This issue of Then & Now will be a quick read because the Savoy-Plaza Hotel had a short life, but it’s truly an architecture gem that I think needs to be shared. This is a great example of a building lost (by 1-2 years only) because the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission hadn't been established yet.

In 1892 the Savoy Hotel was opened in response to the first edition of The Plaza Hotel across the street. It was 12 stories with 350 rooms and 125 private bathrooms… hard to imagine bathrooms being an amenity. It had a solid run until the owner of the second edition of The Plaza (Harry S. Black) purchased the Savoy and demolished it along with the entire block, making way for a new skyscraper.

Harry S. Black of the George A. Fuller Company, inventors and pioneers of modern day skyscrapers. - Library of Congress

Did you know that Harry S. Black lived on the 18th floor of The Plaza, which he helped build, and worked at the George Fuller Company, directly reporting to George Fuller himself, the inventor of modern skyscrapers? He married the boss's daughter and took over the company when George Fuller passed on in 1900 and then divorced the daughter, taking complete control of the family business. Scandalous!

*The Savoy-Plaza Hotel - Photo: NYPL Digital Archives*

By the 1970s the sign wasn’t doing great… again. The Chamber of Commerce was in need of $250,000 for a full restoration. In order to raise money for the restoration, Hugh Hefner threw a fundraising party offering celebrities the chance to sponsor one of the 9 letters. Each letter was $27,700 and Alice Cooper, singer Andy Williams, and Kelley Blue Book founder Les Kelley were 3 of the 9 donors who stepped in to help.

*I absolutely LOVE this photograph showing the three heavy hitters of the gilded age hotels. - Photo: Library of Congress*

*A postcard from the same angle. - Illustration: WikiCommons*

*Looking north up Fifth Avenue - Photo: NYPL Digital Archives*

After a 30 year run of glitz and glamor, Hilton acquired the hotel in 1957. By 1965 it was slated for demolition and replaced in 1968 by Edward Durell Stone’s (who also designed notable buildings such as the MoMA and Kennedy Center) General Motors Building. There was significant protesting and public outcry to save the architectural masterpiece to no avail.

*The General Motors Building. - Photo: WikiCommons*

My grandfather worked for General Motors, so I have a slight appreciation for the General Motors Building even though it stands on the site of a temple. Today, most people probably don’t even know it's called the GM Building. Did you know that the white vertical elements framing its black windows are Georgia marble?

Do you prefer the Hotel Savoy-Plaza or the General Motors Building?

The Savoy-Plaza Hotel

Mount St. Vincents

The Hollywood Sign