The Plaza Hotel: A French Chateau Beside Central Park

Watercolour illustration of the Plaza Hotel.

Original watercolour art illustration by Solomon Rokowsky. Based on a public-domain historical photograph.

Update, October 16, 2026: The Plaza announced on October 14 that it will close for at least four years starting in January 2027 for facade work. Details below.

The Plaza is the second hotel of that name on its site, at Fifth Avenue and Central Park South. This one was built between 1905 and 1907, and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission calls it the outstanding example of American hotel architecture of the first decade of the twentieth century. Eighteen stories of white brick and marble rise to steep slate roofs that the architect himself described as French Renaissance in style.

The Plaza Hotel seen from Central Park South in the snow, January 2016.

The Plaza Hotel from Central Park South in 2016. Photograph by King of Hearts, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

That architect was Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, a pioneer of luxury hotel and apartment house design who had also designed the Dakota on Central Park West. He took full account of the unusual site, explaining that he wanted the building to be viewed "in its entirety from many points of view and from considerable distances."

Portrait of the architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh - Plaza Hotel, New York City — Henry J. Hardenbergh. From King’s Notable New Yorkers, 1899. Public domain.

The site deserved the attention. The hotel's eastern face looks toward Fifth Avenue across Grand Army Plaza, with the Pulitzer Fountain at its center and Augustus Saint-Gaudens's equestrian statue of General Sherman at its end. The Landmarks Preservation Commission compares the whole design to a European square, one of the few of that quality in New York.

Grand Army Plaza and the Pulitzer Fountain in front of the Plaza Hotel.

Grand Army Plaza and the Pulitzer Fountain in front of the hotel, 2018. Photograph by Tdorante10, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Plaza Hotel and Grand Army Plaza in 1910.

The hotel and Grand Army Plaza in 1910. Detroit Publishing Co. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division. Public domain.

The doors opened on October 1, 1907, and a large, orderly crowd stood opposite the main entrance on Central Park South to watch the fashionable guests arrive, the Commission recounts. The hotel grew quickly. In 1921 the broad terrace along Fifth Avenue was removed to make way for the present entrance, and three hundred more rooms were added along 58th Street.

For sixty years, the Commission wrote, the Plaza played a part in the social life of New York "always maintaining its dignity yet reflecting the changes in the manners and customs of the Twentieth Century." Its guests ranged from F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, who pranced in the fountain, to Eloise, the fictional six-year-old of Kay Thompson's books, who absolutely loved the Plaza, as The New York Times put it. On October 7, 1964, a second crowd, this one of howling teenagers, gathered to welcome the Beatles. Frank Lloyd Wright, the apostle of a generation of architectural rebels, always chose the hotel for his visits to New York.

The Pomona statue on the Pulitzer Fountain with the Plaza Hotel behind it.

Pomona, the statue atop the Pulitzer Fountain, with the Plaza behind it, 2008. Photograph by Jim Henderson. Public domain.

The register of owners reads like a century of New York real estate. Donald Trump bought the hotel in 1988, then had to give it up to a group of investors including the Saudi businessman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal as part of a bankruptcy proceeding, Reuters recounts. In 2004 the owners sold the hotel for $675 million to Elad Properties, a record per-room price for a New York hotel at the time, The New York Times reported. Elad converted much of the building to private condominiums, and after a full renovation the hotel reopened in 2008.

Why is the Plaza Hotel closing in January 2027?

On October 14, 2026, the hotel said in a press release that it will close for at least four years, starting in January 2027, while repair and restoration work is done on its landmark-protected facade. It cited the scope and complexity of the work, which needs detailed planning, coordination with stakeholders and compliance with historic preservation rules, and what it called the "significant intrusion to operations." It also said other considerations for planning and carrying out the work remain under review.

The city's view is on the record too. The Department of Buildings told CBS New York that its most recent inspection found the facade unsafe, which is why a sidewalk shed surrounds the hotel. The department also said nothing on the city's end would stop the hotel from staying open while repairs are made. NBC New York reported that, according to schematics it obtained, the department's photos showed unsafe conditions, and that new city rules would allow fines of $6,000 a month to begin in January.

No cost estimate or detailed scope has been released, CBS reported. NBC New York reported that if the work finishes on schedule, the hotel should reopen in 2031. The hotel itself has only said "at least four years."

What happens to the people who live in the building is not settled in the coverage. CBS New York reported that residents live in the hotel full time and that it is unclear whether they will be affected. NBC New York reported that the roughly 180 apartments will not have to be vacated during the work. The Plaza has 181 condominium units alongside 282 guest rooms, NBC reported. Hotel Dive, citing the New York Times, reported that the event rooms and the Palm Court will also close in January.

This would not be the first long closure. The hotel closed from 2005 to 2008 for a $450 million restoration from lobby to roof, and it shut for more than a year during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, CBS reported.

In the Movies

Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959) was the first film ever allowed to shoot on location at the Plaza - Cary Grant is kidnapped from its Oak Room and bundled out past Grand Army Plaza. Thirty-three years later Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) moved in properly: Macaulay Culkin checks into the hotel, cons his way to a suite and sleds through the lobby, with a cameo from the hotel's then-owner, Donald Trump.

Macaulay Culkin, who moved into the Plaza for Home Alone 2. Photo: Kevin Paul, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0.

Sources for this section: On Location Tours, North by Northwest · The Plaza, hotel history.

Who owns the Plaza Hotel today?

A company owned by the state of Qatar. Katara Hospitality, the hotel division of the Qatar Investment Authority, completed its purchase of the Plaza on July 2, 2018, as Bloomberg reported at the time; Reuters put the price at around $600 million, paid for full ownership including a 75 percent stake held by India's Sahara India Pariwar. It was Katara's first acquisition in the United States. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts continues to manage the hotel, while the condominiums created in the 2008 renovation are privately owned.

The city made the Plaza a landmark on December 9, 1969; the federal government followed, listing it on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and later naming it a National Historic Landmark. More than a century after Hardenbergh drew it, his chateau still closes the view up Fifth Avenue the way he intended, adding, in the Commission's words, "immeasurably to the beauty of the skyline of New York City."

The Plaza Hotel around 1907, the year it opened.

The Plaza in 1907, the year it opened. Detroit Publishing Co. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division. Public domain.

Where can you eat or drink at The Plaza Hotel?

The hotel's official pages list public dining venues.

The Palm Court: The Plaza's page says open daily for breakfast, afternoon tea, lite fare and cocktails, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. Reservation line listed on Fairmont's page.
The Champagne Bar, overlooking Fifth Avenue and the Pulitzer Fountain: champagne, caviar and wine by night, pastries and coffee by day. Hours not confirmed.
In-room dining is for guests only.

Closing soon: the hotel has announced it will close in January 2027. Hotel Dive, citing the New York Times, reported that the Palm Court will close then too. The hotel's own announcement does not list individual venues, so confirm any visit with the hotel.

Hours and status were read from the official pages listed below on October 13, 2026. They change, so confirm before visiting.

Sources

Visiting Plaza Hotel

Address: 768 Fifth Avenue.
Closure: the hotel announced on October 14, 2026 that it will close for at least four years starting in January 2027. Whether the Plaza Shops will stay open was not stated in the announcement or the reports checked.
Inside: The Plaza Shops are open to the public, with the entrance at 1 West 58th Street. The hotel rooms and restaurants are for guests and diners.

Checked against The Plaza: guest information in October 2026. Hours and access change, so confirm before you go.