Goodbye, Hotel Pennsylania

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114 – June, 2021

By Amy Fernandez

Photos by Lisa Croft-Elliott

So, you probably heard the news by now, the Hotel Pennsylvania is on the chopping block. Before you launch into a chorus of “good riddance and not a minute too soon” just remember the immortal words of Joni Mitchell: You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.

Ok, maybe we’re not talking about “paradise”, but I think the good old Hotel Pennsylvania deserves a moment of reflection. After all, this represents the demise of this landmark of purebred culture. How many famous dog deals went down in that lobby? How many weird romances trace back to those creaky-but definitely ornate elevators? Ok, let’s leave that for another day but yeah, this time it’s for real. Quite honestly, its fate seems inevitable in view of the ongoing Westminster relocations in recent years.

It’s been a gradual process, which is probably a blessing because, just like dogs, we like our predictable routines. That is especially true when it comes to stuff like that annual grueling February trek to NYC, which is invariably hair raising regardless of meticulous planning. So, you might describe this as the final drastic break in our bond to Herald Square living because the Hotel Pennsylvania is coming down.

It’s been there for over a century. Opened in 1919, it was hot back in the day when American sensibilities were attuned to the lavish style of Europe’s grand hotels. But even by those standards this place was off the charts. As the New York Times proclaimed, “World’s Biggest Hotel Opens Today.” The subheading laid out the drama. “The incandescent skyline over the heart of New York received a big addition to its candlepower last night when on the gloomiest offshoot of Times Square hundreds of windows were illuminated in the largest hotel in the world.”

Click here to read the complete article
114 – June, 2021

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Posted by AnthonyA on Jun 9 2021. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.