By Stanley Turkel

“Buffalo Bill” Cody (1846-1917)
William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody (1846-1917) was an American legend, bison hunter, government scout, Wild West showman, pony express rider and hotel developer. In 1902, Cody opened the Irma Hotel named after his daughter. He anticipated an increasing number of tourists coming to Cody, Wyoming on the recently-built Burlington Railway. While most Americans knew about the legendary Buffalo Bill because of his Wild West Show, he was also a promoter of tourism in the Yellowstone National Park.

After his father’s death, Bill Cody became a rider for the Pony Express at age fourteen. During the American Civil War, he served in the Union Army from 1863 to 1865. Later, he served as a civilian scout for the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars and was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1872 for gallantry.

Buffalo Bill’s legend began to spread when he was still in his twenties. Shortly thereafter, he started performing in cowboy shows that featured episodes from the frontier and Indian Wars. He founded Buffalo Bill’s Wild West in 1883, taking his large company on tours in the United States and beginning in 1887 in Great Britain and continental Europe. He toured Europe eight times through 1906. The show was enormously successful in Europe, making Cody an international celebrity and American icon. Mark Twain commented, “It is often said on the other side of the water that none of the exhibitions which we send to England are purely and distinctly American. If you will take the Wild West show over there you can remove that reproach.”

After opening the Irma Hotel in 1902, Cody completed construction of the Wapiti Inn and the Pahasca Teepee in 1905 with the assistance of artist, rancher and philanthropist Abraham Archibald Anderson. Beginning in the mid-1870s, Anderson studied art in Paris, first with Léon Bonnat, then under Alexandre Cabanel, Fernand Cormon, Auguste Rodin, and Raphaël Collin. Anderson developed a reputation for his portraits. His 1889 portrait of Thomas Alva Edison is in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C.

In 1900, Anderson commissioned New York’s 10-story Bryant Park Studios building by architect Charles A. Rich. Situated on the south side of Bryant Park, its generous windows and high-ceilings were designed specifically for artists. Anderson maintained his own suite on the top floor until the end of his life. Bryant Park Studios became immediately popular, and tenants included John LaFarge, Frederick Stuart Church, Winslow Homer, Augustus Saint-Gaudens and William Merritt Chase. The building still stands.

Returning to the United States in the summers, Anderson bought land in northwestern Wyoming and developed it into the Palette Ranch. He personally designed William “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s guest ranch Pahaska Teepee, and his own home, Anderson Lodge. That lodge became the first administrative headquarters for the Yellowstone Forest Reserve in 1902, as President Roosevelt named Anderson as the first Special Superintendent of Forest Reserves. Anderson played a significant role in the preservation and development of the Yellowstone region.

These facilities were located in the 50 miles between Cody and east gate of Yellowstone Park on the Yellowstone Trail which was proclaimed as the “most scenic 50 miles in America” by President Theodore Roosevelt. The Pahaska Tepee was built between 1903 and 1905 as a hunting lodge and summer hotel and is listed on the National Historic Register. Its name was derived from the words “pahinhonska” (the Lakota’s name for Buffalo Bill) meaning “long hair of the head,” and “teepee” (lodge) resulting in “Longhair’s Lodge”. It was built after the Chicago-Burlington-Quincy Railroad spur line and government road to Cody was completed.

The Wapiti Inn was located within a day’s wagon ride from Cody and the Pahaska Teepee was within a two-day drive. Automobiles were prohibited from Yellowstone until 1915 so that the Pahaska Teepee was the last stop for vehicles entering the Park. As more automobiles were allowed to enter Yellowstone, overnight stay at the Wapiti Inn declined and the hotel was demolished. The logs were used to build a bunkhouse at the Pahaska Teepee. The main structure of the Teepee is a two-story structure measuring 83.5 feet by 60 feet. The building faces east, down the valley of the Shoshone River. The main level is surrounded by porches on the north, south and east with a main entrance centered on the eastern porch. The double doors lead into a hall that extends to the roof with a stone fireplace at the opposite end. The dining room is behind the fireplace. The hall is surrounded by mezzanine galleries. A small suite of rooms over the east porch was used by Cody. The Pahaska Teepee operates as a mountain resort and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It was called the “Gem of the Rockies” by Buffalo Bill.

The Irma Hotel is a landmark in Cody, Wyoming with a famous bar made of cherry-wood that was a gift to Buffalo Bill by Queen Victoria. The Irma opened with a party on November 18, 1902, which was attended by the press and dignitaries from as far away as Boston. The hotel quickly became the social center of Cody. In the meantime, Buffalo Bill was under pressure from creditors and was forced to sign over the hotel to his wife Louisa in 1913, who was at the time on bad terms with him. After Cody’s death in 1917, the hotel was foreclosed upon and sold to Barney Link. Before the end of the year Link’s estate sold the property back to Louisa, who owned it until she died in 1925. The new owners, Henry and Pearl Newell, gradually expanded the hotel, building an annex around 1930 on the west side to accommodate automobile-borne visitors. After her husband’s death in 1940, Pearl Newell operated the hotel until her own death in 1965. She left the hotel’s extensive collection of Buffalo Bill memorabilia to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, and stipulated that proceeds from the estate be used as an endowment for the museum. The Irma Hotel is still open for business as both a hotel and restaurant. It is included on the National Register of Historic Places, listed in 1973.

The historic Wapiti Lodge is a beautifully restored property located in the heart of the Northfork Valley, overlooking the Shoshone River. Built in 1904 in place of the demolished Wapiti Inn by Ben and Mary Simpers, it was known as the Green Lantern Tourist Camp, and believed to be the first establishment to hold a license to sell beer after Prohibition was repealed. The Simpers also started the first food service in the valley, serving chicken dinner to both tourists and locals in the area. The Simpers subsequently sold to F.O. Sanzenbacker in 1931, and the name was changed to the Wapiti Lodge. The lodge evolved over the decades, from a gas station, general store, post office, and restaurant, now returning to its original offering of relaxation and recreation to area travelers. The property even served as the home of the Wapiti Post Office from 1938 until 2010. Although over 100 years old, time has been kind in preserving the lodge’s structure and grace. Today, the lodge epitomizes Wyoming’s character and charm, with a bit of the old intertwined with the comforts expected by discerning travelers.

In addition to a house and cabin, six suites are now available, all capturing the style and elegance of past and present. The Lodge boasts of modern comfort and convenience for guests with kitchenettes, phones, WIFI cable TV, continental breakfast, gathering areas, and a gameroom for kids and adults alike. The spectacular scenery surrounding the lodge is an extra bonus along with fishing on the private stretch of the Shoshone River.

As a frontier scout, Cody respected Native Americans and supported their civil rights. He employed many of them with good pay and a chance to improve their lives. He once said that “every Indian outbreak that I have ever known has resulted from broken promises and broken treaties by the government.” Cody also supported the rights of women. He said, “What we want to do is give women even more liberty than they have. Let them do any kind of work they see fit, and if they do it as well as men, give them the same pay.” In his shows, the Indians were usually depicted attacking stagecoaches and wagon trains and were driven off by cowboys and soldiers. Many family members traveled with the men, and Cody encouraged the wives and children of his Native American performers to set up camp – as they would in their homelands – as part of the show. He wanted the paying public to see the human side of the “fierce warriors” and see that they had families like any others and had their own distinct cultures. Cody was also known as a conservationist who spoke out against hide-hunting and advocated the establishment of a hunting season.

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West is a large and modern facility located near the center of Cody. It contains five museums in one, including the Draper Natural History Museum, the Plains Indian Museum, the Cody Firearms Museum, the Whitney Western Art Museum and the Buffalo Bill Museum which chronicles the life of William F. Cody, for whom the center is named. The historical center is a favorite stopping point for tourists passing through the town on their way to or from Yellowstone. Old Trail Town, a restoration of more than twenty-five historic Western buildings and artifacts is located in Cody just off the Yellowstone Highway. Rodeo is important in the culture of Cody which calls itself the “Rodeo Capital of the World”. The Cody Nite Rodeo is an amateur rodeo held every night from June 1 through August 31. Cody is also host to the Cody Stampede Rodeo, one of the largest rodeo in the nation sponsored by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association which has been held from July 14 every year since 1919.

My Newest Book

“Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi” is available in hardback, paperback and ebook format.

Ian Schrager writes in the Foreword:

“This particular book completes the trilogy of 182 hotel histories of classic properties of 50 rooms or more… I sincerely feel that every hotel school should own sets of these books and make them required reading for their students and employees.”

This trilogy consists of the following three books:

• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels East of the Mississippi
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi

All of these books can be ordered from AuthorHouse by visiting www.stanleyturkel.com and clicking on the book’s title.

My Published Books

• Great American Hoteliers: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry (2009)
• Built To Last:  100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York (2011)
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels East of the Mississippi (2013)
• Hotel Mavens: Lucius M. Boomer, George C. Boldt and Oscar of the Waldorf (2014)
• Great American Hoteliers Volume 2: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry (2016)
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi (2017)

My Service as an Expert Witness:

For the past twenty-four years, I have served as an expert witness in more than 40 hotel-related cases.

My extensive hotel operating experience is beneficial in cases involving:

• hurricane damage and/or business interruption cases
• slip and fall accidents
• wrongful deaths
• fire and carbon monoxide injuries
• franchisee/franchisor disputes
• management contract disputes
• hotel security issues
• dram shop requirements

Don’t hesitate to call me on 917-628-8549 to discuss any hotel-related litigation support assignments.

Moana Surfrider Hotel (1901), (Waikiki Beach, Hawaii (791 rooms)
The Moana Hotel opened on March 11, 1901 as Waikiki’s first hotel. It is known as the “First Lady of Waikiki.” In the late 1890s, Waikiki was a swampy backwater area surrounded by duck ponds and taro fields. The beautiful beach was the site of homes of Hawaiian royalty and the wealthy kamaainas including the Honolulu landowner Walter Chamberlain Peacock. In 1896, Peacock incorporated the Moana Hotel Company and hired architect Oliver G. Traphagen (1854-1932) to design it.

Traphagen designed many buildings in Duluth, Minnesota for both public and private owners which show the influence of the Richardson Romanesque style. Because his daughter’s health required a warmer climate, the family relocated to the soon-to-be-annexed Republic of Hawaii in October 1897. Thanks to his sterling reputation, he soon became the most prolific and highly-regarded architect in Honolulu.

The original Moana Hotel was a four-story wood structure which featured an elaborately designed lobby which extended to outdoor lanais, the Banyan Court and the ocean. The Moana’s architecture was influenced by popular European styles with Ionic columns, intricate woodwork and plaster detailing throughout the building. It was designed with a grand porte-cochere on the street side and wide lanais on the ocean side. Some of the original 75 guestrooms had telephones and bathrooms. The hotel featured a billiard room, saloon, main parlor, reception area and a library. The Moana had the first electric-powered elevator in Hawaii which is still in use today. Other design elements of the original structure that survive include extra-wide hallways to accommodate steamer trunks, high ceilings and cross-ventilation windows to cool the rooms (prior to air conditioning).

The hotel’s first guests were a group of 114 Shriners, hosted by the Aloha Temple Shriners. In 1905, Peacock sold the Moana Hotel to Alexander Young, a prominent Honolulu businessman who had other hotel interests. After Young’s death in 1910, his Territorial Hotel Company continued to operate the Moana until the Matson Navigation Company purchased it in 1932 for $1.6 million.

In 1905, the Moana Hotel was at the center of one of America’s legendary mysteries. Jane Stanford, co-founder of Stanford University and former wife of California Governor Leland Stanford, died in a Moana Hotel room of poisoning.  An account of the events says that on the evening of February 28 at the hotel, Stanford had asked for bicarbonate of soda to settle her stomach. Her personal secretary, Bertha Berner, prepared the solution, which Stanford drank. At 11:15 PM, Stanford cried out for her servants and Moana Hotel staff to fetch a physician, declaring that she had lost control of her body. Robert W. P. Cutler, who wrote the book The Mysterious Death of Jane Stanford recounted what took place upon the arrival of the Moana Hotel physician, Dr. Francis Howard Humphris:

As Humphris tried to administer a solution of bromine and chloral hydrate, Mrs. Stanford, now in anguish, exclaimed, “My jaws are stiff. This is a horrible death to die.” Whereupon she was seized by a tetanic spasm that progressed relentlessly to a state of severe rigidity: her jaws clamped shut, her thighs opened widely, her feet twisted inwards, her fingers and thumbs clenched into tight fists, and her head drew back. Finally, her respiration ceased.

Stanford was dead from strychnine poisoning and the identity of whoever killed her remains a mystery. Today, the room in which Stanford died no longer exists, having been removed to make room for an expansion of the lobby.

Duke Kahanamoku, the legendary Olympic swimmer and popularizer of the sport of surfing, frequented the Moana Hotel restaurants and private beachfront. The Moana Hotel became a favorite stomping ground for Kahanamoku’s famed group, dubbed the Waikiki Beach Boys.

The Moana grew along with the popularity of Hawaiian tourism. Two floors were added in 1918, along with Italian Renaissance-styled concrete wings on each side of the hotel, creating the H-shape seen today. In the 1930s the hotel was known for a few years as the Moana-Seaside Hotel & Bungalows. The bungalows were additional buildings constructed on the large plot of land directly across Kalakaua Avenue. The hotel’s outward appearance was altered slightly over the years, including “updates” to such designs as Art Deco in the 1930s and Bauhaus in the 1950s. From 1935 to 1975, the Moana’s courtyard hosted the Hawaii Calls live radio broadcast. Legend has it that listeners mistook the hiss of the radio transmission as the waves breaking on the beach. When learning of this, the host instructed the sound man to run down to the waterfront to actually record the sound, which became a staple of the show.

In 1952, Matson built a new hotel adjacent to the Moana on the southeast side, called the SurfRider Hotel. In 1953, Matson demolished the Moana’s bungalows across the street and, two years later, opened the new Princess Kaiulani Hotel on the site. Matson sold all of their Waikiki hotel properties to the Sheraton Company in 1959. Sheraton sold the Moana and the SurfRider to Japanese industrialist Kenji Osano and his Kyo-Ya Company in 1963, though Sheraton continued to manage them. In 1969, Kyo-Ya built a towering new hotel on the Moana’s northwest side. They named it the Surfrider Hotel. The older SurfRider Hotel on the other side was turned into part of the Moana, named the Diamond Head Wing.

In 1989, a $50 million restoration (designed by Hawaii architect Virginia D. Murison) restored the Moana to its 1901 appearance and incorporated the 1969 Sheraton Surfrider Hotel and the 1952 SurfRider Hotel buildings with the Moana Hotel building into one beachfront resort with a common lobby, renaming the entire property the Sheraton Moana Surfrider. The restoration has cemented the Moana as one of Waikiki’s premier hotels. It includes 793 rooms (including 46 suites), a freshwater swimming pool, three restaurants, a beach bar and a poolside snack bar.

The property has been recognized with the President’s Historic Preservation Award, the National Preservation Honor Award, the Hawaii Renaissance Award, and the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association International Golden Bell Award. The main historic section of the hotel, The Banyan Wing, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2007, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, the management company of the Moana, rebranded the hotel from a Sheraton Hotel to a Westin Hotel. The name of the hotel became Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa. The 1901 wing is now known as the Historic Banyan Wing. The low-rise 1952 SurfRider Hotel building is today the Diamond Wing. The 1969 Surfrider Hotel building is now called the Tower Wing.

In the center of the Moana Surfrider’s courtyard stands a large Indian banyan tree which was planted in 1904 by Jared Smith, Director of the Department of Agriculture Experiment Station. When planted, the tree was nearly seven feet tall and about seven years old. It now stands 75 feet high and spans 150 feet across the courtyard.

In 1979, the historic tree was one of the first to be listed on Hawaii’s Rare and Exceptional Tree List. It has also been selected by the Board of Trustees of the America the Beautiful Fund as the site for a Hawaii Millennium Landmark Tree designation, which selects one historic tree in each state for protection in the new millennium.

The hotel was the base of operations for about 24 White House staffers who accompanied Barack Obama to his Winter White House at Plantation Estate during Christmas visits.

The Moana Surfrider, a Westin Resort & Spa is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

*excerpted from “Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi” AuthorHouse 2017

My Newest Book

“Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi” is available in hardback, paperback and Ebook format.

Ian Schrager writes in the Foreword:

“This particular book completes the trilogy of 182 hotel histories of classic properties of 50 rooms or more… I sincerely feel that every hotel school should own sets of these books and make them required reading for their students and employees.”

This trilogy consists of the following three books:

• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels East of the Mississippi
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi

All of these books can be ordered from AuthorHouse by visiting www.stanleyturkel.com and clicking on the book’s title.

My Published Books

• Great American Hoteliers: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry (2009)
• Built To Last:  100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York (2011)
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels East of the Mississippi (2013)
• Hotel Mavens: Lucius M. Boomer, George C. Boldt and Oscar of the Waldorf (2014)
• Great American Hoteliers Volume 2: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry (2016)
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi (2017)

Attorneys Take Note:
For the past twenty-four years, I have served as an expert witness in more than 40 hotel-related cases.

My extensive hotel operating experience is beneficial in cases involving:

• hurricane damage and/or business interruption cases
• slip and fall accidents
• wrongful deaths
• fire and carbon monoxide injuries
• franchisee/franchisor disputes
• management contract disputes
• hotel security issues
• dram shop requirements

Don’t hesitate to call me on 917-628-8549 to discuss any hotel-related litigation support assignments.

By Stanley Turkel, CMHS

The Boar’s Head (1834), Charlottesville, Virginia (175 rooms)

On August 13, 2017, the New York Times wrote in “A Guide to the Charlottesville Aftermath”:

“On Saturday afternoon, President Trump met criticism for condemning the “egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides” without singling out white nationalists or neo-Nazis”.

My hotel research about the 183-year old Boar’s Head Inn in Charlottesville reveals its relationship to the Boar’s Head in London which has been synonymous with warm hospitality and good food since Shakespeare’s day. In the 1730s, the Inn was the site of Terrell’s Ordinary where travelers spent the night. In 1965, the epicurean heart of The Boar’s Head was built from the timbers of an abandoned gristmill along the banks of the Hardware River, which dated back to 1834. The relocation of the mill was an opportunity to preserve and transform a treasured Virginia artifact. It had survived because of the orders of Generals Grant and Custer during their march through Charlottesville in the Civil War.  Indeed, it had continued to operate some 60 years after the war’s end. For 26 years running, the Old Mill Room has earned AAA’s Four-Diamond designation in recognition of its culinary artistry, distinctive Virginia ambiance and superior service.  The Inn was purchased in 1988 by the University of Virginia Foundation with many renovations and upgrading.

Charlottesville is known chiefly as the home of Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia, which he founded. But the area’s softly rolling hills in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains were home also to other men who shaped the early United States.  Presidents Madison and Monroe lived nearby. Albemarle County, in which Charlottesville lies, was settled by pioneers who left the security of Virginia’s eastern shore in the 18^thcentury.  Their enterprising spirit was epitomized in the 19^th century by native son Meriwether Lewis, Jefferson’s personal secretary who undertook with William Clark to find the Northwest Passage. The early tobacco plantations around Charlottesville vanished long ago, but the rural life-style remains.  Even today the landscape is one of rustic beauty, of cattle and horses farms, of stately mansions, of historic markets and of small country stores. The area around Charlottesville is particularly beautiful in the spring when the vast apple and peach orchards are in bloom, the dogwoods and magnolias flower and the smell of honeysuckle is in the air.

The Boar’s Head Inn was ranked as one of “America’s Top College Hotels” by Travel and Leisure Magazine in its June 2012 issue. “Whether independent B&Bs or historic resorts, the top college hotels deliver much more than proximity… These hotels often embrace the personality of their local institutions and provide an exceptionally adult, dignified experience,” wrote Jason Cochran in the June 2012 article.

The Inn has received increased acclaim since completing a major renovation of all of its guestrooms in March 2012, with a warm, residential feeling of the spaces, the mix of antique and modern furnishings, and fresh color schemes. Special attention was given to the artwork: vintage photos and memorabilia reflect the connection with the University, Thomas Jefferson and the rich history of the area.

A one-hour drive from Richmond and two-hour drive from Washington, D.C., Tidewater and Roanoke, the Boar’s Head offers Four-Diamond dining, a state-of-the-art sports and fitness facility, award-winning tennis, squash, championship golf, shopping, hot-air ballooning, a luxury spa, children’s programs, 22,000 square feet of function space and close proximity to attractions such as Monticello, the Blue Ridge Mountains and numerous wineries. The Boar’s Head is owned and operated by the University of Virginia Foundation.

Frommer’s Review
Standing beside a picturesque lake and named for the traditional symbol of hospitality in Shakespeare’s England, this university-owned property is one of the better all-around resorts in Virginia.  The focal point is a 19^th century gristmill that was dismantled and brought here in the early 1960s. The place is loaded with antiques and art, and its plank flooring and huge old ceiling beams give ancient charm to the Old Mill Room, the resort’s signature restaurant offering fine dining accompanied by an excellent selection of Virginia wines.

*excerpted from “Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels East of the Mississippi” AuthorHouse 2011

My Newest Book

“Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi” is available in hardback, paperback and Ebook format.

Ian Schrager writes in the Foreword:

“This particular book completes the trilogy of 182 hotel histories of classic properties of 50 rooms or more… I sincerely feel that every hotel school should own sets of these books and make them required reading for their students and employees.”

This trilogy consists of the following three books:

• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels East of the Mississippi
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi

All of these books can be ordered from AuthorHouse by visiting www.stanleyturkel.com and clicking on the book’s title.

My Published Books

• Great American Hoteliers: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry (2009)
• Built To Last:  100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York (2011)
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels East of the Mississippi (2013)
• Hotel Mavens: Lucius M. Boomer, George C. Boldt and Oscar of the Waldorf (2014)
• Great American Hoteliers Volume 2: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry (2016)
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi (2017)

Attorneys Take Note:

For the past twenty-four years, I have served as an expert witness in more than 40 hotel-related cases.

My extensive hotel operating experience is beneficial in cases involving:

• hurricane damage and/or business interruption cases
• slip and fall accidents
• wrongful deaths
• fire and carbon monoxide injuries
• franchisee/franchisor disputes
• management contract disputes
• hotel security issues
• dram shop requirements

Don’t hesitate to call me on 917-628-8549 to discuss any hotel-related litigation support assignments.

Hotel History: The Pierre Hotel (1930) 5^th Avenue and 61^st Street, NYC

Did you read last year that the penthouse triplex at the Pierre Hotel in New York City was for sale for $125 million, the highest price ever listed for a New York hotel residence? At 13,660 square feet, that works out to $9,150 per square foot. The major feature of the triplex is the 3,500 square foot Grand Salon which originally was the Club Pierrot, an exclusive supper club when the hotel opened in 1930. But in the depths of the Depression, the Club was disbanded soon thereafter. Later, the Pierre Roof ballroom was the favored site for debutante receptions, weddings and gala banquets. It often featured Shep Fields and his Rippling Rhythm orchestra. During hot New York summers before effective air conditioning, the Pierre advertised “the highest and coolest hotel roof in Manhattan” to compete with the Starlight Roof at the Waldorf-Astoria.

Designed by Schultze & Weaver (who also designed the Waldorf-Astoria and the Sherry-Netherland in New York and the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida), the 42-floor, 714-room Pierre offered seventy-three large suites and 200 transient rooms.

In 1928, millionaire Elbridge T. Gerry died leaving a large family house at 61^st Street and Fifth Avenue to his son who did not want to live in it. Backed by a group of financiers who admired his talent, restaurateur-turned-hotelier Charles Pierre Casalasco raised the then-astounding sum of $15 million from a group of investors that included Otto H. Kahn, Finley J. Shepherd, E.F. Hutton and Walter P. Chrysler to create a hotel that he hoped would be “a majestic monument to simplicity, beauty and refinement.”

During the Depression, the Pierre Hotel went into bankruptcy in 1932 and was bought six years later by oilman J. Paul Getty for $2.5 million. In 1958, Getty converted the Pierre into a cooperative and subsequently sold some of the hotel’s suites to the likes of Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor. Soon thereafter, the Pierre Roof ballroom was closed because the new coop-owners did not want to wait for elevator service when the rooftop ballroom was in use. For some 30 years, the ballroom was used for storage of old hotel files, furniture, equipment and for an upholstery shop.

Ultimately, 73 coop-owners purchased ownership of their own spectacular apartments as well as the transient guestrooms, restaurant, lounges, meeting rooms and public spaces. Getty built an adjacent office building on Madison Avenue and leased space in order to enlarge the Pierre’s second floor ballroom.

In the early morning hours of January 2, 1972, five men carrying suitcases and wearing tuxedos entered the lobby of the Pierre Hotel. They proceeded to handcuff 19 startled guests and employees and in less than two-and-a-half hours took from its safe deposit boxes an estimated $10 million in precious gems and cash. The story of this Guinness Book record-holder robbery is told in Ira Berkow’s, The Man Who Robbed the Pierre, Athenaeum, New York (1987). Operations changed hands several more times until Trust House Forte leased the Pierre in 1973. In 1986, a triple net lease was signed by the Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotel Company which needed a landmark hotel in New York City.

In 1990, the coop board decided to renovate the 41^st, 42^nd and 43^rd floors and in 1993 sold them for $12 million to Lady Mary Fairfax, an Australian media heiress whose husband had recently died. Lady Fairfax hired the design firm of Balamotis McAlpine Associates to create a stunning palace in the sky. They installed an 18-foot high limestone fireplace and mantle (originally from a French chateau) at the east end of 75′ x 46′ x 23′ Grand Salon. Lady Fairfax told me that the chandelier was salvaged from a demolished Melbourne, Australia theater. Some six years later, Lady Fairfax sold the triplex to investment banker Martin Zweig for $21.5 million, then a record.

Mr. Zweig and his wife moved into the penthouse with their museum-quality collection of popular culture memorabilia. They displayed guitars and performance attire of major rock musicians from Jimi Hendrix to Eric Clapton to Bruce Springsteen as well as team jerseys of sports icons Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretsky. The penthouse provides 360-degree views of Manhattan, Central Park, the Hudson and East Rivers and beyond. When Mr. Zweig died at age 70, the penthouse was put on the market at a price that reflects its unique qualities. In 2016, the asking price for the triplex was $57 million.

In 2005, The Pierre Hotel was leased by the Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palace of India. Aside from the 73 coop apartments, the Pierre has 140 transient rooms and 49 suites. Since 2009, the Pierre Hotel has earned the AAA Five Diamond Award.

Finally, let me give special credit to architect I. N. P. Stokes, nephew of the builder of the Ansonia Hotel, who wrote the Iconography of Manhattan Island which was published from 1915 to 1928. Stokes described his extraordinary effort in terms that applies to those of us who spend years doing the research and the writing of our books:

“It was a labor of love, and brought me a good deal of pleasure, and some satisfaction, although I now realized that it involved an expenditure of time, energy and money, which was probably out of proportion to the results achieved, and consumed many hours which should have been devoted, not only to my office, but to my family, and to social amenities, so that, on the whole, I suspect that it has proved a rather selfish, perhaps even a narrowing, influence in my life.”

Disclosure:  I served for six years as Executive Vice President of the 795 Fifth Avenue Corporation, the Pierre’s owning entity, to help oversee the then-lessee, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and make certain that service was impeccable for the 73 coop-owners.

*excerpted from “Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York”

“Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi” is available in hardback, paperback and Ebook format from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and AuthorHouse.

Ian Schrager writes in the Foreword:

“This particular book completes the trilogy of 182 hotel histories of classic properties of 50 rooms or more… I sincerely feel that every hotel school should own sets of these books and make them required reading for their students and employees.”

This trilogy consists of the following three books:

• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels East of the Mississippi
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi

All of these books can be ordered from AuthorHouse by visiting www.stanleyturkel.com and clicking on the book’s title.

Attorneys Take Note:

For the past twenty-four years, I have served as an expert witness in more than 40 hotel-related cases.

My extensive hotel operating experience is beneficial in cases involving:

• hurricane damage and/or business interruption cases
• slip and fall accidents
• wrongful deaths
• fire and carbon monoxide injuries
• franchisee/franchisor disputes
• management contract disputes
• hotel security issues
• dram shop requirements

Don’t hesitate to call me on 917-628-8549 to discuss any hotel-related litigation support assignments.

PUBLISHED BOOKS

• Great American Hoteliers: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry (2009)
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York (2011)
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels East of the Mississippi (2013)
• Hotel Mavens: Lucius M. Boomer, George C. Boldt and Oscar of the Waldorf (2014)
• Great American Hoteliers Volume 2: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry (2016)
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi (2017)

1.  Hotel Galvez & Spa (1911)*, Galveston, Texas (224 rooms)

The Hotel Galvez opened on June 10, 1911, a little more than a decade after Galveston was decimated by the great hurricane of 1900 which claimed more than 6,000 lives. The Hotel Galvez was named after Bernardo de Galvez, the Spanish Colonial Governor who first chartered the Texas Gulf Coast and for whom the city of Galveston was also named. A year after it opened, the Hotel Monthly newsletter billed the Galvez as one of the “best arranged and most richly furnished seaside hotels in America.” It was known as the “Queen of the Gulf” and “The Playground of the Southwest.”

The hotel was designed by Mauran, Russell & Crowell of St. Louis, Missouri with a combination of Mission Revival and Spanish Revival styles. John Lawrence Mauran was a well-known American architect responsible for many downtown landmarks in Missouri, Wisconsin and Texas. From 1902, Mauran became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt to the first United States Commission of Fine Arts in 1910. In 1915, he was elected President of the American Institute of Architects.

While it is only 45 miles from Galveston to Houston, it might as well be on another continent. The causeway across Galveston Bay leads to the narrow 32-mile-long barrier island with 19^th century Gothic, Victorian and Greek Revival hotels and private developments such as the Strand, Bishop’s Palace, the Ashton Villa and the Hotel Galvez. More than 500 buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

As Robert Reinhold of the New York Times wrote on October 31, 1982:

“A thumbnail history will help to understand the new-old Galveston. The city was founded in 1836 and, with its natural deep-water harbor, soon became the commercial gateway to the growing Texas region, serving the cotton, slave and other trades. But its civic-minded leaders, many of them German Jewish merchants whose descendants are still influential, also turned Galveston into a cultural and architectural showplace without equal West of New York. By the turn of the century, when people were still shooting each other in most other parts of Texas, Galveston had an opera house, a medical school and the first electric lights and the first country club and golf course in Texas.

The city, with its proximity to the oil and gas fields, might well have become the New York of the West. But then, on Sept. 12, 1900, a hurricane of a force never since equaled practically destroyed the city, killing more than 6,000 persons. A 17-foot seawall was built to prevent a repetition of the damage, but Galveston was never the same, particularly after the Houston Ship Channel was dug in 1917, bypassing the port.”

Galveston was once the grandest city in Texas as can be seen in “The Galveston That Was” by photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson and Ezra Stoller. Galveston seems reminiscent of New Orleans – not only aesthetically, but culturally as well.

After a fire destroyed the Beach Hotel on Galveston Island in 1898, some of the wealthiest Galvestonians planned and built a spectacular new hotel. The result was the huge and handsome Hotel Galvez facing the Gulf of Mexico. It didn’t take long for the hotel to become one of the most popular in the United States with a guest list that includes Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson as well as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Howard Hughes. In 1942, the U.S. Coast Guard made the hotel its headquarters during World War II.

The Hotel Galvez was restored after the war and featured illegal gambling in the 1940s and 1950s until gambling was outlawed in the mid-1950s. In 1971, the hotel was acquired by Harvey O. McCarthy and Dr. Leon Bromberg and then by Denton Cooley in 1978. In 1989, the Galvez became a Marriott franchise. The hotel was purchased in 1995 by Galveston real estate developer George P. Mitchell who restored its original 1911 look. During Hurricane Ike in 2008, the hotel lost clay tiles from its roof and was flooded on its lower level where the spa, health club, business offices and laundry were located.

While owned by Mitchell Historic Properties, a 1996 hotel management agreement gave day-to-day operational control to Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

The Hotel Galvez is rated by AAA as a Four-Diamond hotel. It is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

*excerpted from “Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi”

2.  My Newest Book

“Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi” is available in hardback, paperback and Ebook format from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and AuthorHouse.

Ian Schrager writes in the Foreword:

“This particular book completes the trilogy of 182 hotel histories of classic properties of 50 rooms or more… I sincerely feel that every hotel school should own sets of these books and make them required reading for their students and employees.”

This trilogy consists of the following three books:

• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels East of the Mississippi
• Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels West of the Mississippi

All of these books can be ordered from AuthorHouse by visiting www.stanleyturkel.com and clicking on the book’s title.

3.  Attorneys Take Note:

For the past twenty-four years, I have served as an expert witness in more than 40 hotel-related cases.

My extensive hotel operating experience is beneficial in cases involving:

• hurricane damage and/or business interruption cases
• slip and fall accidents
• wrongful deaths
• fire and carbon monoxide injuries
• franchisee/franchisor disputes
• management contract disputes
• hotel security issues
• dram shop requirements

Don’t hesitate to call me on 917-628-8549 to discuss any hotel-related litigation support assignments.