Reflecting on the fate of New York’s Grand Hyatt as it faces demolition next year.
At the start of 1981, our writer, Philip Jacobson, went on the hunt for an endangered species – the Grand Hotel. It was a title, he mused, that had been adopted by many an establishment that barely qualified as a hotel, let alone a grand one.
From a yellow cab on the streets of Manhattan, he spotted a few potentials under construction. These were to add a “much-needed” 5,000 rooms to the island, and included the Helmsley Palace (now the Lotte New York Palace), the Parker Méridien (now a Hyatt) and the Vista International (which was part of the World Trade Center).
The most spectacular of the new properties architecturally, he wrote, was the Grand Hyatt. Located by Grand Central station, the former Commodore hotel (est. 1919) had been sheathed in a striking glass and plastic cocoon that reflected the bustling streets and skyscrapers around it, with a cantilevered cocktail lounge jutting out above 42nd Street.
Times change, and the entire 1,298-room hotel is set for demolition next year. It will be replaced by a US$3 billion development that will include a smaller Hyatt property, heralding the end of this grand hotel.
