The Black Nouveau

Today’s Daily Honor goes not to a person, musician, or artist, it goes to a New York Institution…The Plaza Hotel. Completed in 1907 by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh at a cost of $12.5 Million dollars, it remains a glimmering beacon of wealth, opulence and power. I have had the privilege of staying there one night when I was little, accompanying my grandfather on a business trip to New York. The only reason I was insistent on going was from the “Home Alone 2 Lost in New York” movie. It convince me that anyplace Macaulay Culkin went, was awesome, and I had to be there too! That night I discovered what luxury really was, gilded walls, persian carpets, and The Grand Ballroom, changed my perception of what elegance and extravagance really was.

The plaza has had many owners over the years, from Conrad Hilton, to Donald Trump, and now more recently an Arabian billionare  who has converted 152 rooms on the top floors of the building, into private condos. Priced from $1,500,000 to $20,000,000 the hotel is one of the most prestigious addresses a New Yorker can own. The Plaza is one of the only two New York Hotel’s to be designated as an National Historic Landmark in 1988 along with the Waldorf Astoria. Dignitaries, Heads of State, Celebrities, and Royalty have all graced the halls of this magnificent building including my self  (hey I was 7, I THOUGHT I was royalty!) The Plaza was and remains still a symbol of grandeur, luxury and privilege in the greatest city in the world.

This entry was posted on June 24, 2009 at 12:16 PM and is filed under Uncategorized with tags Central Park, Hotels, Luxury, New York, NYC, The Black Nouveau, The Plaza Hotel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.