One UN New York Hotel Interiors Scheduled for Potential Historic Designation

MIDTOWN, MANHATTAN — Preservationists were able to nudge the Landmarks Preservation Commission into considering the first-floor interiors of the One UN New York Hotel for historic designation, the LPC announced last week. The Ambassador Grill and the lobby of the hotel will both be up for designation in November as representatives of post-modern, disco-era aesthetics, an LPC statement said.

The hotel is far east at East 44th Street and First Avenue. Its first-floor restaurant, the Ambassador Grill, opened in 1976, is completely wrapped in mirrored walls and a faux skylight, and the lobby, completed in 1983, features an octagonal glass dome. The restaurant was designed by award-winning architect Kevin Roche.

"Completed seven years apart, they incorporate distinct stylistic vocabularies that express the shifting character of American architecture in late 1970s and early 1980s," according to the LPC statement.

"The design of the interior of the One UN Hotel happened at an interesting moment in the history of architecture in that the general trend was moving towards a more embracing vocabulary, away from the 'less is more' moment in time," Roche said in a statement sent to Patch. "We attempted to create an interior that was both modern and reflective of the past, quiet, low key and relaxing."

The Ambassador Grill closed last year for renovations, and when a preservationist named Theodore Grunewald was able to get inside, he saw construction that worried him, DNAinfo reported. He worked with the organization, DOCOMOMO, to request the LPC calendar a hearing on the hotel's historic interiors. The LPC voted unanimously in favor of their request.

The hearing will be held on Nov. 22, the LPC announced.

Photo credit: KRJDA