Mollie Fontaine

Mollie Fontaine (d. 1955) was the proprietress of Hester's Hat Rack, located next to The Gilman Hotel. The millinery and accessories boutique, Hester's Hat Rack opened in 1925 from a converted barber shop and spa. It was not known by the general public as a place of alcohol consumption until 1934 when it was officially converted into a nightclub and bar. However, it experienced a private renaissance for the townspeople who knew how to keep a secret a decade earlier.

Ms. Fontaine opened the establishment under the identity "M. Hester," to avoid awareness that the owner was a woman, which would be considerably odd for a male clothes shop. Instead, she enlisted in her brother, Eddie Fontaine, to be the face of the shop. His flamboyance and nerve brought the club a sense of European danger that the often upscale clientele ate up. Indeed, he became notorious for his same-sex "petting parties," just as much as his garish makeup—which would land him in jail for soliciting frequently when he strolled the streets beyond Gilman.

The Fontaines hailed from West New York, where they lived until 1919, moving to Gilman Street shortly after Mollie's husband died. He was found drowned in the Passaic River. While Mollie was never accused to wrongdoing, her refusal to play the grieving widow did not sit well with the neighbors, and she took her husband's money and created Hester's with her brother. They lived in one of the longstay rooms of The Gilman in the 1920s, had separate rooms in the 30s, and when they could no longer pay the rent, split ways in the 1940s.

With prohibition lifted and most of the country embracing the 21st amendment-- Hester's remained a home to the alcohol enthusiast but began to lose steam with the further social acceptability of liquor, its resurgence in the market, and Hester's eventual disrepair. It managed to stay relevant with nightly burlesque shows, illicit interludes with famous socialites and street hustlers, and cheap liquor supplied by associates of famed hood Clarence "Busby" Merkinley. It closed in 1948.

Ms. Fontaine passed in 1955 from liver failure, while Mr. Fontaine lived nearby until his 60s when he moved to London. He passed in 1975 from natural causes.