Manhattan - Plaza Hotel

A Brief History: The Plaza Hotel located at 768 5th Avenue Manhattan NY, first opened in 1890 and contained 400 rooms. It was demolished 15 years later to be replaced by an 18-story Plaza Hotel on October 1st 1907. It contained 805 rooms, 500 bathrooms, 10 elevators and a two-story ballroom. The Plaza was sold in 1943 to Conrad Hilton. In 1953 Hilton sold the Plaza to A.M. Sonnabend. The Plaza was bought by Donald Trump in 1988. Trump was reported to say, “This isn’t just a building, it’s the ultimate work of art – it’s the Mona Lisa. I’m in love with it.” Trump sold the Plaza in 1995. The Plaza was visited by Ada Louise Huxtable, who in 1971 said “New York’s most celebrated symbol of cosmopolitan and turn-of-the-century splendor, inside and out.” Other famous people to visit the Plaza include: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Barbara Streisand, Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles and Elizabeth Taylor. The Plaza was also home to movies such as “Home Alone 2” and “Crocodile Dundee”. The Plaza has also seen some darker days. In July 1906 watchman Michael Butler was clubbed on the head and apparently fell to his death from the 8th floor.

Haunted History: Hotel guest claim that there is a ghost there who likes to tamper with the locks on the door either locking you out of your room, and on some occasions locking you out of your room. There have also been claims of guests waking up in the middle of the night to either an extreme cold room or hot room. They claim that when they look at the thermostat box, that the temperature is either turned all the way up or all the way down. There have also been claims of guests hearing conversations in the hallways when no one is around.