Satow, for one, didn’t let the romance of the Plaza blind her to its seamier side. Trump, who drove the Plaza into bankruptcy proceedings just four years after he bought it in 1988, called the purchase his “Mona Lisa,” while for the 21st century’s international buyers, the world-famous château was “the ultimate global calling card.” From the “rakish adventurer” Harry Black, who owned the hotel in the early 20th century, to the Sonnabend family, from Donald Trump to the jailed Indian tycoon Subrata Roy, the Plaza had an almost mystical ability to blind rich investors to the vagaries of its often-tenuous bottom line. The allure of its story was undeniable: The Plaza had been a beguiling, elusive trophy from its earliest days, the kind of real estate prize that had both seduced and frustrated those who possessed it. In 2015, by then a contributor to The New York Times, she decided to write her first book and thought of the mythic hotel she’d known since childhood. Satow became a journalist, writing first about business and then real estate. “The Plaza always represented glamour and excitement to me,” Satow says. Satow’s 2009 wedding was held in the Terrace Room, its ornate walls decorated with flowers and Roman statues. As a teenager - and during her time at Columbia - she’d venture inside to visit her grandmother, who stayed there on city visits. On some high school afternoons, she’d sit in the Sheep’s Meadow in Central Park, the hotel’s silhouette visible in the distance. To Julie Satow ’96, SIPA’01, the Plaza also seemed like a personal landmark - a figure always traced into her life’s backdrop. Emily Assiran For many New Yorkers, the Plaza Hotel is a symbol of wealth and romance, embedded like a low jewel in the city’s skyline.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |