The Plaza, located on Fifth Avenue at Central Park South, opened its doors on October 1, 1907, amid a flurry of reports describing it as "the greatest hotel in the world." It was constructed in the most fashionable residential section of New York.
The Plaza was the dream of financier Bernhard Beinecke, hotelier Fred Sterry, and Harry S. Black, president of a construction company. They purchased a 15-year-old hotel on the same site with the same name. The three men then decided to replace it with what they would proudly describe as "the most elegant hotel in the world."
Construction was to take two years at a cost of $12,000,000, an unprecedented sum in those days.
Henry Janeway Hardenbergh was one of the most famous and distinguished architects of the age. He designed The Plaza with all the pomp, glory, and opulence of a French Chateau. No cost was spared. Marble lobbies were created. The linen was exclusively designed and manufactured for The Plaza in Belfast, Ireland. Embroidered organdy curtains came from Switzerland. The largest single order in history for gold-encrusted china was placed, and no less than 1,650 crystal chandeliers were purchased.
The hotel stands 19 stories high, in 1907 a veritable skyscraper. There are 815 rooms, including one, two and three-bedroom suites.
Originally, The Plaza served primarily as a residence for wealthy New Yorkers who wanted an in-town apartment. When it opened in 1907, 90 percent of the guests were permanent residents. For guests who chose to rent on a nightly basis, single rooms started at $ 2.50 per night.
Since its beginning The Plaza has hosted world-famous personalities. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, visited often, and for a time were residents. Their attachment to The Plaza was so well-known that Ernest Hemingway once advised Fitzgerald to give his liver to Princeton and his heart to The Plaza.
The Plaza was designated a New York City Landmark in 1969, is listed on the Register of Historic Places, and was honored as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. It is the only New York City hotel so designated.
For the movie version of 1974 a scene shot was taken at the 5th Avenue entrance; the hotel interiors were recreated in the Pinewood Studios in London.
In April 2005, after 98 years, the hotel closed; in its place condominiums were built.
