The New "Knick Hotel" - Symbol of History, Glamor, and New York Lore 

Check out the Josephs and Pals on the roof of the newly-reopened Knickerbocker Hotel ("The Knick"), celebrating "me Mum's happy birthday" as we say in the old country, Inja!  Behind us you can see the building from which the Waterford Crystal Ball is famously dropped on New Year’s Eve. Also visible is the Paramount building with its ticking clock.  

We ate dinner at the Charlie Palmer restaurant (named for the Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur whose Progressive American menu has gained a big following), and also checked out the St. Cloud rooftop bar. The "skypods" built into the corners of the mansard-style roof seem to float 200 feet above Times Square and - come December 31 - will most certainly become prime real estate, likely costing $1,000 or more a pod!

Sanctuary from the High-Voltage Energy of Times Square!

The first thing that strikes you when you enter the historic hotel on the corner of 42nd Street and Broadway is the muted decor (brown, beige and silver tones) as well as the low lighting and remarkable quiet.  It is meant to be a contrast to the high-voltage sensory overload of Times Square's boundless blinking energy: the endless noise, sirens, general hubbub, and giant digital billboards that overwhelm one's ears and eyes!  You can see the frenzy of lights and traffic from the restaurant and lounge windows inside the hotel - but don't hear a thing! 

The first Knickerbocker Hotel was built in 1906 by John Jacob Astor IV (who died aboard the Titanic in 1912).  In its heyday, it was one of the swankiest hotels in New York until its closure in 1921, mainly due to Prohibition.  The glitterati came in droves: New York and other East Coast socialites, the writer F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, and celebrities from Broadway such as producer-playwright George M. Cohan who wrote Yankee Doodle Dandy, among other famous songs.

Pavlova and Caruso

Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova stayed at The Knick in 1910 when she performed at the Metropolitan Opera; her debut marked the beginning of the ballet era in the U.S.  (This was before Pavlova worked with Indian classical dance revivalists Uday Shankar and Rukmani Devi Arundale). On Armistice Day 1918, tenor Enrico Caruso - who led a lavish lifestyle as a long-term Knickerbocker resident - serenaded crowds in Times Square from his open hotel window with 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'

Beaux-Arts Landmark

The building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is in the French Beaux-Arts style which influenced American, especially New York, architecture between 1880 and 1920. (Other nearby examples of Beaux-Arts tradition include Grand Central Terminal and the New York Public Library). To restore the hotel's broken copper green façade dating back to 1906, copper was imported from Europe; the effect is both grandiose and impressive.

The new hotel - whose redesign reportedly cost $250 million - has a Caruso Suite, a Cohan Suite and a Parrish Suite to commemorate its famous residents. The centerpiece of the original bar, the 30-foot "Old King Cole" mural by artist Maxfield Parrish, is now housed at another Astor hotel, the St. Regiis.

There is a story that an old "shadowy" Knick barman called Martini invented the Martini drink.  Not so, say purists!  It was someone called Martinez!  Of course, I had to try a classic Knick martini (gin, vermouth, bitters); strong but good!

"Knickerbocker" - synonymous with New York City

The term "Knickerbocker" traces its origin to Dutch settlers who came to the New World in the 1600s.  It refers to the style of pants they wore, rolled up below the knee, which became known as "Knickerbockers" or "knickers."  The word was introduced into lore by Washington Irving, who wrote a satiric history of New York under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker. 

In Irving's day, the word "knickerbocker" meant a New Yorker who could trace his ancestry to the original Dutch settlers.  The "Father Knickerbocker" character - clothed in a cotton wig, three-cornered hat, buckled shoes, and knickered pants - became synonymous with New York City.  Many years later, it was also chosen as the name of the city's once-storied basketball team: The New York Knickerbockers, shortened affectionately to The New York Knicks.