Customer Reviews

At the Plaza: An Illustrated History of the World's Most Famous Hotel

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When someone mentions The Plaza what do you first think of? Luxury? Eloise? Donald and Ivana? Dietrich or Garbo or F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald in residence? The Pulitzer Fountain? The final scene from "The Way We Were?"

All of them and many, many more are here in this deluxe book about this deluxe hotel. Chock full of blueprints, wonderful photographs and reproductions of menus and paintings and postcards, this book is not just a history of a hotel...it is, truly, a history of New York City which is host to the hotel. You will learn how specific rooms (The Palm Court, The Edwardian Room, The Oak Room, etc.) were "born", how, when and why celebrities like Frank Lloyd Wright lived at the hotel, how various suites came to be decorated by and named after people like Cecil Beaton, what the scandal was caused by Mrs. Patrick Campbell, how the Duke and Duchess of Windsor celebrated their anniversary here and how Patricia Kennedy and Peter Lawford celebrated their marriage here. There are revealing photographs of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis with her husband and son avoiding the paparazzi, John and Yoko enjoying an obviously romantic lunch, Truman Capote's Black and White party and so many of the entertainers who performed at the famous Persian Room: Shirley Bassey, Ethel Merman, The Mills Brothers, Kay Thompson (mother to Eloise), Eartha Kitt, Bob Hope, Liberace, Diahann Carroll, etc. There is even an entire chapter on the many movies that were filmed at the hotel, beginning with Hitchcock's masterpiece, "North By Northwest."

All of Gathje's research is well documented and written in a fascinating style: charming, inviting, intimate, warm, classy and yet filled with good humor. RECOMMENDED.

This book is a great buy. If you are a fan of NY, you will haveheard of this hotel, its history, its decor, its beauty. YOU HAVE TOSTAY A NIGHT. Take a stretch limo from the airport, book a mini suite[from airport if arriving in low season - to get the best rate -always speak with "Front Desk" (only)] Your partner willlove you forever and you'll enjoy the trip soo much more.... This booktells the story of the hotel history - did you know there was aprevious hotel of same name on the site? It has many pictures throughthe years, right through the Hilton. Trump and now Fairmont ownerships- it tells the film-makers story, visits from the famous, the stars. Agreat book on a great hotel. Love to hear about your stay, we stayedDec 1999...

I confess, I purchased this book for my mother but when I skimmed through it I couldn't part with it too soon. The pictures are high quality, many you'll never see elsewhere and the stories will keep you turning the pages with a smile. Eventually this unique book made it to my mother, who @ 84 recalled many of the headline moments associated with this beautiful New York landmark.