Barbizon Hotel

Barbizon Hotel for Women
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Barbizon Hotel for Women, July 2007
Location	140 E. 63rd St., Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates
Area	less than one acre
Built	1927
Architect	Palmer H. Ogden, Everett F. Murgatroyd
Architectural style	Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Late Gothic Revival
NRHP Reference #	82001186
Added to NRHP	October 29, 1982

The Barbizon Hotel for Women, later known as Barbizon 63, was symbolic of the cultural change as women began to come to New York City for professional opportunities, but still wanted a "safe retreat" that felt like the family home. It is located at 140 East 63rd Street, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City.

History

It was built in 1927 incorporating a blend of Italian Renaissance, Late Gothic Revival, and Islamic decorative elements. It is a 23-story steel frame building encased in concrete and faced in salmon-colored brick with limestone and terra cotta decorative elements.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

For most of its existence, it operated as a residential hotel for women, with no men allowed above the ground floor, and strict dress and conduct rules were enforced. The hotel became a more standard hotel when it began admitting men as guests in 1981. In 2002, a $40 million renovation was completed and the name was changed to The Melrose Hotel. In 2005 the hotel closed and the building was gutted and rebuilt for condominium use and renamed Barbizon 63.

Even after the condo renovation, there are still 13 women living under the old arrangements at the hotel due to rent control.

The building includes a large indoor pool which is today part of an Equinox Fitness club, and air rights to adjacent properties were purchased when the building was constructed.

Famous residents

Female

3

Male

• Ricky Gervais

In popular culture

• In the television series Mad Men, the Barbizon is noted as the place of residence of one of Don Draper's post-divorce love interests, Bethany Van Nuys. Don drops her off at the Barbizon in the 1st and 8th episodes of Season 4.
• In the 1967 Nick Carter spy novel The Red Guard, Carter books his teenage god-daughter into the Barbizon.
• In the 2015 Marvel TV Series Agent Carter, Peggy Carter lives in the Griffith, a fictional hotel heavily inspired by the Barbizon. Like the Barbizon, it is located on 63rd Street & Lexington Ave.
• In Sylvia Plath's novel, "The Bell Jar," the Barbizon is prominently featured, however under the name, "The Amazon." The novel's protagonist (and Plath's fictional alter ego), Esther Greenwood lives there during a summer internship at fashion magazine. This event is based on the Plath's real-life internship at the magazine, "Mademoiselle" in 1953.

See also

• List of YWCA buildings

External links

• Official website