The 1973 romantic comedy starring Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand is one of the greatest love stories in American cinema. In a famous scene, Barbara Streisand (Katie) meets Robert Redford (Hubbell) by chance at the Fifth Avenue entrance of The Plaza.

The Plaza Hotel

The way we were iconic movie scene outside The Plaza Hotel

The southeastern corner of the ground floor originally contained the 58th Street Restaurant, which was exclusively for the hotel's permanent residents. In 1934, it was replaced by a nightclub called the Persian Room. The Persian Room had red and Persian blue upholstery by Joseph Urban, five wall murals by Lillian Gaertner Palmedo, and a 27 ft (8.2 m) bar. The Persian Room operated until 1978. The Persian Room was closed in 1978 and a clothing boutique opened in its place.The Persian Room was popular with the "cafe society", being frequented by socialites and fashion trendsetters. Eddy Duchin and Hildegarde were among the Persian Room's early performers, and it later attracted others such as Eartha Kitt, Peggy Lee, and Liza Minnelli. By the 1970s, the Persian Room hosted performances from pop singers like Robert Goulet and Dusty Springfield.For forty-one years, The Persian Room at The Plaza showcased a wide array of talented performers. Liza Minnelli was frequently showcased there in her early years as a performer.

Famous performers at the Perisan Room

The Plaza Hotel became associated with celebrities and the wealthy upon its opening, surpassing the original Waldorf Astoria in that respect. The Palm Court (then the tea room), with its mostly female guest list, was particularly frequented. Weeks after the hotel's 1907 opening, actress Mrs Patrick Campbell attempted to smoke there, and the resulting controversy boosted the Plaza's stature.The British star known to her fans as &ldquo;Mrs. Pat&rdquo; sparked controversy while staying at The Plaza. After ordering dinner she lit up a perfumed Egyptian cigarette and proceeded to smoke it. This occurred in an age when such a thing was unheard-of, and soon the headwaiter appeared and insisted Mrs. Campbell put out the cigarette. She replied, &ldquo;My good man, I understand this is a free country. I shall do nothing to change it.&rdquo; The press got wind of the story and a debate started over the ills of smoking. Soon smoking was banned in New York City subways, a law which was said to have come about as a result of this incident.She reportedly received her inseparable canine companion, Pinky Panky Poo in 1890 from Leopold II, the King of the Belgians, who reigned from December 1865 to December 1909. For her second U.S. tour, Mrs. Patrick Campbell had made arrangements to stay at the brand-new Plaza Hotel. Her schedule included lead roles in several plays, including &ldquo;The Second Mrs. Tanqueray,&rdquo; &ldquo;The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Hedda Gabler.&rdquo; But when the family arrived there that afternoon (with several servants and about 100 trunks in tow), they were shocked to discover that the hotel did not allow dogs.The New York Dramatic Mirror had described the dog as having &ldquo;bright, black, beady eyes; hair that in a less distinguished dog would be called weedy, and paws like overgrown spiders` legs.&rdquo; One New York State newspaper even wrote an ode to Pinky, calling him a &ldquo;high-bred puplet&rdquo; and &ldquo;sniffy little beast from kennels of a king.&rdquo;Fred Sterry realized that rejecting Pinky Panky Poo would cause a public relations nightmare for the Plaza Hotel, so he decided right on the spot to allow small pets in the hotel. Mrs. Pat had to sign an agreement making her responsible for the dog`s good conduct. Poor Pinky was also relegated to either the maids` or baggage elevators. Later, according to The New York Times, the doggie checkroom was located in the main corridor of the hotel. But on that day in 1907, Pandora`s Box was opened, and every woman in Manhattan felt entitled to treat her own pup to an afternoon or longer stay at the Plaza Hotel.

Mrs. Patrick Campbell lights a cigarette and brings her dog

In 1964, The Beatles conquered America. They spent five days living at The Plaza during which time they played two shows at Carnegie Hall and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. On February 10th, 1964, The Beatles held a press conference in the Baroque Room where they were presented with gold records for their single &ldquo;I Wanna Hold Your Hand&rdquo; and their album &ldquo;Meet The Beatles.&rdquo;The legendary musician, John Lennon, along with the multi-media artist, singer, and peace activist Yoko Ono, frequented the Oyster Bar while they was living in New York in the 1970's.

The Beatles arrive in America

The film that was based on F. Scott Fitzgerald`s famous novel of the same name has it`s climactic scene set at The Plaza. The film was written and directed by Baz Luhrman and starred Leonardo Dicaprio as Jay Gatsby, and also included Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan.The (real) Fitzgeralds were famously patrons of the iconic New York hotel. According to legend, the duo took a spontaneous nighttime swim in the Pulitzer Fountain outside the posh hotel. F. Scott even set the climatic confrontation scene in his masterpiece The Great Gatsby inside a Plaza room on a hot summer afternoon.

The Great Gatsby (movie)

In this classic romantic comedy, starring Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan and Bill Pullman .The Plaza is featured when Pullman (Walter) stays at the hotel after arriving in New York. In a famous scene, he reunites with his fiance Meg Ryan (Annie), and she enters in front of the Fifth Avenue entrance.The Empire State Building is featured when Meg Ryan writes to Tom hanks proposing they meet atop the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day, and they finally meet at the end of the movie.

The Empire State Building

Tiffany & Co.

Sleepless in Seattle (movie)

The Plaza was sold to real estate developer Donald Trump in March 1988 following a handshake agreement; the sale was valued at either $390 million or $410 million. After gaining title to the hotel that July, Trump appointed his wife Ivana as the hotel's president.The Trumps subsequently announced a major renovation program, which entailed restoring the lobby and some of the other interior elements. The work also involved gilding many surfaces, replacing carpets, and reupholstering furniture. Trump also decided to shut the Trader Vic's in the basement in 1989, saying it had become "tacky". The hotel made a modest profit for about two years after Trump's purchase, largely from increased occupancy, suite rates, and banquet bookings.According to Maples, the 1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting, on December 7, caused Trump to reevaluate his life and propose to her. The couple married on December 20, 1993, at New York City's Plaza Hotel, in a ceremony reportedly attended by 1,000 guests, including Rosie O'Donnell and O. J. Simpson.Trump had borrowed extensively to purchase the Plaza Hotel, but its operating income was several million dollars below the breakeven point.As a result, the Plaza Hotel's debt ultimately grew to $600 million. Trump eventually sold the controlling stake to Kwek and Al-Waleed in April 1995 at an $83 Million Loss.

Trump is forced to resell the Plaza Hotel

The Black and White Ball was a masquerade ball held on November 28, 1966 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Hosted by author Truman Capote, the ball was in honor of The Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham. He was at the height of his popularity as an author and as a public figure following the publication of his non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood, earlier that year. For the first time Capote had the financial resources to host a party he deemed worthy of the friends he had cultivated in high society.Capote's friend, author Dominick Dunne, had given a black and white ball in 1964 for his tenth wedding anniversary. Capote attended with Alvin Dewey and others he had met while researching In Cold Blood. Capote was also inspired by the "Ascot scene" from the film My Fair Lady in which the women were all dressed in black and white.Among the guests were Katharine Graham, Lady Bird Johnson, Andy Warhol, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Gloria Vanderbilt, Babe Paley, Billy Baldwin, Marianne Moore, Harry Belafonte, the Maharani of Jaipur, Frank Sinatra, Candice Bergen, Gloria Guinness, Lee Radziwill, Brooke Astor, Pat Sheehan, Mia Farrow, and the Italian Princess Luciana Pignatelli (wearing a 60-carat diamond borrowed from Harry Winston).

Black and White Ball

First Daughter-elect Julie Nixon`s wedding to David Dwight Eisenhower II was one of the most notable weddings at The Plaza. He was the grandson of U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, who unfortunately could not attend the event as he was being hospitalized at the time. Julie Nixon`s father Richard Nixon was able to attend his daughter`s big day, and so were other renowned politicians such as Spiro Agnew and Thomas Dewey.In 1966, Julie Nixon was presented as a debutante to high society at the International Debutante Ball at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. David Eisenhower was her civilian escort at the International Debutante Ball.

First Daughter-elect Julie Nixon’s wedding to David Dwight Eisenhower II

 The Plaza was prominently featured in the 1992 blockbuster Home Alone 2. Macaulay Culkin (Kevin), stays at The Plaza un-chaperoned while he is lost in New York, and hijinks ensue. 

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (Movie)

Eloise is a series of children's books written in 1955 by Kay Thompson and illustrated by Hilary Knight. Thompson and Knight followed up Eloise with four sequels. Eloise is a young girl who lives in the "room on the tippy-top floor" of the Plaza Hotel in New York City with her nanny, her pug dog, Weenie, and her turtle, Skipperdee. Toting a history as lively as its inspiration, this portrait was painted as a birthday gift by Hilary Knight for Eloise co-creator Kay Thompson in 1956, on the eve of Kay's appearance on Edward R. Murrow's Person to Person on CBS, where she proudly displayed the painting to guest host Jerry Lewis. Shortly thereafter, she loaned the work to the Plaza Hotel where it hung ceremoniously in the lobby as an homage to their most famous (imaginary) resident.The portrait captures the irrepressible spirit of one of the most influential children's book characters in history; was hung in the lobby of the Plaza until it closed for renovations in 2005. The portrait was re-hung in May 2008 after three years in storage.However, on the night of a Junior League Ball at the Plaza, November 1960, it disappeared. As Mr. Knight tells the story, "Kay called me, 'Drunken debutantes did it!' And soon it was all over the news, in the columns, and Walter Cronkite confirmed it on the evening news." The famed portrait of Eloise had been stolen. Despite the press and the hubbub, the portrait failed to reappear. Some years later, Mr. Knight received a call: "The painting had been found in a dumpster, frameless." Once identified as the missing artwork, it was returned to Mr. Knight, who had already replaced the Plaza portrait with a new one: an oil painting that still hangs there today. Mr. Knight rolled up the original and put it in his closet, forgetting about it for the next 50 years, until it was revived for an Eloise exhibition at the New York Historical Society 2017.

&lt;p&gt;The portrait of Eloise, the Plaza&amp;rsquo;s most mischievous resident, was unveiled at the Plaza Hotel on Wednesday. Jordana Beatty, the actress who will play Eloise in a planned movie, with the original Eloise artist, Hilary Knight&lt;/p&gt; 

No fan of Eloise should miss an opportunity to stay in the Eloise Suite. With outrageous and fun d&amp;eacute;cor by celebrated designer Betsey Johnson, the suite is resplendent with an Eloise-approved palette of pink and black, and includes a King-size bed with custom Eloise-themed bedding.&amp;nbsp;The&amp;nbsp;room is also equipped with a wall-mounted flat screen TV,&amp;nbsp;Eloise and Weenie dolls, Eloise robes and towels, and an Eloise gift set upon arrival.  

Enjoy Eloise themed tea-time at The Palm Court. Complete with custom Eloise teacups, tableware, and a tier of Eloise-approved sweet and savory treats.  

Eloise at the Plaza

 The world-famous architect arrived in New York in early 1953 to oversee the construction of the Guggenheim Museum. For the following six years he lived in suite 223-225 at The Plaza. 

Guggenheim Museum

The Plaza

Frank Lloyd Wright moves into The Plaza Hotel to start work on the Guggenheim

This world renowned luxury hotel has been a symbol of elegance in New York City since its opening in 1907. It was designed as an adaptation of French Renaissance architecture.A French Renaissance-inspired ch&acirc;teau-style building, it contains 21 stories and is 251.92 ft (76.79 m) tall. The Plaza Hotel's floors use a European floor-numbering pattern, where floor 1, corresponding to the second story, is directly above the ground floor. The first and second stories of the facade, are clad with rusticated blocks of marble. The fourth through fifteenth stories, are clad with white brick and typically contain rectangular windows. These stories contain terracotta veneers that harmonize with the marble facade below it and the mansard roof above.Frank Lloyd Wright designed many buildings while staying at the Plaza. Many movies and books, such as North by Northwest and Eloise, have featured scenes at the Plaza. Occupants enjoy unbeatable views of Central Park and Fifth Avenue.The corner of Fifth Avenue, Central Park South, and 59th Street was developed with the Plaza, Savoy, and New Netherland hotels during the 1890s; the Savoy would be replaced in 1927 by the Savoy-Plaza Hotel, which itself would be demolished in 1964. All three hotels contributed to Fifth Avenue's importance as an upscale area.

Summer Garden, a&amp;nbsp; seasonal restaurant opens, is to be known later as The Rose Room, which reverts to a space for private functions in 1940  

 Introduced with the hotel&amp;rsquo;s opening in 1907. The Porch was a seasonal outdoor restaurant with only ten tables, patronized by the likes of Diamond Jim Brady and the Prince of Wales. Today&amp;rsquo;s Champagne Bar was beautifully renovated in 2014 and is located adjacent to The Plaza&amp;rsquo;s lobby and Fifth Avenue foyer.  

The leaded glass dome was removed around World War II, reportedly to prevent it from being a beacon during air raids  

Plaza Hotel

ASSOCIATED SITES