The Gilded Age Lover’s Guide to New York City
All photos courtesy of Getty.
The recent return of HBO series The Gilded Age takes viewers back to the 1880s New York City when robber barons named Vanderbilt, Astor, Rockefeller and Carnegie spent unchecked wealth building extravagant urban palaces on the Upper East Side. The series highlights the clash between old money and new money in a backdrop of glamorous palatial mansions, private elite social clubs and grand hotels. There’s even an opera war. Although many of the architectural masterpieces from that time period have unfortunately been demolished, a select few remain intact. Fortunately for us, some of these preserved structures even welcome visitors to explore their interior.
Where to Stay
The Plaza Hotel
The Knickerbocker Hotel in Times Square was built by none other than John Jacob Astor IV. Mr. Astor was a part of the infamous Astor family whose wealth and influence were synonymous with this era of American history. He was the son of the New York society socialite Mrs. Caroline Astor, portrayed by Donna Murphy in the HBO series. He was a particularly flamboyant character known for his investments in iconic properties like the Waldorf-Astoria. As depicted in the series, the Astors descended from original old money New York. At the time the word Knickerbocker was synonymous for upper-crust, Dutch-descending New Yorkers.
“The Knick,” as it was affectionately known, opened its doors in 1906 with room rate averaging $3.25 a day. It quickly became a haven for the city’s elite and a beacon of the luxurious lifestyle of the time, even earning the nickname “The 42nd Street Country Club.” It closed during the prohibition era and transitioned into an office building. After extensive reconstruction, The Knickerbocker Hotel re-emerged in 2015 as a luxury hotel. Today, it stands at the crossroads of 42nd Street and Broadway as one of the very few grand Beaux-Arts style hotels to survive.
When The Plaza Hotel opened on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South in 1907 it was described as the greatest hotel in the world. Henry J. Hardenbergh designed The Plaza along with other iconic Gilded Age era buildings such as the Dakota Apartments and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. From 1,650 crystal chandeliers to the largest single order of gold-entrusted china, no expense was spared when building the French Renaissance style hotel.
Since then the hotel has become a cultural icon. A who’s who of celebrities from Marylin Monroe to the Beatles to Frank Lloyd Wright have all stayed at The Plaza. F. Scott Fitzgerald set scenes of The Great Gatsby in the hotel while it also served as a backdrop for movies such as North by Northwest, Barefoot in the Park and Home Alone 2. In 2008 the hotel went through a three-year, $400 million renovation restoring the mosaic floors, sparkling chandeliers, iconic stained glass and gold-trimmed ceilings while adding 21st century touches. Now mosaic bathroom floors and 24-karat gold-plated faucets sit beside touchscreen devices that let guests dim lights, change room temperatures or call for assistance at the touch of a button.
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