JW Marriott Essex House

160 Central Park South | also 155 West 58th Street, 153 West 58th Street | Midtown | built 1930

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Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1882

    Navarro Flats, an eight-building apartment cooperative, stands on part of the future hotel site

    The Essex House stands on part of the ground once covered by Navarro Flats, a cooperative of eight buildings developed on Central Park South by José Francisco de Navarro between 1882 and 1884. Central Park South held many high-class apartment houses then, but Navarro's complex did not succeed commercially and had closed by the 1920s.

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 1888

    Navarro Flats, the eight-building complex that stood on the future hotel site, is sold at auction

    Navarro Flats, begun in 1882 by developer Jose Francisco de Navarro, went to auction after mortgage holders sued, as the Tribune reported in November 1888. The complex's eight buildings, among them the Madrid, Granada and Lisbon, had cost about $2 million each, and at least two were unfinished. The original shareholders lost their equity; the Tribune said they had bought only castles in the air. The complex stood on part of the block where Essex House later rose.

    Source: The New York Times

  3. 1929

    October 30

    Construction of the 44-story hotel begins one day after the stock market crash

    Work started on October 30, 1929, a day after the stock market crashed, on a 44-story hotel on Central Park South. It was to be called the Park Tower and later the Sevilla Tower. The Great Depression slowed construction, and the building finally opened in October 1931 under the name Essex House.

    Source: commercialobserver.com

  4. 1932

    A six-story sign goes up on the roof as the government seizes the bankrupt hotel

    In 1932, the year after the hotel opened, its owners put a six-story sign bearing the name Essex House on the roof, a feature that became a fixture of the Central Park South skyline. The building was then seized from its bankrupt owners by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, a federal agency, which held it until selling in 1946.

    Source: commercialobserver.com

  5. 1969

    Composer Igor Stravinsky moves into the Essex House in the autumn

    In 1969 Marriott Hotels bought the Essex House from Sterling National Bank and operated it as Marriott's Essex House. That autumn the renowned Russian composer Igor Stravinsky moved into the hotel, where he stayed until his death in 1971. The bank had held the 509-key building since 1946, when Samuel Golding of Sterling National Bank bought it from the federal agency that had taken it over.

    Source: commercialobserver.com

  6. 1979

    January 13

    Singer Donny Hathaway dies after a fall from his 15th-floor room

    Donny Hathaway began a recording session on January 13, 1979, with the musicians Eric Mercury and James Mtume, who each said he was acting paranoid and delusional, and the session was called off. Hours later he was found dead on the pavement below his 15th-floor window at the Essex House. His door was locked from inside, and investigators ruled the death a suicide. Roberta Flack, his frequent collaborator, put their finished duets on her next album.

    “Hours later, Hathaway was found dead on the pavement below the window of his 15th-floor room in the Essex House.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  7. 1984

    October

    Marriott sells the hotel to Japan Air Lines, whose Nikko division runs it

    Marriott sold the hotel to Japan Air Lines in October 1984. J. Willard Marriott explained that JAL had made a good offer and that the sale would help Marriott market its nearly finished Marquis hotel nearby. JAL operated the property through its Nikko Hotels division.

    “In October 1984, Marriott sold the hotel to Japan Air Lines.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  8. 1991

    September 24

    The hotel reopens after a $75 million renovation built around condominium owners

    A renovation of more than $75 million, run from 1990 to 1991, was complicated because Marriott had sold roughly 100 units as condominiums, and their owners had to be paid to leave while new guest rooms were built around the residential units. The work trimmed the hotel from 690 rooms to 591 and installed central air-conditioning in place of window units. The hotel reopened on September 24, 1991.

    Source: Wikipedia

  9. 2000

    Alain Ducasse makes his New York debut at the Essex House and wins four stars

    French chef Alain Ducasse made his New York debut in 2000 with Alain Ducasse at the Essex House, which earned a four-star review from Times critic William Grimes. In 2007 he moved and renamed the flagship, taking over the former Lespinasse room at the St. Regis. It became Adour, which Frank Bruni awarded three stars in 2008.

    Source: dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com

  10. 2012

    September 8

    The hotel is resold for $325 million and becomes a JW Marriott

    Dubai Investment Group bought the Essex House from Strategic Hotels and Resorts in 2006 for $424 million and spent $90 million on a renovation under its Jumeirah brand. In 2012 Strategic bought the hotel back for $325 million. After the sale closed, the hotel took the name JW Marriott Essex House New York effective September 8, 2012.

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

Nearby

All 178 buildings with stories in Midtown