The Lexington Hotel NYC

The Lexington New York City
General information
Location 511 Lexington Avenue @ 48th Street, New York, NY, 10017
Coordinates 40°45′54″N 73°58′18″W / 40.76500°N 73.97167°W / 40.76500; -73.97167
Opening 1929
Owner DiamondRock Hospitality
Management Highgate Hotels
Height 160 metres
Technical details
Floor count 28[1]
Design and construction
Architect Schultze and Weaver
Other information
Number of rooms 725
Number of suites 25
Number of restaurants 2
Parking Valet Parking
Website
Official website

The Lexington New York City is a hotel in New York City, United States.

History

The Lexington New York City opened in 1929[2] as the Hotel Lexington, at the height of the Manhattan midtown hotel boom, 1920s to the 1930s. The hotel opened with a promise by General J. Leslie Kincaid, president of the American Hotel Corporation, to provide a thoroughly modern house of refined atmosphere and exceptional service – without the annoyance and confusion that is often experienced in hotels catering to large assemblages.

The original architect was Schultze & Weaver whose first major commission job had been the large Los Angeles hotel today known as the Millennium Biltmore. Their later work included the Atlanta Biltmore Hotel, and the Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel. The firm also designed the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach and the Miami Nautilus Hotel. They designed several noted landmark hotels within New York City, including:

The Normanesque terracotta figures that decorate the Lexington Avenue entrance are reminiscent of those found on the Notre Dame. Rows of terracotta-winged lions adorn the building’s façade. Beneath a metal canopy, inscribed with the hotel’s name, visitors pass through the expansive glass doors into the spacious marbled-floored lobby.

Present day

The property now belongs to Marriott’s "Autograph Collection" of fifty hotels that have historic qualities to them.[3] In 2014, a $46 million renovation was completed that restored historic architectural elements including the original brass elevator doors with songbird motifs.[3]

Significance

The Hotel Lexington was home to many famous restaurants, nightspots and celebrities, including:

The hotel evolved and in the 1930s the “Hawaiian Room”[4] opened in what is now "LQ". The Hawaiian Room was identified with entertainer Arthur Godfrey. Godfrey broadcast his radio show live from the Hawaiian Room. The hotel contained other venues such as the "Paul Revere Tavern," "Denim & Diamonds," "Chateau Madrid," and the "Playboy’s Empire Club" (bunnies with male counterparts called “Rabbits”) - in the 1980s.

References

  1. The Lexington Hotel on emporis.com
  2. The Architect, Cover Story, January 1930
  3. 1 2 3 4 Oseid, John (July 16, 2014). "The Lexington New York City: A Jazz Age Makeover". Forbes. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  4. Sterling, Ann (October 8, 2014). "'Ex-Lexes' tell the stories of New York's Hawaiian Room". KITV 4. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
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