| Gramercy Park Hotel | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Interactive map of the Gramercy Park Hotel area | |
| General information | |
| Location | 2Lexington Avenue,Manhattan,New York City,United States |
| Coordinates | 40°44′19″N73°59′09″W / 40.7385°N 73.9858°W /40.7385; -73.9858 |
| Opening | 1925; 101 years ago (1925) |
| Owner | MCR Hotels |
| Management | Manhattan Hospitality Advisors |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Robert T. Lyons |
| Developer | Bing and Bing |
| [1] | |
Gramercy Park Hotel was a luxury hotel located at 2Lexington Avenue, in theGramercy Park neighborhood ofManhattan,New York City, adjacent to the park of the same name. It was known for its rich history. Originally opened in 1925, the hotel ceased operations in 2020 and was purchased byMCR Hotels in 2023 with plans to re-open in 2025.
Gramercy Park Hotel was designed byRobert T. Lyons and built by the developer brothersBing & Bing from 1924–1925, with an official opening in 1925.[1] A westward extension along Gramercy Park North – a continuation of East 21st Street – was designed by the firm of Thompson & Churchill and built in 1929–1930. Both wings were designed inRenaissance Revival style.[2][3] The hotel occupies the site of the former homes of the flamboyantarchitectStanford White, political leader and defender ofagnosticismRobert Ingersoll and lawyer-diaristGeorge Templeton Strong.[3][4]
Humphrey Bogart married his first wifeHelen Menken at the hotel,[5][6] and theJoseph P. Kennedy family, including a youngJohn F. Kennedy, stayed on the second floor for several months, before the family moved toLondon so the elder Kennedy could take up his post as the American ambassador.[2][3] During theGreat Depression,Babe Ruth was a regular bar patron – an autographed picture of Ruth was hung in the bar until it disappeared in the 1960s – and whenJames Cagney and his wife lived nearby at 34 Gramercy Park, they were frequent diners at the hotel.[3] In the 1940s,Edmund Wilson lived in the hotel with novelistMary McCarthy,[6] and humoristS.J. Perelman maintained his residence there, dying in his room in 1979.[3]
In 1958 Herbert Weissberg, a prominent New York hotel owner, bought the hotel. In 1964, Weissberg (with the help of his long time advisor, the prominent Attorney Herbert Mendelson of Herrick Feinstein), sold the hotel to Wellington Associates for $3 million, but the Weissberg Corporation continued to operate the hotel under a long-term lease.[7] Weissberg added a gift shop, doubled the size of the bar and gave tenure to Pinky, the beloved hotelbellhop.[citation needed]
Guests were drawn to itsbohemian character, low prices and locale. The hotel's reputation for discretion attracted such musicians asBob Marley andBob Dylan[8] in the 1970s.
The Canadian and Chicago part of the first cast ofSaturday Night Live stayed in the hotel during the show's premiere andPaul Shaffer, the show's original bandleader, continued to live in the annex for another 16 years. Other former residents include character actressMargaret Hamilton, actorMatt Dillon, and playwrightDavid Mamet. Other notable guests includethe Clash,[9]Madonna,Debbie Harry, andDavid Bowie.[10]
By the late 1990s the hotel's ratings began to decline, as Weissberg's health began to fail. His sons fought for control and, after a series of family tragedies, the hotel was subleased in 2002 to Steven Greenberg, the founder of theRoxy nightclub.[citation needed] A bar was added to the roof but the restaurant closed. It began to attract a younger clientele and the prices began to increase rapidly. Following Weissberg's death in 2003 Gramercy Park Hotel was sold toIan Schrager andAby Rosen, who renovated the hotel in collaboration with artistJulian Schnabel. Schnabel designed the interiors, many fixtures and furniture pieces throughout the hotel.[11] In 2010, Schrager sold his interest in the hotel to Rosen.[12][13] The Rose Bar anchored the hotel, along with the Jade Bar and rooftop Gramercy Terrace restaurant. It was also home toDanny Meyer's Maialino, which served Italian cuisine.[14] On April 23, 2014, conservationistMark Shand, the brother ofCamilla, Duchess of Cornwall, slipped and fell outside the Rose Bar, suffering a serious head injury and later that night died at the nearbyBellevue Hospital.[15]
The hotel exhibited paintings by noted artists, includingJean-Michel Basquiat,Damien Hirst,Richard Prince,Julian Schnabel,Cy Twombly andAndy Warhol.[citation needed]
The hotel ceased operations in March 2020 as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[16][17] It was announced in December 2020 that Rosen's hotel business faced eviction from the structure, because RFR was $900,000 behind on ground lease payments to Solil Management (the estate of developerSol Goldman), which owns the land underneath. Rosen had been leasing the property for $5.3 million per year.[16][18] In April 2021, Solil moved to terminate Rosen's lease and collect $79.5 million in back payments,[19][17] but a state judge ruled that October that Rosen did not have to pay back that amount.[20] Rosen's lease was finally terminated in June 2022,[21] and all of the hotel's furnishings were auctioned off shortly thereafter.[22]
MCR Hotels acquired the lease to the hotel in 2023,[23][24] with plans to reopen the hotel in 2025.[23][25] After a dispute arose within the Goldman family in 2024, Rosen attempted to take back control of the hotel, claiming that astay of execution should be placed, reversing the termination of his lease.[26]
Gramercy Park Hotel is mentioned in pop culture history books,[27] and has been a filming location for numerous films. It was used byMartin Scorsese for rehearsals and pre-production for the 1973 filmMean Streets. He also used Room 1501 to film a scene forRaging Bull.[28] It was also used byCameron Crowe, who filmed scenes in its lobby for the filmAlmost Famous.[27]
RenownedArgentine rock musicians and singer-songwritersCharly García andPedro Aznar, two of the most important artists in their country's history, jointly created the songGramercy Park Hotel, as a track in their 1986maxi single albumTango.[29]
The songOh God byStephen Duffy and The Lilac Time, found on their August 2003 albumKeep Going, mentions the Gramercy Park Hotel. The song was written byStephen Duffy as a personal response to theSeptember 11 attacks on theWorld Trade Center complex in 2001, during which he was a guest at the hotel.[30]
Hotel Gramercy Park, adocumentary directed by Douglas Keeve, premiered at theTribeca Film Festival in April 2008.[31] It chronicles the hotel's history during the Weissberg era, the turmoil that plagued his family, and Schrager's renovation.[32]
After a few minutes in the penthouse party space where Humphrey Bogart married Helen Menken, Marilyn said good-bye and took the elevator eighteen floors down to the lobby.
Media related toGramercy Park Hotel at Wikimedia Commons
