Ritz Tower Entrance, New York

The Ritz Tower, is a 41-story apartment hotel located on the corner of Park Avenue and East 57th Street, Manhattan, erected between 1925 and 1927. Home of many celebrities since its opening. Vintage photograph by Wurts Bros., showing the architecture of the Park Avenue entrance (probably about 1927) Source: New York Public Library.

Text from the Landmarks Preservation Commission October 29, 2002: «Constructed as an apartment hotel, with rooms for transients as well as long-term residents, the building provided food service from central kitchens via dumb waiters serving pantries on each floor. The absence of individual kitchens allowed the developer to increase the height of the building since it was then not subject to the height regulations that applied to standard apartment buildings. At the time of its construction, the Ritz Tower was the tallest residential building in New York, with panoramic views in all directions. The lower floors, which are more easily visible from the street, are enriched by highly sculptural ornament, including putti, urns and rusticated stone. Each setback of the tower is marked by pilasters, pediments and balustrades and is highlighted by large stone fleches which carry the viewer's eye upward along the buildings's height. The tower, crowned by a pyramidal roof with a tall obelisk, further increases the sense of height which was such an important factor when the building was constructed. Throughout its history, the Ritz Tower has been home to wealthy and well-known residents, as well as famous commercial enterprises, including William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies, Charles of the Ritz House of Beauty, and Le Pavillon, one of America's first authentic, and most influential French restaurants.»