Gregory Bull / AP
People gather in front of the Plaza Hotel in New York in this Dec. 2004 file photo. The famous hotel with a Central Park view and a history of celebrity will close by April 30 for major renovations.
Posted on 01/26/2005 6:41:41 PM PST by nutmeg
The Associated Press
Updated: 7:20 p.m. ET Jan. 26, 2005
NEW YORK - The Plaza Hotel, a Fifth Avenue landmark and luxurious host to kings and queens, presidents and stars for nearly a century, will soon close to be transformed into fancy apartments, stores and a scaled-down hotel operation.
The 805-room Midtown hotel with views of Central Park will shut its doors April 30 and reopen late next year with about 150 hotel rooms, 200 condominiums and new retail space.
Miki Naftali, the president and chief of Plaza owner Elad Properties, made the announcement Wednesday, declining to disclose how much the renovations will cost. Elad bought the gleaming behemoth last summer for $675 million.
Naftali said it would have been more profitable to convert the entire building into condos but the company “wanted to keep the integrity of the space.”
“The Plaza is unique not only in the location and the fabulous exterior, but there are some fabulous interior spaces with so much history, and we wanted to maintain those spaces,” he said.
Oak Room stays put
The Plaza’s most famous restaurants, including the Oak Room, will remain largely unchanged and will reopen in 2006, but they could have new names and menus. A huge ballroom will also survive.
The condos will be built on the top 12 floors of the 19-story Plaza, as well as some of the lower floors, Naftali said.
Kings and presidents, screen stars and sports figures, all frequented the Plaza. Oak Bar bartender Jose Mejia smiled as he recently described the night the Yankees had a party hours after winning the World Series in 2000.
“I’ve made cocktails for a lot of important people from around the world in this place,” he said.
*snip*
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
ping
ping
nutmeg, thanks for the ping.
I'm sorry if there are any redundant pings.
FReepmail me if you want on or off my New York ping list.
Never been there. Should we all go there once before it goes toes up?
they will get some huge prices for these condos. the location is fantastic.
Oh no! not The Plaza. Although I was never there overnight, I had drinks there a couple of times when I stayed with my sister over a summer. On top of that what are the current readers of Eloise going to do when they finally get to the Plaza and find it isn't like the book. I think they currently offer an Eloise weekend or overnight. I guess that I am out of touch has the Plaza dropped to the second string of luxury hotels in NYC? I guess that I am getting old.
Trump gussied this place up. It's oppulent. I never use that word either.
I checked in there one night and checked right out again because the room was so shabby. They showed us other rooms, but they were shabby too. On the other hand, I went to a business meeting there at a corner suite in which our very wealthy host lived. That was beautiful. He was a grade A jerk however.
Sounds like fun! I love the Oak Room bar - been there a few times. But I've never stayed at The Plaza... always wanted to, for at least one night. Time is running out, I guess...
Can you imagine owning one of these condos? What a prime piece of real estate.
Yes, that's what I thought reading this as well. Prime real estate!
I'm not sure about that, but Eloise books, dolls, etc. are always on display all over the Plaza - in their gift shop and in display cases on the main floor.
Did you see Eloise at Christmastime on TV in December, starring Julie Andrews as Eloise's nanny? It was cute.
I love the Palm Court also... hope they don't change it!
If I was a little girl I'd probably be begging my parents for this!
You got that right and at that age I could be as annoying as Eloise myself. LOL
the Plaza is an interesting animal...it is nearly half owned by an Arab, and nearly half-owned by an Israeli-born American.
How much more of this can I take? Johnny Carson is dead (he went on air when I was 10). Now the Plaza is just another old apartment building. On the other hand, we did once have a World Trade Center didn't we? Time goes on and things change. I wonder though if it's all for the better. Except for the fact that Republicans will control congress for the next 20 years. I think not.
I'd like to take a FReeper group photo in front of the place before it closes. Anyone up for it let me know via FReepmail. I will miss the Plaza Hotel. Any true New Yorker, either by birth or adoption will.
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