Hudson Hotel
Encyclopedia
Boutique hotel
Boutique hotel is a term popularized in North America and the United Kingdom to describe intimate, usually luxurious or unique hotel environments. Boutique hotels differentiate themselves from larger chain/branded hotels and motels by providing personalized accommodation and services / facilities...
located at West 58th Street, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
The building, which currently houses the Hudson Hotel, was constructed in 1928 by the daughter of J. P. MorganJ. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
as the American Women’s Association clubhouse and residence for young women in New York. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the building housed Dutch soldiers. More recently, the space served as the headquarters for public television station WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
; the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
PBS NewsHour is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. The show is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, a company co-owned by former anchors Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, and Liberty Media, which owns a 65% stake in the...
was broadcast from the building. WNET has since relocated to 450 West 33rd Street.
In 1997, the building was purchased by Morgans Hotel Group
Morgans Hotel Group
Morgans Hotel Group is a hospitality company that owns & operates boutique hotels as well as acquiring and redeveloping in the United States and Europe....
and underwent a three-year renovation, to become a hotel, at the cost of $125 million. As with the Royalton Hotel
Royalton Hotel
The Royalton Hotel is a hotel in at 44 West 44th Street, midtown Manhattan, New York City, USA.The building was built in 1898 as the exclusive residential Hotel Royalton. The firm of Rossiter & Wright served as the architects, and the contractor was E. F. Dodson & Company...
, the Hudson Hotel was also renovated by Ian Schrager
Ian Schrager
Ian Schrager is an American hotelier and real estate developer. Often associated with co-creating of the Boutique Hotel genre. Originally, he gained fame as co-owner and co-founder of Studio 54.-Early years:...
, co-owner of Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
and current CEO of Ian Schrager Company, and the designer Philippe Starck
Philippe Starck
Philippe Patrick Starck is a French product designer and probably the best known designer in the New Design style...
.
When the hotel opened, it was the team's second hotel collaboration in New York, following the Paramount by 10 years. They made over the former dormitory to be a relatively affordable, but trendy hotel, with the goal described as 'Cheap Chic'.
In compensation for the constraints of the private spaces, the designers focused on creating large and dramatic public spaces. The Hudson Bar, with its glowing yellow glass floor by Mison Concepts and ceiling fresco by Francesco Clemente
Francesco Clemente
Francesco Clemente is an Italian and American contemporary artist. Influenced by thinkers as diverse as Gregory Bateson, William Blake, Allen Ginsberg, and J Krishnamurti, the art of Francesco Clemente is inclusive and nomadic, crossing many borders, intellectual and geographical.Dividing his time...
, hosts events such as dance parties, movie premieres and book launches, and has been featured in TV shows such as Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
and Sex & The City.