Day 4 – The New Yorker
Cnr 34th and 8th Ave.
Opened in 1929 and was the biggest hotel in New York for many years. One of the best places to see Big Bands in the 30’s such as Benny Goodman (see photo). Ali would use the place after fighting across the street at the Garden. Nikola Tesla went crazy and died there (not sure if AC/DC ever stayed there. Ha!!). Castro stayed there.
Tesla’s tale is intriguing. In his room #3327, he kept a safe filled with patents and super-secret ideas. One, his “Death Ray”, he described thus: “The nozzle would send concentrated beams of particles through the free air, of such tremendous energy that they will bring down a fleet of 10,000 enemy airplanes at a distance of 200 miles from a defending nation’s border and will cause armies to drop dead in their tracks.” Goodness. Upon his death his body and the safe were whisked away. The safe was impounded by the FBI and entered Top Secret status, never to be seen again. Who knows if the Death Ray was true or not, but Tesla should definitely have turned his hand to Science Fiction.
If you like Art Deco, this place is a must. The only draw-back is there is no cafe or food service in the lobby (there’s a diner though attached) so I sat there all morning and spent not a dime. It’s a busy place, right on 8th Avenue and the vibe is very touristy. I sat amongst piles of suitcases and folks waiting for their coaches and cabs. Still, I was there to work and fortunately the muse flowed well sans coffee.
Today’s word count: 3,012
Total word count: 14,180
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyndham_New_Yorker_Hotel
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