Historic Hotels in New York City
The Old Plaza Hotel
The old Plaza Hotel was a palatial establishment overlooking Central Park and sumptuously furnished, with 400 rooms. It was built on Fifth Avenue, between West 59th Street and West 58th Street, the same site of the current hotel.
Its construction began in 1883, but builders fail to raise money to complete the hotel and the New York Life Insurance Company forecloses in 1888, hiring architects to complete the building. The first Plaza Hotel opened on October 1, 1890, advertised as absolutely fireproof. F.A. Hammond was the proprietor.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the value of the property had increased enormously. The hotel was sold in 1902 to a group of investors. It was closed on June 11, 1905, and demolished. Construction of the new Plaza Hotel began in the same year and was completed in 1907.
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The Plaza and the entrance to Central Park, Fifth Avenue, 58th Street and 59h Street, showing the original Plaza Hotel and Hotel Savoy, that opened in 1892. Source (with additional text): New York, the Metropolis. Its noted business and professional men, 1893).
The façade of the Plaza Hotel on 59th Street, about 1886, before the construction was finished (illustration by Charles Magnus).
The site of the Plaza Hotel, before its construction, indicated with a red X (edited text). Illustration extracted from the plan The City of New York, published by Galt & Hoy, 1879, from the Library of Congress.
