Hotel Pennsylvania
From HOPE
The Hotel Pennsylvania, across the street from located across the street from Pennsylvania Station on 401 7th Avenue in Manhattan, is the well known site of the HOPE conference.
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[edit] History
The Hotel Pennsylvania was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1917 the railroad company contracted the prominent McKim, Mead & White architectural firm to design the hotel to-be. The same firm was also the designer for the original columned version of Pennsylvania Station (located across the street), the Pierpont Morgan Library, Columbia University, and the United States Post Office Building on Eighth Ave. Opening on 25 January 1919, the Hotel Pennsylvania quickly became considered New York's Grand Dame and place to stay by dignitaries & discriminating travelers; it hosted numerous presidential visits. The "stately neo-Renaissance style" hotel was the largest hotel building in the world and remained as such until 1927.
Upon opening, the rate for a single room was $3.50 per night (about $48 in today's currency, adjusted for inflation).
[edit] Management
Ellsworth Statler, a prominent hotelier of the time, was contracted as the first general manager of the property. Later named "Hotel Man of the Century" by the American Hotel Association, he is best known for his quote, "There are things that make a hotel famous: location, location, location." Ellsworth Statler was --of course-- referring to the Hotel Penn.
Later, the hotel became the last addition in a chain of luxury hotels operated by the E. M. Statler Company. It was acquired by the Hotels Statler Company in 1948 and renamed the Hotel Statler. In 1954, largest merger in hotel history takes place when Conrad Hilton, owner of the Hilton Hotel Corporation, assumed ownership of all 17 Statler hotels; the hotel became the Statler Hilton. It operated under this name until the early 1980s, when Hilton sold the hotel. Starting in 1979, it was renamed the New York Statler for a brief period when operated by the Dunfey Hotels Corporation, a division of Aer Lingus. It was then purchased in 1983 by the Penta Hotels chain, a joint-venture of British Airways, Lufthansa, Swissair, and Abelco, becoming the New York Penta. In the mid 1980's, Penta Hotels managed extensive renovations and modernization of the hotel before it went out of business in 1992. After which time, it became part of the Best Western and Ramada franchises. The hotel returns to its its original name, Hotel Pennsylvania.
[edit] An unforgettable landmark
Hotel Penn is famous for its place in the world of jazz musical entertainment. The renowned Cafe Rouge Ballroom (considered one of the most popular nightclubs in New York during the late 1930's and 1940's) hosted most of the Big Band Era's musicians. These included the Dorsey brothers, Fred Waring, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and of course, the Glenn Miller Orchestra who regularly broadcast across America, "Live from the Cafe Rouge".
Hotel Penn, also, is known for having the longest continuously used phone number in New York (and perhaps the World). The number, "PEnnsylvania 6-5000", is the inspiration for the Finegan, Gray, and Sigman song of the same name. The most popular version was performed by Glenn Miller with the Andrews Sisters not far behind.
[edit] Present-era timeline
- 1994
- The 1st Hackers On Planet Earth (HOPE) conference takes place in the historic Hotel Penn.
- 1998
- the hotel is bought of Vornado Realty Trust.
- 2001
- Hotel Pennsylvania undergoes a major restoration.
- 2002
- Hotel Pennsylvania officially registers "World's Most Popular Hotel" after records show the Hotel has hosted over 27 million visitors.
- The hotel hosts the 4th HOPE, H2K2.
- 2003
- The Penn 5000 Club, geared towards business travelers, is launched.
- 2004
- Hotel Penn celebrates 20th Anniversary as "Host Hotel for Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show".
- The Fifth HOPE comes to the hotel.
- 2006
- The Hotel Pennsylvania (as usual) hosts HOPE Number Six.
- 2007
- Hotel Penn announces continued renovations and upgrades to guest accommodations.
- Vornado Realty Trust, the owner of Hotel Pennsylvania, announces its hopes to demolish the hotel and make way for an office tower.
- 2008
- The 7th HOPE, The Last HOPE, takes place.
[edit] Architecture
Bounded on the west by Seventh Avenue, on the north by 33rd street, and south the south by 32nd street, the hotel was erected on a building site measuring 200 x 400 feet. The hotel building has 22 floors from street level to the roof, three levels in the penthouse, and multiple basment levels. The highest penthouse level is numbered as the 21st floor. The discrepancy in floor numbering is due to several mezzanine-type levels that carry names such as "lobby mezzanine" instead of floor numbers.
The first four stories are faced with Indiana limestone and treated with Roman Ionic pilasters, with rusticated walls in between. The Seventh Avenue facade contains a magnificent portico of six Ionic columns marking the main entrance. These core structures remain intact today, retaining the ambience of a bygone era.
Originally there were 2,200 bathrooms, 3,537 beds, and the world's first high-rise elevator system. Underground passages connected the hotel to Pennsylvania Station so guests arriving by rail avoided any exposure to inclement weather. Today, Hotel Pennsylvania remains the fourth largest hotel in Manhattan, with 1,700 available rooms.
[edit] Proposed demolition
The threat of the Hotel Pennsylvania's demolition was first introduced in the late 1990s when Vornado Realty Trust bought the hotel. Vornado announced in 2007 that the hotel was to be demolished to make way for a new office building with Merrill Lynch as its anchor tenant. Owner Vornado Realty Trust intended to build a building by 2011. The site is the only remaining area in Midtown Manhattan that would not require special permits for development of a new office project of that size.
Shortly after the announcement of Vornado's plans, the staff of 2600: The Hacker Quarterly (News Article) began investigating possible ways to save the hotel from demolition. They were joined by the new Save the Hotel Pennsylvania Foundation, whose members included a number of city organizations and politicians to aid in the landmarking of the hotel, including The Historic District Council, Manhattan Community Board 5, and Assemblymen Richard Gottfried. In November 2007, Manhattan Community Board 5 voted 21-8 to have New York City Council landmark the historic hotel. However in February 2008 the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission denied the request for landmarking.
Preservation efforts have proven difficult. Emmanuel Goldstein noted that while people overseas expressed concern over the fate of the hotel, "New Yorkers might not care enough to get involved. The hotel was old; the rooms weren’t as big and luxurious as other more modern facilities; and New Yorkers simply weren’t in a position to grasp the importance of such a place since they normally don’t need cheap and easily accessible hotels if they already live here."
[edit] See also
[edit] External Links
Hotel status
