Sugar Skyscraper 1930

Facts and Trivia about the New Yorker Hotel

The New Yorker Hotel can still be found at the corner of 8th Ave and 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

The Art Deco 45 storey New Yorker Hotel was built in 1929, opening it's doors to the public the following year,  January 2, 1930.

For a few years the New Yorker boasted being New York's largest hotel, with 2,500 rooms, five restaurants, 35 master cooks including Pierre Berard, and the largest barber shop in the world (42 chairs and 20 manicurists).

The hotel's popularity peaked during the 1940's and 50's when popular Big Bands played there and movie stars frequented the venue.

Amongst the rich and famous to stay or play at the hotel were Spencer Tracy, Joan Crawford, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Joe DiMaggio, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Fidel Castro.

Amongst the most unusual of guests at the hotel was the inventor Nikola Tesla, "the patron saint of modern electricity", who spent 10 years secluded in Suite 3327.  The only time he was spotted was when he fed the pigeons. Room service ended on the 7th January, 1943, when they found Nikola dead in his Suite from an apparent heart attack. Nikola Tesla was 86.

With the death of the Big Band era, the New Yorker Hotel followed a steady decline when in April 1972 it closed its doors.

On June 1st, 1994 The New Yorker Hotel Management Company, Inc. officially re-opened the building making available 178 rooms to the public.

Today the grand old hotel is still going strong with a total of 860 guestrooms now available.

Facts and Trivia about Pierre Berard

Pierre J Berard was born in Nice, France and originally studied to be an architect.

Berard worked in hotels around the world, including the Ritz and Berkley Hotels, London, the Majestic at Nice, the Maurice hotel, Paris and many hotels in America including the Ritz-Carlton, the New Yorker and the Chicago Merchandise Mart.

Fashion designer Paul Poiret was once quoted as saying he was " the greatest cook in the world."

A famous quote of Berard was "The French chef is not content to appeal to the palate, he must appeal to the eyes".

Berard believed that one of the secrets to cooking was to know the sex of the vegetable, fruit or seafood you were using. I kid you not! He believed that one sex gives flavour and the other perfume.

The Honorable Order of the Golden Toque was originally founded in France and brought to the U.S. by Chef Pierre Berard. The “Golden Toque”, which means golden chef’s hat, was established to give recognition to chefs with at least 20 years’ experience. It is registered in the United States Patent Office as The Honorable Order of the Golden Toque founded in 1961.The Honorable Order is the highest acclaimed recognition a Chef can receive in America.