The Plaza

February 15, 2019
A lively tale about the "white marble mountain rising in the center" of Manhattan.In her debut, New York Times real estate contributor Satow chronicles the history of one of New York City's most iconic structures. Drawing on architectural, financial, social, and popular history, the author "examines how the Plaza is ground zero for the increasing globalization of money and the slow decoupling of pedigree from wealth." She interviewed hundreds of people, from bellmen and managers to lawyers and chefs, to give her story a rich, personal touch (she was married in the hotel's grand Terrace Room) and an entertaining, novelistic flair. The first Plaza was built in 1890 only to be torn down 15 years later. Financier Harry Black hired renowned architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh to construct a "nineteen-story white gleaming tower"; the construction cost "$340 million in today's dollars." The hotel was lavish and opulent, filled with the finest linens, silverware, 1,650 chandeliers, exquisite dining rooms, and a "dog check room." It made its debut--along with the New York taxicab--in 1907, and the first guest was Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, "the dashing millionaire." Satow clearly loves details, and most of them are fascinating. The Plaza had a staff of 1,500, including more than 80 cooks and two men to dust the chandeliers. Throughout this sumptuous, busy history, the author enlightens and entertains with stories and anecdotes that recount the hotel's many famous and colorful guests, including F. Scott Fitzgerald and author Kay Thompson (later evicted), whose fictional character Eloise also lived at the Plaza; how it weathered Prohibition and the Depression; changes in ownership, American (Conrad Hilton, Donald Trump) and foreign (Saudi Arabia, Singapore, currently Qatar); bankruptcy, and its controversial 2005 conversion to multimillion-dollar condominiums. As Satow writes, over "its 111 years, the Plaza has extolled beauty on the surface and grit behind the scenes."An infectiously fun read.

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May 1, 2019

There is more to the Plaza Hotel than Kay Thompson's famous character Eloise, although she remains one of its most well-known residents. Over its 111-year history, the Plaza has had multiple owners, even passing through Donald Trump's hands before he lost it in a bankruptcy filing in 1992. Of course, there have also been myriad celebrated guests, starting with Alfred Vanderbilt (Guest No. 1) and continuing on through the Beatles, Truman Capote, and various princesses. In this debut, journalist Satow brings it all to light, combing through newspaper articles to regale readers with stories not only of the rich and famous but also those of the union workers who built and run the hotel, the exotic pets that have lived there with their owners, the prostitutes and bomb threats in the 1970s, and the string of international scandals that have befallen recent owners. In its current rendition, there are more condominiums and storefronts, but it still stands as a landmark luxury hotel. VERDICT Well researched and documented yet fun to read, this work provides both a front- and back-of-the-house look into a grand dame of New York architecture. Highly recommended for history or hospitality aficionados.--Susan Hurst, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 19, 2019
In this glamorous history, New York Times real estate reporter Satow introduces a century’s worth of guests, residents, workers, and owners of New York City’s Plaza Hotel to illuminate the development of American celebrity culture, the globalization of money, and such cultural artifacts as room service and taxicabs. Completed in 1907, the hotel immediately attracted a wealthy and frequently eccentric slate of guests: F. Scott Fitzgerald and Clara Bell Walsh, the inventor of the cocktail party, were regulars, and Princess Vilma Lwoff Farlaghy brought with her a menagerie of guinea pigs, wolves, alligators, and lions. In the 1950s, performer Kay Thompson would entertain her friends with a character she named Eloise, a little girl who lived at the Plaza, who eventually became the subject of the famous children’s book. Meanwhile, the hotel’s ownership passed through many hands, including those of Conrad Hilton, Roger Sonnabend (whose redecorations were so harshly criticized the hotel was eventually restored), Donald Trump, Westin Hotels, and Israeli developer Miki Naftali, who turned much of it into condos in the mid-2000s and laid off hundreds of employees. The detailed accounts of the property’s ownership and costs occasionally drag, but the tales of those who walk the plaza halls are both funny and insightful. Satow’s entertaining parade of eccentric characters will appeal to readers curious about real estate and the rich, famous, and weird personalities of the 20th century.

Starred review from March 1, 2019
This thoroughly researched, extensively documented romp presents the history of one of New York City's most famous landmarks, the Plaza Hotel. Author Satow, real-estate journalist and regular contributor to the New York Times, spins an intriguing tale, smoothly integrating more than 100 years' worth of social, economic, and cultural facts and minutiae. She deftly navigates through topics such as architecture, menus, labor disputes, parties, balls, civil unrest, jewel heists, suicides, city politics, high-end financial maneuvering, and lots and lots of great celebrity gossip. Whether profiling the unimaginably rich guests of the early twentieth century, who moved in with their private zoos; or luminaries including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Frank Lloyd Wright, children's book character Eloise, and the Beatles; or tracing the hotel's provenance through owners ranging from Conrad Hilton to Donald Trump to Saudi princes and Russian oligarchs, the narrative never flags. Readers will happily soak up period details and take notes on how the stalwart staff dealt with class snobbery, prohibition and gangsters, wartime privations, the turbulent 1960s, wealthy dowagers, blushing debutantes, persistent groupies, omnipresent prostitutes, and brawling Indian billionaires. This is social history at its best: thoughtful, engaging, and lots of fun.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)