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History of the Radisson Martinique |
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Broadway
in the 1890s was said to have a “champagne
sparkle.” “All the world came to Broadway to
shop, to dine, to flirt, to find amusement, and
to meet acquaintances,” wrote Henry Collins
Brown, curator of the Museum of the City of New
York. The Hotel Martinique opened in 1900 amidst
the boom of hotel and theater life on Broadway.
The Metropolitan Opera stood close by on 39th
Street and a series of other fine hotels reached
up to Times Square.
Shortly
after the Hotel Martinique opened, plans to open
Pennsylvania Station were announced and Macy’s
opened on Herald Square while the PATH extended
to 33rd Street. It was the perfect time for
William R. H. Martin, owner and namesake of the
Hotel Martinique, to submit the plans to double
the size of the Hotel Martinique. Martin hired
the Hotel Martinique’s original architect, the
renowned Henry Hardenbergh who also designed the
Dakota Apartments, the original Waldorf Astoria
Hotels and the Plaza Hotel.
On
December 21, 1910, the enlarged Hotel Martinique
opened with a total of 600 rooms. As a line of
elegantly dressed guests arrived in horse drawn
carriages at this Beaux Arts masterpiece they
were immediately impressed. Guests entered
into a vast lobby, which also featured an
inspiring mosaic-tile floor and an 18-story
spiral staircase, both of which are still very
much intact today. The lobby proudly displayed a
stunning, large, floor standing, historic clock.
It was built in the 15th Century T.H. Crawford,
Royal Clockmaker to King James I-King of Scots.
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A
long-running success story, The PGA of America
grew from a meeting on April 10, 1916, in the
Martinique's diminutive boardroom where 78
professionals were elected to membership and
formed the springboard into the world's largest
working sports organization with 27,000 men and
women professionals.The PGA of America needed a
catalyst at its founding, and the support came
through department store magnate and
philanthropist, Rodman Wanamaker.
The
Hotel Martinique was a favorite hangout for
Vaudeville entertainers, Flappers, Broadway
actors, artists and writers. In fact, the famous
American novelist George Barr McCutcheon died
suddenly on October 23, 1928 at a luncheon at
the Dutch Treat Club in the Hotel Martinique.
The
Empire State Building’s Grand Opening was on
May 1, 1931, which happened to be two years
before the end of Prohibition. Construction took
just 14 months to complete. Steps away, with
champagne in hand, guests at the Dutch Room in
the Hotel Martinique illegally toasted to
their proud new neighbor.
The
Hotel Martinique underwent a complete restoration
in 1996 requiring the hotel to close for two
years. On May 5, 1998, the Hotel Martinique was
granted landmark status by the New York City
Landmarks Preservation Commission. The hotel is
now called the Radisson Martinique on Broadway.
Just
as it was in 1900, The Hotel Martinique is a
stunning Beaux Arts building in the heart of
midtown Manhattan. Still amidst the excitement,
it is just blocks away from the Empire State
Building, Broadway Theater’s, Madison Square
Garden, Penn Station, Macy’s and the Chelsea
art galleries and restaurants.
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The
PGA of America at the Radisson Martinique
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A
long-running success story, The PGA of
America grew from a meeting on April 10,
1916, in the Martinique's diminutive
boardroom where 78 professionals were
elected to membership and formed the
springboard into the world's largest
working sports organization with 27,000
men and women professionals.
The PGA of America needed a catalyst at
its founding, and the support came through
department store magnate and
philanthropist, Rodman Wanamaker.
"Mr. Wanamaker was a visionary,"
said PGA Past President Roger Warren of
Kiawah Island, S.C. "He, too, was
willing to support those who had dreams.
By encouraging them, he helped them
financially. And so we owe a lot to the
fact that Rodman Wanamaker saw something
in these golf professionals in their dream
and their vision, and said, 'I want to
help and support you.' " |
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