“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”.
Mushure meHondo Yenyika II, iyo St Regis yakaitwa yakateedzana yevamwe varidzi kudzamara ITT Sheraton Corporation yeAmerica yaiwana muna 1966. Panguva ino, paive neresitorendi ina muhotera iyi: The King Cole Grille, The Oak Room, La Boite Russa, uye iyo Kamuri yeSt. Regis. Kwekudya kwemanheru uye kutamba, kwaive nekirabhu yehusiku-inonakidza, iyo Maisonette, yaive nemenyu huru uye yairatidza vashanyi vakaita saCount Basie, Woody Herman naKay Ballard. Yaive inofarirwa nevanozivikanwa, vezvematongerwo enyika uye venyika. Vamwe vevaenzi vanozivikanwa ndiAlfred Hitchcock, Bing Crosby, Darryl Zanuck, Judy Garland, Liza Minelli, Ethel Merman, Dustin Hoffman, Tony Curtis, Vidal Sassoon, Tony Bennett uye vaApollo 14 vanoongorora muchadenga.
Musi waFebruary 3, 1975, iyo St. Regis yakaita mutambo wevatema-tii wekudya kwemanheru kwaMabel Mercer makumi manomwe nemashanu ekuberekwa. Vamwe vevaitamba ndiMargaret Whiting, Sylvia Syms, Julius Monk, Jimmy Daniels, naBricktop. Vaenzi vacho vaisanganisira Frank Sinatra, Bobby Short, Peggy Lee, Blossom Dearie, Eileen Farrell, Leontyne Price nevamwe vazhinji.
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 Turkel yakasarudzwa sa2020 Historian wegore neHistoric Hotels of America, chirongwa chepamutemo cheNational Trust for Historic Preservation, icho chaakambodaidzwa kunzi 2015 na2014.Turkel ndiye mupepeti wehotera akaburitswa zvakanyanya muUnited States. Iye anoshanda yake yekutarisisa hotera tsika achishanda sehunyanzvi chapupu mune zvine chekuita nehotera zviitiko, inopa asset manejimendi uye hotera franchising kubvunza. Iye anozivikanwa sa Master Hotel Supplier Emeritus neiyo Educational Institute yeAmerican Hotel uye Lodging Association. [email inodzivirirwa] 917-628-8549
Bhuku rake idzva "Great American Hotel Architects Vhoriyamu 2" ichangoburitswa.
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