The New York Hilton Midtown is the largest hotel in New York City. The hotel is owned by Park Hotels & Resorts and managed by Hilton Worldwide. It is the largest Hilton hotel in the U.S., with 2,052 rooms total (1,878 hotel rooms and an additional 174 rooms belonging to Hilton Grand Vacations) and over 150,000 sq ft of meeting space.
| New York Hilton Midtown | |
|---|---|
 The Hilton Midtown, 2013 | |
 | |
| Hotel chain | Hilton Hotels & Resorts |
| General information | |
| Location | 1335 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York |
| Coordinates | 40°45′44″N 73°58′43″W / 40.76225°N 73.97874°W |
| Opening | June 26, 1963 |
| Owner | Park Hotels & Resorts |
| Management | Hilton Worldwide |
| Height | 148.4 m (487 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 47 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | William B. Tabler Architects Harrison & Abramovitz; |
| Developer | Uris Buildings Corporation |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 1,932 |
| Number of suites | 47 |
| [1][2][3][4] | |
The 47-floor building, north of Rockefeller Center at Sixth Avenue and 53rd Street, has hosted every U.S. president since John F. Kennedy. The world's first handheld cell phone call was made in 1973 by hotel guest Martin Cooper, an engineer, to another electrical engineer while Cooper was in front of the hotel. Donald Trump delivered his 2016 United States presidential election victory speech at the hotel.
History
editThe hotel was developed by Hilton Hotels Corporation, Rockefeller Center Incorporated, and the Uris Buildings Corporation. The original architect, Morris Lapidus, proposed to build a curved Fontainebleau Hotel-style building; however, he had to withdraw since he was also designing the competing Americana of New York hotel a block away.[5] William B. Tabler was hired to finish the project, designing it with slabs.
The hotel opened on June 26, 1963, as the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center,[6] and offered 2,153 rooms, making it the largest in the city.[7]
In 1990, a $100 million renovation decreased the number of guest rooms to 1,980. The property underwent further renovations between 1991 and 1994, while a two-year, $100 million renovation was begun in 1998 which included a complete overhaul of the lobby and the addition of an 8,000-square-foot (740 m2) Precor USA Fitness Center on the fifth floor. Around that time, the name was changed to Hilton New York, as all Hilton hotels were rebranding the Hilton name to appear before the city name at the time. In 2007, the hotel completed its fourth renovation; it now has 47 suites on floors 42 through 44. Each suite includes between 600 and 2,000 sq ft (56 and 186 m2) of space.
In 2013, the hotel was renamed the New York Hilton Midtown to mark its 50th anniversary.[8] At that time, the management announced that it was ending room service and establishing a self-service cafeteria called "Herb n' Kitchen".[9] Ownership of the hotel was transferred in 2017 to Park Hotels & Resorts when that company was spun off from Hilton Worldwide.[10]
Notable events and media
editHilton Hotels & Resorts asserts that the lyrics to John Lennon's 1971 song "Imagine" were composed in the hotel.[11]
In late spring 1971, Neil Sheehan and colleagues at The New York Times were in rooms[12] at the hotel organizing and summarizing the Pentagon Papers, an internal DoD study of the history of the Vietnam War which he had surreptitiously copied from Daniel Ellsberg for publication.[13]
In June 1972, Elvis Presley stayed at the hotel while performing four sold-out concerts at nearby Madison Square Garden. He held a press conference before the first show at the hotel's Mercury Ballroom.
Martin Cooper made the world's first handheld cellular phone call in public April 3, 1973, when he called Joel S. Engel at the New York Hilton with a two-pound Motorola DynaTAC phone. Cooper, a Motorola inventor called his rival at Bell Labs to tell him about the invention. The cell phone base station was next door atop the 1345 Avenue of the Americas.[14]
The hotel owned the property immediately west of it which was the site of the Adelphi Theatre where episodes of The Honeymooners were filmed. The Adelphi was torn down in 1970. In 1989, an office tower, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, was built on the site. The tower is connected to the Hilton with a walkway and keeps the Hilton's Sixth Avenue address even though it is midblock and closer to Seventh Avenue. Exterior shots of Elaine's workplace at the J. Peterman Company in Seinfeld show the building.[15][16]
In the 2016 United States presidential election, Donald J. Trump held his election night victory party in the hotel's grand ballroom.[17] The hotel is home to a number of award ceremonies, including the International Emmy Awards presented by the International Academy. Each spring, the hotel serves as the venue for the Inner Circle Show, the annual charity dinner produced by New York City journalists.
On December 4, 2024, United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed outside of the hotel. He was scheduled to speak at an investor meeting at the hotel.[18][19]
References
edit- ^ "New York Hilton Midtown". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
- ^ "Emporis building ID 115553". Emporis. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "New York Hilton Midtown". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ New York Hilton Midtown at Structurae
- ^ "Sheraton New York". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "A Cannon Signals Opening of Hilton; But Drapes Muffle Most of Remaining Festivities". The New York Times. June 27, 1963. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ^ "Hilton Prepares for Opening Here; Rockefeller Center Hotel Has 2,153 Rooms". The New York Times. June 23, 1963. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ^ "Hilton New York Renamed New York Hilton-Midtown". Hotel News Resource. April 23, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ Carver, Marina (June 5, 2013). "New York City's largest hotel ending room service". CNN. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ Cuozzo, Steve (August 14, 2017). "UN New York hotel will soon become Hilton-branded". New York Post. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
- ^ Hilton Hotels & Resorts Sets The Stage For A Story about Love, Inspiration And Second Chances/ Hilton.com March 13, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
- ^ Sanger, David E.; Scott, Janny (June 9, 2021). "'We're Going to Publish': An Oral History of the Pentagon Papers". The New York Times. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- ^ Scott, Janny (January 7, 2021). "How Neil Sheehan Got the Pentagon Papers". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ Safer, Morley (May 21, 2010). "The Cell Phone: Marty Cooper's Big Idea". 60 Minutes. CBS. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ Horsley, Carter B. "The Midtown Book: 1325 Avenue of the Americas". The City Review. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ "1325 Avenue of the Americas". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Duray, Dan (November 9, 2016). "Election 2016: Inside Donald Trump's Unlikely, Stunning Victory Party". W Magazine. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
- ^ Marcius, Chelsia Rose; et al. (December 4, 2024). "UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Is Fatally Shot in New York City: Live Updates". The New York Times. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
- ^ Cann, Christopher; Ortiz, Jorge L.; Penzenstadler, Nick (December 4, 2024). "Search ongoing after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson killed in NY". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
External links
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