At The Plaza is a pictorial record and an anecdotal history of the world's most famous hotel: New York's Plaza. As a story, it traverses the breadth and scope of Gotham's high society during the Twentieth Century. As a photo collection, it's like no other, capturing the hotel's remarkable presence on the ever-changing New York scene.

For almost one hundred years, The Plaza has mirrored the social history of Manhattan: its tastes in design, entertainment, restaurants and accommodations, as well as its adjustment to Prohibition, the Great Depression, two World Wars, the Cold War, women's rights, smokers' rights, animals' rights and even British rock-and-roll. The first guests to sign the register -- Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt -- set the standard for the long procession of luminaries that followed: Mark Twain, Diamond Jim Brady, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Marlene Dietrich, Frank Lloyd Wright, Marilyn Monroe, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the Beatles, among many others.

In At The Plaza, the hotel's official historian has compiled a fascinating collection of photographs and vignettes chronicling the colorful history of a building, an institution, and a city.

And for the Eloise fan, At The Plaza features unpublished, little seen Eloiseiana: postcards, a do not disturb sign, Kay Thompson’s business card, restaurant menus and advertising fliers depicting the tiny minx, as well as pictures of Miss Thompson performing in the Persian Room. There’s even a rare photo of the Plaza’s original Eloise portrait, stolen in 1960 and never recovered.

About the Author
Curtis Gathje has been The Plaza's official historian since 1994. Also author of the novel A Model Crime, he makes his home in New York City, but can be reached worldwide at curtisgathje@aol.com.

To see more of the book, amazon.com has additional pictures.
You can find them at the At the Plaza book page

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