The Lexington Hotel opened in 1929 as the Hotel Lexington, at the height of the Manhattan midtown hotel boom, 1920s to the 1930s. The hotel opened with a promise by General J. Leslie Kincaid, president of the American Hotel Corporation, to provide a thoroughly modern house of refined atmosphere and exceptional service – without the annoyance and confusion that is often experienced in hotels catering to large assemblages. The original architect was Schultze & Weaver whose first major commission job had been the large Los Angeles hotel today known as the Millennium Biltmore. Their later work included the Atlanta Biltmore Hotel, and the Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel. The firm also designed the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach and the Miami Nautilus Hotel. They designed several noted landmark hotels within New York City, including:
The Normanesque terracotta figures that decorate the Lexington Avenue entrance are reminiscent of those found on the Notre Dame. Rows of terracotta-winged lions adorn the building’s façade. Beneath a metal canopy, inscribed with the hotel’s name, visitors pass through the expansive glass doors into the spacious marbled-floored lobby. In the 1930s, the Lexington was run by hotel industry pioneer Ralph Hitz's National Hotel Management Company.
Present day
The property now belongs to Marriott’s "Autograph Collection" of fifty hotels that have historic qualities to them. In 2014, a $46 million renovation was completed that restored historic architectural elements including the original brass elevator doors with songbird motifs.
Significance
The Hotel Lexington was home to many famous restaurants, nightspots and celebrities, including:
Joe DiMaggio, baseball legend, who resided at the hotel between 1957 and 1962, while he was affiliated with the Monette Company.
Marilyn Monroe lived here with DiMaggio during their brief marriage in Suite #1806.
Dorothy Lamour, Hollywood celebrity
The hotel evolved and in the 1930s the “Hawaiian Room” opened in what is now "LQ". The Hawaiian Room was identified with entertainer Arthur Godfrey. Godfrey broadcast his radio show live from the Hawaiian Room. The hotel contained other venues such as the "Paul Revere Tavern," "Denim & Diamonds," "Chateau Madrid," and the "Playboy’s Empire Club" - in the 1980s.
