 (£65,000-£190,000).

Also on the block is a baby grand piano used by some of music’s most famous names. “John Lennon, Michael Jackson, Duke Ellington all sat down and tickled the keys. That makes it more than just a nice piano,” said Arlan Ettinger, president of Guernsey’s auction house, which is handling the sale.

Shown above is "The Tavern on the Green" by Anna Ginzburg. Click the heading above to visit her website.