New York Hilton Midtown
1335 Avenue of the Americas | also 125 West 53rd Street, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, 130 West 54th Street | Midtown | built 1963
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Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1963
A small red cannon opens three days of ceremonies for the new Hilton
The New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center opened with three days of ceremonies, and on June 26, 1963, the first began at noon when a small red cannon was fired from the setback above the four-story base of the 46-story hotel. The New York Times, reporting the next day, noted that drapes muffled most of the festivities that followed.
Source: Internet Archive
- 1963
The New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center opens as the city's largest hotel
Hilton Hotels, Rockefeller Center Incorporated and the Uris Buildings Corporation developed the hotel. The original architect, Morris Lapidus, proposed a curved building but withdrew because he was designing a rival hotel a block away, so William B. Tabler finished it as a slab. It opened with 2,153 rooms.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1970
The Adelphi Theatre, where The Honeymooners was filmed, is torn down next door
The hotel owned the land just west of it, where the Adelphi Theatre once stood and episodes of The Honeymooners were filmed. The Adelphi was demolished in 1970. An office tower, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, went up there in 1989 and is linked to the hotel by a walkway.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1971
New York Times reporters organize the Pentagon Papers in rooms at the hotel
In late spring 1971, Neil Sheehan and colleagues from The New York Times worked in rooms at the Hilton. They were summarizing and organizing the Pentagon Papers, the Defense Department's internal history of the Vietnam War, which Sheehan had secretly copied from Daniel Ellsberg. The aim was to prepare them for publication.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1972
Elvis Presley holds a press conference in the Mercury Ballroom before his Madison Square Garden concerts
Elvis Presley stayed at the hotel in June 1972 while playing four sold-out concerts at Madison Square Garden. Before the first show he held a press conference in the hotel's Mercury Ballroom. The hotel has welcomed each American president from John F. Kennedy on.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1973
A Motorola engineer places the first public handheld cell phone call to a Bell Labs rival staying at the hotel
Martin Cooper of Motorola called Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs with a two-pound DynaTAC phone, and Engel was a guest at the Hilton. The base station that carried the call was on the roof of 1345 Avenue of the Americas, next door.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1990
A $100 million renovation cuts the hotel's room count to 1,980
A $100 million renovation in 1990 reduced the Hilton's guest rooms from the 2,153 it had at its 1963 opening to 1,980. Further renovations followed between 1991 and 1994. The 47-floor building north of Rockefeller Center remains the largest hotel in New York City.
“In 1990, a $100 million renovation decreased the number of guest rooms to 1,980. The property underwent further renovations between 1991 and 1994…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1998
A two-year, $100 million overhaul rebuilds the lobby and adds a fifth-floor fitness center
In 1998 the Hilton began a two-year, $100 million renovation that overhauled the lobby and added an 8,000-square-foot fitness center on the fifth floor. Around then the name changed to Hilton New York, as the chain moved to put its own name ahead of the city's. By a fourth renovation, finished in 2007, the hotel had 47 suites on floors 42 through 44.
“…a two-year, $100 million renovation was begun in 1998 which included a complete overhaul of the lobby and the addition of an 8,000-square-foot Precor USA Fitness Center on the fifth floor…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2013
The hotel is renamed New York Hilton Midtown for its 50th anniversary
The renaming in 2013 followed several renovations, including a $100 million project in 1990 that cut the room count to 1,980 and another $100 million overhaul beginning in 1998. Management also ended room service and opened a self-service cafeteria. Park Hotels & Resorts took ownership in 2017 after being spun off from Hilton.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2016
Donald Trump holds his election night victory party in the grand ballroom
On election night 2016 Donald Trump celebrated his presidential victory in the hotel's grand ballroom. The hotel also hosts the International Emmy Awards and the Inner Circle Show, the annual charity dinner put on by New York City journalists.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2024
UnitedHealthcare's CEO is shot outside the hotel before the company's investor conference
At about 6:45 a.m. on December 4, 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was shot near the New York Hilton Midtown, where UnitedHealth Group was holding its annual investor conference. The conference was due to begin at 8 a.m. Police said a masked man had waited outside the hotel for several minutes, paying no attention to other pedestrians, before opening fire. He fled on foot and was later seen on video riding a Citi Bike into Central Park, and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called it a brazen, targeted attack.
Source: statnews.com
Further reading
- New York Hilton MidtownWikipedia
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