Omni Berkshire Place
Omni Berkshire Place | |
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Warren & Wetmore | |
Other information | |
Number of rooms | 395 |
The Omni Berkshire Place hotel is located at 21 East 52nd Street, near Madison Avenue, in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is owned and operated by Omni Hotels & Resorts. The hotel was also inducted into Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in 2010.[1]
History
Early history
Opened in 1926 as The Berkshire Hotel, it was designed by architects
Connection to the arts
The Berkshire Hotel has historic ties to Broadway and the arts. Ethel Merman lived at the property for many years,[5][6] and Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote the musical Oklahoma! in a suite that was later named the Rodgers and Hammerstein Suite.[7] Alfred Hitchcock was also a regular.[8][9]
The hotel was for many years the home of an exclusive private dining club founded by drama critic
Salvador Dalí dined at the Barberry in 1960 and took offense at a William-Adolphe Bouguereau painting in the dining room depicting a satyr surrounded by nymphs. Dalí reportedly considered Bouguereau's nymphs to be bad art and struck a deal with the hotel to trade his own painting of nymphs for the Bouguereau. Dalí returned to the dining room days later and, as well-heeled diners watched and dodged paint, created an abstract impression of nymphs. He used a rubber cap on his head to apply the paint to a seven-foot canvas. The Barberry Room displayed Dalí's nymphs for a time, but it was later relegated to a linen closet. In 1979, the New York Daily News reported that the Dalí had disappeared.[13][14][15]
Subsequent sales and renovations
The Berkshire Hotel was purchased in 1959 by the Knott Hotels Corporation.[11] Knott subsequently built a 15-story, 158-room addition.[16]
In 1977, the hotel was acquired by Dunfey Hotels, a subsidiary of
Dunfey Hotels acquired the
In early 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, Omni closed the hotel indefinitely and fired 268 staff members.[27] On June 11, 2020, Omni announced that the Omni Berkshire Place would close permanently, though TRT Holdings, owner of Omni Hotels, would retain the property for possible conversion to an office building.[28][29] In October 2021, the owners reversed their plans and reopened the hotel.[30][31] This followed a piece of legislation passed by the New York City Council in September 2021; the legislation required hotels that closed due to the pandemic to pay severance to their employees if they did not reopen with at least 25 percent of their pre-pandemic staff.[32][33] Omni Hotels president Peter Strebel said: "Paying the severance would have cost more than reopening."[30]
References
- ^ "Hotel History - Omni Berkshire Place". Historic Hotels of America. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-4396-3862-0. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ a b "Omni Berkshire Place: History". Historic Hotels Worldwide. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ Howard Kissel (2007). New York Theater Walks. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. pp. 52–53.
- OCLC 223803989.
- ^ Nyland, Christine (2016). "Broadway History At The Omni Berkshire". Broadway Inbound. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
- ^ "Restored Berkshire Place Combines Charm, Modern Elegance". The Sunday Times. Scranton, Pennsylvania. May 4, 1980. p. C8. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ "N.Y. hotel refurbished to regain old splendor". Asbury Park Press. December 9, 1979. p. G6. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ a b c d Walker, Danton (March 11, 1956). "Broadway". New York Daily News. p. II-14. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ a b Danton Walker (January 18, 1959). "Broadway". New York Daily News. p. 14. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ "Gloria, Frankie Spend Day at Hide-and-Seek". New York Daily News. January 1, 1955. p. 3. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ "Dalí Slaps Out Abstract Painting as Viewers Duck". The News Texan (UPI story). March 23, 1960. p. 7. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Lyons Den". The Post-Standard. October 7, 1960. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ "Berkshire Hotel Sold". New York Daily News. December 17, 1977. p. B2. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ "Bing's widow writing books". New York Daily News. May 17, 1978. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ a b "Smatter 'O Facts". New York Daily News. August 19, 1979. p. 232. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ "NYC enjoying old fashioned building boom". Journal-News. July 13, 1978. p. 37. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ "Far from Omni-potent". New York Daily News. April 4, 1986. p. 37. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ "New York City Midtown hotel Omni Berkshire Place lays off 268 employees". Crain's New York Business. April 17, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ^ "Billionaire Rowling's Manhattan Hotel to Permanently Close". Bloomberg via msn.com. June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ^ "Omni Berkshire Place to Close Permanently in Wake of Coronavirus". The Real Deal New York. June 12, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ^ a b "Hotel Severance Bill Pushes Omni Berkshire Place to Reopen". The Real Deal New York. October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
- ^ Sachmechi, Natalie (October 25, 2021). "A century-old Midtown hotel is coming back from the dead". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
- ^ Cifuentes, Kevin (September 24, 2021). "City Council Passes Severance Pay Bill". The Real Deal New York. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ^ Gartland, Michael. "Hotel owners sue NYC over new law requiring severance for workers". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on October 12, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.