The Plaza: Gilded Age-Inspired Hotel

In this installment of ‘Larger Than Life: Architecture Through the Ages,’ we visit an iconic New York City hotel synonymous with luxury and grandeur.

At 18 stories, The Plaza currently offers 282 hotel rooms and 181 residential units. The structure’s stark white façade contrasts with neutral and darker-hued buildings surrounding it. The Plaza’s notable feature is its top three floors of a mansard (four-sided and sloping) roof covered in green Ludowici tiles and trimmed in copper. Inspired by French chateau architecture, The Plaza is constructed of marble at its base. The exterior features various architectural details including turrets, balconies, arches, and pitched roofs. The Plaza

No one ever forgets their first visit to The Plaza in New York City. Its looming 18-story, white façade that overlooks a corner of Central Park and Fifth Avenue cannot be missed. Entering one of the three main sets of Fifth Avenue-facing doors, which sits within a columned portico and beneath an embellished marquee, is a high point in architectural, cultural, and design experience.

At the turn of the 20th century, American architect Henry J. Hardenbergh (1847–1918) designed an imposing French Renaissance-style structure with an ornamented mansard roof. Inside, exceptional design details abound, giving The Plaza its distinction as one of the city’s most stellar and luxuriously apportioned sites.