The Plaza, one of the most famous hotels in New York, will close in January 2027 for a restoration of the façade that will take at least four years. The announcement arrived on 14 October: according to the company that manages the hotel, the complexity of the works and the interference with the activities of the building make the closing necessary. The closing will also cover the Palm Court, the restaurant known for afternoon tea, and the rooms used for receptions and events. A reopening date was not set: on 2031 it is the first year possible according to the indicated duration, but the yard could take more time.
The building is located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South, at the southeast corner of the park. For those who have never entered, one of the most immediate references is Mamma, I lost the plane: I lost to New York: in the 1992 film the protagonist Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin, manages to stay there using the credit card of the father, then meeting in his lobby a young Trump Donald, then owner of the hotel, as a cameo. The Plaza had already appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s International Intrigo, released in 1959.
The restoration will interest a protected building for its historical and architectural value. The Plaza obtained the recognition of a city monument in 1969: in the document of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the New York body that deals with these roofs, is described as a construction of eighteen floors in marble and white bricks, with steep roofs inspired by the castles of the French Renaissance. He designed it Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, also author of Dakota, the residential building on the western side of Central Park.
The hotel opened on October 1, 1907. Its location allowed to see the building from afar, through the park, and to observe the two main facades together. Balconies, columns, balustrades and turrets were part of a project designed to highlight a much larger building than the European buildings it was inspired by. These elements, in addition to the coatings, compose the outside that must be preserved.
In the meantime, what will happen to those who live in the Plaza? The building houses in fact 282 hotel rooms and 181 private apartments, created with the transformation of part of the structure in the 2000s. Fairmont did not publicly confirm whether residents should move. The New York Post collected the testimony of a real estate agent that some owners would have received reassurance on the possibility of staying.
It would not be the first long interruption of activity. In 2005 the Plaza closed for a $450 million renovation, which ended with the reopening in 2008. The property has also changed several times: the aforementioned Donald Trump bought the hotel in 1988 for $390 million. During its management in the 1990s, the hotel went bankrupt. The next intervention of the 2000s also modified its function, alongside hospitality private apartments.
For workers, the perspective is that of a suspension of several years. The Hotel & Gaming Trades Council has stated in the New York Times that its 378 members employed at the Plaza will have the right to return to their place, to the same pay, when the hotel reopens. During the closure the union will try to help them find another job: the guarantee of return, therefore, does not solve the problem of the job in the years of restoration.
L’articolo The New York Plaza will close for at least four years proviene da IlNewyorkese.
