“All these arrangements for heat, light, filters, etc., necessarily require a most elaborate organization, an insight into which will give the fact that the chief engineer of the St. Regis has a staff of thirty-six men under him. Their presence, like that of the stoker on the steamship, is noticeable only in their absence. Below the earth’s surface are two stories devoted to the maze of engines, boilers, dynamos, ice machines, etc., that are necessary to the operation of a hotel, and to the storage of the great stocks of food and wine. The machinery room is equipped with the latest machinery and is considered in the scientific world far superior to anything yet constructed.
Decidedly to the utilitarian features of a hotel belong the kitchen and wine cellar, for, without proper facilities, the best of chefs is helpless, particularly at serving hour, where the demands of hundreds of people must be attended to simultaneously and with particular attention to each guest. Appreciating the importance, for the St. Regis’ motto is “The kitchen is the soul of the hotel; if the kitchen is wrong all is wrong” – a well arranged spacious apartment is provided, the floor being of marble, the walls and ceilings tiled, the counters of glass, and there is nothing perishable or anything that is hard to keep clean. There is a special place for every phase of the work; the fish cook, the soup cook, the roast cook, the pastry cook, each has his headquarters, and, generally speaking, workmen,” says Mr. Haan, “must have fine tools.” Each floor of the hotel contains a service pantry, equipped with dumb-waiters, and everything necessary to keep the food hot while serving dinner in a guest’s room, if so be his pleasure, the order having been shot to the kitchen by a pneumatic tube with which every pantry is provided. Since the St. Regis makes a feature of catering also to permanent guests who will wish to entertain their friends at dinner; this is a great advantage.”
After divorcing his wife, Ava Astor, with whom he had two children, Colonel Astor shocked New York society by marrying a 19-year-old woman, Madeline. He left New York for Europe. Unfortunately, his return trip was on the doomed Titanic in which he gave up his seat on a lifeboat for his young wife. He was last seen alive trying to free his dog from the ship’s kennels. At age 48, Colonel John Jacob Astor met his tragic death. His son Vincent later sold the hotel to Benjamin N. Duke, who built a two-floor addition and created the famous St. Regis roof and the Salle Cathay with its Chine décor. Both spaces hosted some of the most celebrated and prestigious parties.
The “Old King Cole” mural for which Maxfield Parrish was paid $50,000 was commissioned originally in 1902 for the Knickerbocker Hotel on 42nd Street and Broadway. It was brought to the Racquet and Tennis club during Prohibition. After repeal, it went to the St. Regis where, in 1934, it looked down upon the birth of Bloody Mary, originally called the “red snapper cocktail”.
After World War II, the St. Regis underwent a series of other owners until the ITT Sheraton Corporation of America acquired it in 1966. At this time, there were four restaurants in the hotel: The King Cole Grille, The Oak Room, La Boite Russa, and the St. Regis Room. For a late dinner and dancing, there was the exciting supper-nightclub, the Maisonette, which had a great menu and featured entertainers like Count Basie, Woody Herman and Kay Ballard. It was a favorite for celebrities, statesmen and world figures. Some of the well-known guests were Alfred Hitchcock, Bing Crosby, Darryl Zanuck, Judy Garland, Liza Minelli, Ethel Merman, Dustin Hoffman, Tony Curtis, Vidal Sassoon, Tony Bennett and the Apollo 14 astronauts.
On February 3, 1975, the St. Regis hosted a black-tie supper dance for Mabel Mercer’s 75th birthday. Some of the performers were Margaret Whiting, Sylvia Syms, Julius Monk, Jimmy Daniels, and Bricktop. The guests included Frank Sinatra, Bobby Short, Peggy Lee, Blossom Dearie, Eileen Farrell, Leontyne Price and many others.
The hotel was declared a designated landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on November 1, 1988, with the following “Findings and Designations”:
On the basis of the careful consideration of the history, the architect and other features of this building, the Landmarks Preservation Commission finds that the St. Regis Hotel has a special character, special historical and aesthetic interest and value as part of the development, heritage and cultural characteristics of New York City.
The Commission further finds that, among its important qualities, the St. Regis Hotel, when built, was one of the most luxurious hotels in the city; that, it was commissioned by John Jacob Astor whose family built New York’s first luxury hotel; that, its elegant Beaux-Arts façade was designed by the notable architectural firm of Trowbridge & Livingston; that, the St. Regis Hotel, along with others, heralded the transformation of Fifth Avenue from an exclusive, low rise, residential street to fashionable commercial thoroughfare of tall buildings; that, the later addition to the St. Regis by the firm of Sloan & Robertson skillfully compliments the original Beaux-Arts design and is still one of the most important elements in the architectural fabric of this section of Fifth Avenue and contributes greatly to its sophisticated character.
Perhaps there is no better description of the St. Regis Hotel than the one that appeared in the original 1905 hardcover promotional book:
“In truth, however, taste consists in the faculty to seize the fitting relation of things, and it is in this respect that the St. Regis stands preeminent. In the language addressed to the eye, the surroundings spell an invitation to the guest to make himself at home and be comfortable. The effect might be called eye music.”
Stanley Turkey akpọrọ ya dị ka 2020 Historian of the Year site Historic Hotels of America, mmemme gọọmentị nke National Trust for Historic Preservation, nke akpọrọ aha ya na 2015 na 2014. Turkel bụ onye na-ahụ maka ụlọ nkwari akụ kacha ebipụta na United States. Ọ na-arụ ọrụ ndụmọdụ ụlọ oriri na ọṅụṅụ ya na-eje ozi dị ka onye akaebe ọkachamara n'okwu metụtara ụlọ oriri na ọṅụṅụ, na-enye njikwa akụ na ụba na nyocha franching ụlọ oriri na ọṅụṅụ. A kwadoro ya dị ka onye na-eweta ihe oriri na nkwari akụ Master site n'aka Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. [email protected] 917-628-8549
Akwụkwọ ọhụrụ ya "Great American Hotel Architects Volume 2" ka ebipụtala.
Akwụkwọ nkwari akụ ndị ọzọ ebipụtara:
• Great American Hoteliers: Ndị ọsụ ụzọ nke ụlọ ọrụ nkwari akụ (2009)
• Ewuru Ka Ọ Ga-adịgide: Ụlọ oriri na ọṅụṅụ 100+ Afọ na New York (2011)
• Ewuru ruo Ikpeazụ: Hotels 100+ Afọ Ọwụwa Anyanwụ nke Mississippi (2013)
• Hotel Mavens: Lucius M. Boomer, George C. Boldt, Oscar nke Waldorf (2014)
• Great American Hoteliers Mpịakọta 2: Ndị ọsụ ụzọ nke ụlọ ọrụ nkwari akụ (2016)
• Ewuru ruo Ikpeazụ: Hotels 100+ Afọ Ọdịda Anyanwụ nke Mississippi (2017)
• Ụlọ oriri na ọṅụṅụ Mavens Mpịakọta 2: Henry Morrison Flagler, Henry Bradley Plant, Carl Graham Fisher (2018)
• Great American Hotel Architects Volume I (2019)
• Hotel Mavens: Mpịakọta 3: Bob na Larry Tisch, Ralph Hitz, Cesar Ritz, Curt Strand
Enwere ike ịnye akwụkwọ ndị a niile site na AuthorHouse site na ịga stanleyturkel.com na ịpị aha akwụkwọ ahụ.
