john paul getty was the original owner of the new yorker hotel.
who was the original owner of the new yorker hotel?
john paul getty
the new yorker hotel was built by garment center developer mack kanner. when the project was announced in 1928, the sugarman and berger designed building was planned to be 38 stories, at an estimated cost of $8 million. however, when it was completed in 1929, the building had grown to 43 stories, at a final cost of $22.5 million and contained 2,500 rooms, making it the city's largest for many years. hotel management pioneer ralph hitz was selected as its first manager, eventually becoming president of the national hotel management company. an early ad for the building boasted that the hotel's "bell boys were 'as snappy-looking as west pointers'" and "that it had a radio in every room with a choice of four stations". it was a new yorker bellboy, johnny roventini, who served as tobacco company philip morris' pitchman for twenty years, making famous their "call for philip morris" advertising campaign.
wyndham new yorker hotel
when it was built, the new yorker hotel had coal-fired steam boilers and generators sufficient to produce more than 2,200 kilowatts of direct current electric power. at the time, this was the largest private power plant in the united states. the hotel's own direct current generators were still in use during the northeast blackout of 1965, but by the late 1960s the hotel's power system had been modernized to alternating current. in a dedication ceremony held on september 25, 2008, the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (ieee) named the new yorker hotel's direct current power plant a milestone in electrical engineering. a bronze plaque commemorating the achievement was presented to the hotel by ieee.
wyndham new yorker hotel