| Savoy-Plaza Hotel | |
|---|---|
 Savoy-Plaza Hotel seen fromThe Pond and Hallett Nature Sanctuary inCentral Park in 1933 | |
 Interactive map of Savoy-Plaza Hotel | |
| General information | |
| Location | 767 5th Avenue,New York City,New York |
| Opening | October 1, 1927 |
| Demolished | 1965 |
| Height | 420 ft (130 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 33 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | McKim, Mead & White |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 1,000 |
TheSavoy-Plaza Hotel was a 33-story hotel overlookingCentral Park atFifth Avenue and East59th Street inMidtown Manhattan,New York City. It opened in 1927 and was demolished in 1965.
The original Savoy Hotel atFifth Avenue and 59th Street opened in June 1892, following the opening of the neighboringPlaza Hotel in 1890. The original 12-story Savoy was designed by architect Ralph S. Townsend, for landowners includingNew York Supreme Court JusticeP. Henry Dugro.[1] The old Savoy continued to expand into the 1920s, and its furnishings were sold in 1925.
Harry S. Black,[2] owner of the Plaza, bought the Savoy Hotel, consolidated the block, and demolished it to commission a newer companion to the older establishment from the architects of the Plaza.[2] The 33-story, 420-foot (130 m)[3] skyscraper Savoy-Plaza Hotel was designed byMcKim, Mead & White, built at a cost of $30 million,[4] and opened on October 1, 1927. In September 1955, theRusseks women's clothing store opened a shop selling furs at the hotel.[5]
Hilton Hotels acquired the hotel in January 1957[6] through an exchange of stock with Savoy-Plaza, Inc. Hilton opened aTrader Vic's within the hotel on April 14, 1958, in a space formerly occupied by the Red Coach Inn.[7] On December 31, 1958, the full merger of Savoy-Plaza, Inc. and Hilton Hotels Corporation became effective,[8] and the hotel was renamed theSavoy Hilton. Hilton sold the hotel toWebb & Knapp, Inc. in May 1962, for $25 million.[4] That November, Webb & Knapp resold a two-thirds interest to British Commercial Property Investments and a one-third interest toLondon Merchant Securities.[9][10] Hilton and the hotel's owners agreed to end the chain's management of the hotel in 1964, though the contract continued through 1967.Western International Hotels assumed management on June 2, 1964, renaming the propertyThe Savoy Plaza, without the original hyphen.[11]
The owners announced plans for the hotel's demolition on August 21, 1964, leading to a significant public outcry and protests.[4] On December 16, 1964, the owners announced that the hotel would be replaced by a 48-story office tower, designed byEdward Durell Stone to house the Eastern headquarters ofGeneral Motors.[12] The hotel remained open through the1964 New York World's Fair, finally closing in October 1965. It was demolished in late 1965 and early 1966 and replaced with theGeneral Motors Building, completed in 1968.[13]
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