Omni Berkshire Place - Misplaced Pages

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Omni Berkshire Place
Madison Avenue, Omni Berkshire Place on right

General information
Location	Manhattan, New York City
Address	21 East 52nd St.
Coordinates	40°45′34″N 73°58′29″W / 40.75944°N 73.97472°W / 40.75944; -73.97472
Opening	1926
Owner	Omni Hotels
Management	Omni Hotels
Design and construction
Architect(s)	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.

History

Early history

Opened in 1926 as The Berkshire Hotel, it was designed by architects Warren & Wetmore in the Classical Revival style. It was built as a residential hotel and was part of the "Terminal City" project consisting of hotels and apartment buildings in the area around Grand Central Terminal. At the time of construction, it was 10 stories tall, located on a plot measuring 100 by 62 feet (30 by 19 m). Two years later, J.C. and M.G. Mayer leased the hotel for 21 years with plans to renovate it.

Connection to the arts

The Berkshire Hotel has historic ties to Broadway and the arts. Ethel Merman lived at the property for many years, and Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote the musical Oklahoma! in a suite that was later named the Rodgers and Hammerstein Suite. Alfred Hitchcock was also a regular.

The hotel was for many years the home of an exclusive private dining club founded by drama critic Alexander Woolcott and designed by Norman Bel Geddes. The club was known as the Elbow Room upon its opening in 1938. Its founding members included Harold Ross, George S. Kaufman, Robert E. Sherwood, Moss Hart, William S. Paley, Raymond Massey, and Cedric Hardwicke. Later renamed the Barberry Room, it was known as "the most exclusive restaurant in New York". Rodgers and Hammerstein collaborated at a reserved table, Edward R. Murrow dined there each Friday before the airing of his Person to Person show, and Frank Sinatra dined there in 1955 with heiress Gloria Vanderbilt. Marc Connelly, David Sarnoff, and Richard Rodgers continued to be regulars into the 1950s.

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.

Subsequent sales and renovations

Omni Berkshire Place is at far right, across from the Look building at center.

The Berkshire Hotel was purchased in 1959 by the Knott Hotels Corporation. Knott subsequently built a 15-story, 158-room addition.

In 1977, the hotel was acquired by Dunfey Hotels, a subsidiary of Aer Lingus, for $9.7 million, becoming the first hotel in New York City to be run by that chain. The new owners evicted Ethel Merman in 1978, stating they did not want permanent residents. Dunfey renovated the hotel at a cost of $9 million to designs by Peter Gisolfi Associates and interior architect Roland Jutras. The project involved renovating all of the guest rooms. The refurbished hotel reopened in June 1979 as Berkshire Place - A Dunfey Classic Hotel. That year, The New York Times called the structure "a handsome unexceptional building erected in 1926 to the designs of Warren & Wetmore, one of New York's finest architectural firms of the eclectic period". Its restoration was described by media as part of a "building boom" that followed the city's near-bankruptcy in 1975, as well as part of a general trend of foreign airlines renovating hotels in New York City.

Dunfey Hotels acquired the Omni Hotels chain in 1983 and the hotel was soon after renamed Omni Berkshire Place. Omni bought the Berkshire Place hotel outright in March 1992 for $83.5 million. The hotel was further renovated in 1995 and 2003. During the 1995 renovation, which cost $50 million, the Omni Berkshire Place was downsized from 415 to 395 rooms, and numerous amenities were added to each room. After the renovation, the average guest room was 375 square feet (34.8 m) and there were 20 handicapped-accessible guest rooms.

In early 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, Omni closed the hotel indefinitely and fired 268 staff members. 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. In October 2021, the owners reversed their plans and reopened the hotel. 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. Omni Hotels president Peter Strebel said: "Paying the severance would have cost more than reopening."

References

"Hotel History - Omni Berkshire Place". Historic Hotels of America. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
Panchyk, R. (2010). New York City Skyscrapers. Postcard History Series. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-4396-3862-0. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
^ "Omni Berkshire Place: History". Historic Hotels Worldwide. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
"Mayers Lease Hotel Berkshire". The New York Times. November 17, 1928. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
Howard Kissel (2007). New York Theater Walks. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. pp. 52–53.
Kellow, Brian (2008). Ethel Merman : a life. New York: Penguin Books. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-14-311420-8. 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 .
^ Walker, Danton (March 11, 1956). "Broadway". New York Daily News. p. II-14. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
^ 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 .
^ "A Dalí hanging in the closet". New York Daily News. March 4, 1979. p. 11J – via Newspapers.com.
"Lyons Den". The Post-Standard. October 7, 1960. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
"Berkshire Hotel to Expand". The New York Times. January 1, 1959. 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 .
^ "Dunfey Hotels Are Run As a Family Affair". The New York Times. June 15, 1979. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
O'Brian, Jack (May 17, 1978). "Bing's widow writing books". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
^ Ryan, Harry (August 19, 1979). "Smatter 'O Facts". New York Daily News. p. 232. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
^ "Design Notebook". The New York Times. October 25, 1979. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
"NYC enjoying old fashioned building boom". Journal-News. Associated Press. July 13, 1978. p. 37. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
"Real Estate". The New York Times. February 21, 1979. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
Henry, John (April 4, 1986). "Far from Omni-potent". New York Daily News. p. 37. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
Miller, Leslie (August 9, 1992). "FOCUS; How Omni Survived the Hotel Downturn". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
"TRAVEL ADVISORY; Two New York Hotels Are in Transition". The New York Times. July 30, 1995. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
Beltran, Lizeth (April 17, 2020). "New York City Midtown hotel Omni Berkshire Place lays off 268 employees". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
Clark, Patrick (June 11, 2020). "Billionaire Rowling's Manhattan Hotel to Permanently Close". Bloomberg via msn.com. Archived from the original on 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.
^ "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 (October 8, 2021). "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.

External links

Omni Berkshire Place official website

Midtown (42nd–59th Streets)

Manhattan, New York City

Buildings

West of
5th Av

Rockefeller Center	1 Rockefeller Plz 10 Rockefeller Plz 30 Rockefeller Plz 50 Rockefeller Plz 75 Rockefeller Plz 1211 6th Av 1221 6th Av 1251 6th Av 1271 6th Av British Empire Building International Building La Maison Francaise
Times Square	1 Astor Plz 1 Times Sq 3 Times Sq 4 Times Sq 11 Times Sq 20 Times Sq 229 W 43rd St 255 W 43rd St 1500 Broadway 1501 Broadway 1540 Broadway 1552 Broadway 1585 Broadway TSX Broadway

East of
5th Av

Former

Theaters

Broadway theaters	Ambassador August Wilson Belasco Bernard B. Jacobs Booth Broadhurst Broadway Circle in the Square Ethel Barrymore Eugene O'Neill Gerald Schoenfeld Gershwin Hayes Hudson Imperial James Earl Jones John Golden Lena Horne Longacre Lunt-Fontanne Lyceum Lyric Majestic Marquis Minskoff Music Box Neil Simon Palace Richard Rodgers St. James Samuel J. Friedman Shubert Stephen Sondheim Studio 54 Todd Haimes Walter Kerr Winter Garden
Other venues	55th Street Playhouse Carnegie Hall Ed Sullivan Theater The ImaginAsian New Victory Theater New York City Center Paris Theater Radio City Music Hall Sony Hall The Theater Center The Town Hall York Theatre
Closed/demolished	44th Street 48th Street Apollo Center Capitol Earl Carroll Edison Embassy Fulton George M. Cohan's Loew's State Lyric New Century Olympia Roxy Strand Times Square Victoria Ziegfeld (1927) Ziegfeld (1969)

Hotels

Current

Former

Other points of interest

Restaurants/ nightlife	21 Club 54 Below Alto Anthos Aureole Burger Heaven Le Bernardin Cafe Chambord Campbell Apartment La Caravelle Caviar Russe Del Pezzo Restaurant Ellen's Stardust Diner Four Twenty Five Gabriel Kreuther Gallagher's Steakhouse Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant La Grenouille Iridium Jazz Club Le Jardinier King Cole Bar Kurumazushi Latin Quarter Lespinasse Marea Naro The Pool and the Grill Oceana The Original Soupman P. J. Clarke's Patsy's Le Pavillon Prime Burger The Quilted Giraffe Rainbow Room Restaurant Aquavit Rumpelmayer's Russian Tea Room Sardi's Satsuki Shun Lee Palace Stage Deli The Campbell
Museums/ cultural centers	Austrian Cultural Forum New York Girl Scout Museum and Archives John M. Mossman Lock Museum Korean Cultural Center New York Madame Tussauds New York Museum of Arts and Design Museum of Broadway Museum of Modern Art New York Transit Museum Paley Center for Media Rose Museum Spyscape
Stores	Argosy Book Store Gotham Book Mart
Clubhouses	American Fine Arts Society The Brook Century Association Cornell Club of New York Harvard Club of New York City New York Athletic Club New York City Bar Association New York Friars Club New York Yacht Club Penn Club of New York Racquet and Tennis Club University Club of New York Women's National Republican Club Yale Club of New York City
Clubhouses (former)	Princeton Club of New York
Green spaces	Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden Central Park Grand Army Plaza Greenacre Park Paley Park
Educational institutions	53rd Street Library Circle in the Square Theatre School CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies High School of Performing Arts Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School for International Careers Saint Thomas Choir School SUNY College of Optometry
Art galleries	Galerie St. Etienne Rehs Galleries

Transportation

Subway stations	Fifth Avenue/53rd Street Fifth Avenue–59th Street Seventh Avenue 42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center 49th Street 50th Street 50th Street 57th Street–Seventh Avenue 57th Street 59th Street–Columbus Circle Grand Central–42nd Street Lexington Avenue/51st Street Lexington Avenue/59th Street Times Square–42nd Street
Railroad stations	Grand Central Madison Grand Central Terminal
Streets and intersections	Third Avenue Fifth Avenue Sixth Avenue Six and a Half Avenue Seventh Avenue Eighth Avenue 42nd 47th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd 54th 55th 57th 59th Broadway Columbus Circle Duffy Square Grand Army Plaza George Abbott Way Lexington Avenue Madison Avenue Park Avenue Park Avenue Viaduct Pershing Square Shubert Alley Times Square Vanderbilt Avenue

Related topics
Billionaires' Row Little Brazil Midtown South Minnesota Strip

See also: Manhattan Community Board 5

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