Jewel of the Jazz Age Built at the height of the Jazz Age during the city’s construction boom, The New Yorker Hotel has welcomed generations of luminaries to Midtown—from Nikola Tesla and John F. Kennedy to Muhammad Ali and Joan Crawford. When we opened our doors in 1929, we were the city’s largest hotel, offering 2,500 rooms, 10 private dining salons, and one of the world’s largest barbershops. Even more impressive was our staff, which included 150 laundry workers, 35 chefs, and 95 switchboard operators. A private power plant—the nation’s largest, in fact—provided electricity throughout the hotel from its location in the sub basement. The New Yorker Hotel’s heyday was ushered in by the Big Band Era. Actors, celebrities, athletes, politicians, and even mobsters frequented the hotel to eat, drink, and listen to performances by Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey. Even as the Great Depression unfolded, the hotel became a gilded sanctuary where guests could forget about their troubles for a short while. The Brooklyn Dodgers stayed with us during the 1941 World Series, as did Joe DiMaggio when his Yankees were playing in town. After a less prosperous era in the 1950s and ‘60s, the hotel was forced to closed its doors in 1972.