Taj Pierre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Taj Pierre Hotel | |
 Entrance facade of the hotel |
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| Hotel facts and statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | New York City, United States |
| Architect | Schulze and Weaver |
| No. of rooms | 201 |
| Website | [1] |
Taj Pierre, also known as the Pierre Hotel, is a luxury hotel located in New York City, United States. It is situated on Fifth Avenue and 61st Street, facing Central Park and is owned by Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, a multinational luxury hotels and resorts chain and part of India's Tata Group. The hotel was constructed in 1930 and has remained one of New York's most elite hotels. At a height of 160m, it is one of the tallest hotels in the city.[1] The Pierre Hotel was the scene of the famous 1972 Robbery.
The hotel consists of 41 stories, 201 rooms, 40 suites, and 12 grand suites. Among the 80 residents are Viacom entertainment company chairman Sumner Redstone, Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed, and designer Yves Saint Laurent. The penthouse is an easily recognizable skyscraper landmark, modeled after Mansart's Royal Chapel at Versailles, a system of Corinthian pilasters and arch-headed windows, with octagonal ends, under a tall, slanted roof that is pierced with bronze-finished bull's eye dormers.
Designed by the New York firm of Schultze and Weaver as a skyscraper that rises in a blond brick shaft from a limestone-fronted Louis XVI base, the Pierre opened in 1930 under the management of Charles Pierre Casalasco. After suffering from bankruptcy, it subsequently passed through a series of owners, finally ending up under the management of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in 1981 and was later sold to Taj Hotels.
The Pierre has been owned by a housing cooperative (co-op) since 1959. There are seventy-six co-op owners of the Pierre, thirty of whom live permanently among the 201 guest rooms in the hotel.
A triplex co-op that occupies the top three floors was placed on the market in 2003, with a pricetag of $70 million [2]. This 11,000 square-foot apartment features five bedrooms, four terraces, a paneled library, wine cellar, a black Belgian marble staircase and the hotel's former ballroom with 23-foot high ceilings. It was originally purchased by hedge-fund manager Martin Zweig, from publishing heiress Lady Mary Fairfax in 1999 for $21.5 million. With its $70 million pricetag payable in full at purchase, the co-op is currently listed in Forbes Magazine as the eighth-most expensive home in the world [3], fourth-most expensive home in the United States[4], and second-most expensive home in the Northeastern United States in 2006.[5]. According to Domain.com.au, the board has turned down two would-be buyers. [6]
[edit] References
- The Man Who Robbed The Pierre: The Story of Bobby Comfort and the Biggest Hotel Robbery Ever by Ira Berkow
- Contract Killer: The Explosive Story of the Mafia's Most Notorious Hit Man Donald "Tony the Greek" Frankos by William Hoffman & Lake Headley
- Wiseguy: Life In A Mafia Family by Nicholas Pileggi
