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photo by Lyndon Jhackie |
Hearst was married with five sons. Although his affair with the entertainer was
public knowledge—she was his constant companion in the years to follow—his devoutly
Catholic wife, Millicent, refused a divorce.
By 1926 Hearst’s publishing empire included 27 newspapers
and nine major magazines like Cosmopolitan.
He now turned his attention to Midtown Manhattan real estate. Among
his first ventures was the construction of the 36-story Warwick apartment hotel
at No. 65 West 54th Street. It
was located slightly east of the Times Square theater district and Marion Davis
played no small part in Heart’s inspiration.
The entire top floor would be her apartment.
Contractor George B. Post & Sons collaborated with
architect Emery Roth to produce a soaring brick and stone structure with
red-tiled Tuscan towers high above 6th Avenue. The completed hotel, costing $5 million, rose
370 feet and contained 512 apartments.
It was touted as one of the two tallest apartment hotels in the world at
completion.
The Warick was designed as both a residential and transient
hotel and immediately began attracting celebrities from the entertainment
industry—a tradition that would last for decades. On July 1, 1927 The New York Times noted that
“Mr. and Mrs. Irving Berlin have closed their apartment at 29 West Forty-sixth
Street and will make their headquarters in town at the Warwick during the
Summer.”
On June 16 Hearst threw a gala party for the nation’s
newest hero, Charles A. Lindbergh, here. Among
those in attendance were the mayor, James Walker, and Charlie Chaplin.
Hearst and his right-hand man Arthur Brisbane continued
buying up property between 54th and 56th Streets. With the 6th Avenue elevated train soon to be torn down he recognized the desirability of the neighborhood without the
noisy and dirty El.
He was well-acquainted with producer Florenz Ziegeld
who was disgruntled with owner of the New Amsterdam Theatre, Abe Erlanger. Hearst purchased the property on the corner
diagonally-opposite corner the Warwick and bankrolled the new Ziegfeld
Theatre. Ziegfeld laid the cornerstone
with much hoopla on December 9, 1926 and the curtain opened for the first time
only two months later, on February 2.
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The beautiful Marion Davies, seen here on a cigarette card, lived in the Warwick penthouse.--NYPL Collection |
Millicent Hearst and her husband continued to have a "civilized" arrangement. He supported her
in a lavish lifestyle and she quietly let him lead his own life. Even Millicent’s
close friends recognized the agreement and were unafraid that by patronizing
her husband’s hotel they would offend her.
The Times noted on September 24, 1929 that she had returned from
California “accompanied by Mrs. John Guthrie Heywood.” The article reported that Mrs. Hearst would
go to “her country place Sands Point, Long Island. Mrs. Heywood will be at the Hotel Warwick.”
In 1937 Hearst commissioned artist Dean Cornwell to paint
murals on the walls of the main dining room of the hotel restaurant, The
Raleigh Room. For his $100,000 fee,
Cornwell depicted Sir Walter Raleigh receiving the charter from Queen Elizabeth
in 1584 as well as his landing at Roanoke Island. When the artist and Hearst had a heated
disagreement about his fee, Cornwell added images shocking to 1930s diners such
as the naked buttocks of native Americans.
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A promotional postcard highlighted the murals of the Raleigh Room. |
Although long-term residents of the Warwick were often
entertainers, socialites and others lived here as well. Hungarian-born portrait artist Artur L. Halmi
was a resident until his death in 1939.
Among the prominent Americans he painted were Muriel and Consuelo
Vanderbilt, Mrs. Oliver Harriman, President William Howard Taft and Millicent
Hearst.
While the Hearst Corporation sold the hotel along with
several of the Midtown properties in October 1944, it continued to be a
favorite—either as a stop-over or residence—for Hollywood and Broadway
stars. Silver screen legends like
James Dean, Judy Garland and Elizabeth Taylor stayed here and actress Linda
Darnell leased a suite in 1950 as her New York home when not in Hollywood.
Darnell returned here in January 1951 to find her apartment
ransacked. Among the items stolen were
jewelry and a mink stole valued at $3,000.
In the 1950s the Warwick was the New York base of the new sensation, Elvis Presley. In a 1956
interview he conducted from the hotel he discounted the notion that rock and
roll music contributed to juvenile delinquency.
“I don’t think that music would have anything to do with it at all,” he
said.
In the same interview he admitted he would rather act than
sing, “if I were a good actor—of course I’m not a good singer but if I were a
good actor—I think that I would like that a little better.”
In February 1965 Loew’s Hotels purchased The Warwick. After four decades the hotel was showing its
age. Designer Ellen Lehman McCluskey
was hired to spruce up the somewhat dowdy interiors. A six-month renovation involved 100 workers,
4,256 gallons of paint, 11,312 rolls of wallpaper and 23,478 yards of new
carpeting.
Like Elvis had done, the invading British bands took suites
at the Warwick and held their press conferences from here. In August 1966 The Beatles hosted a series
of press conferences during which they answered questions regarding the Vietnam
War (George said “War is wrong, and it’s obvious”), the “more popular than
Jesus” controversy (John scoffed “a lot of it’s just a lot of rubbish”) and the
group’s sagging popularity. When John
was asked how he felt about the seeming loss pf fans’ attention, he replied “very
rich.” A year later it would be The
Monkees who sat in the ballroom of the Warwick holding their press conference.
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A 1970s poster depicted The Beatles the Warwick Hotel. |
Grant knew the hotel well—it is where he stayed early on in
his career. And it is possible that the
offer of the apartment was the deciding factor.
Cary Grant accepted the deal. He
moved out of his apartment in the Plaza Hotel and into the Warwick. He would stay in the remarkable space with
its wrap-around terrace for twelve years.
When RCA flew a new rock singer to New York in 1971 to sign
a contract, the record company wanted to impress him. It arranged a suite of
rooms in the Warwick Hotel for the young David Bowie. Reportedly Bowie looked out the windows of
his apartment in the same building where Elvis Presley had once stayed and said
“This is it, isn’t it?” He knew that he
had made it.
In 1980 the hotel was sold again and was renamed the Warwick
New York Hotel. During the several
renovations since 1937 Dean Cornwell’s murals in the Raleigh Room had been
painted over. In 2004 they were
carefully uncovered and restored. In
their honor the restaurant was renamed Murals on 54.
After nearly a century of serving the wealthy and
celebrated, one famous resident was not so well-received by New Yorkers.
In September 2011 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad checked in. The
outspoken and outrageous president had been refused rooms in several Manhattan
hotels; but the Warwick announced “We are ready to cater to the needs of UN
delegates and other representatives in support of this official event.”
The hotel that had been used to throngs of paparazzi crowding
6th Avenue to get a glimpse of movie and rock stars now found itself
besieged with protestors. Throughout
the stay of the Iranian entourage groups protested and a nearby rooftop was
lined with a NYPD SWAT team and snipers.
A year later, in September, the Iranian president and the accompanying upheaval would be back to attend the 2012 United National General Assembly.
A year later, in September, the Iranian president and the accompanying upheaval would be back to attend the 2012 United National General Assembly.
By now the latest major renovation was completed. A downstairs bar was now named Randolph’s,
with a nod to the hotel’s creator. Here
the carpet is woven with stylized rosebuds—the pet name Hearst used for Marion
Davies and the name of the sled in the movie “Citizen Kane” based on Hearst’s
life.
Throughout the hallways black-and-white photographs of the
screen stars and other celebrities who stayed here hand on the walls. And not a few of them are of William Randolph
Hearst’s true love, Marion Davies.
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