The Beekman | natives

GALLERIE

The building reopened two months ago as The Beekman Hotel under the organization of Thompson Hotels, with an exclusive dinner for W Magazine precisely on the atrium, an empty space that connects all nine-floors and that’s crowned by a pyramidal crystal skylight, probably the most beautiful part of the building. Because of its age and the deterioration, not many of the original features could be kept, yet the restoration has enabled to relive the grandeur the building once had, making it even more beautiful on the inside than on the outside.

According to The Observer, “the finished Thompson Hotels property includes 287 guest rooms, including 45 suites and two duplex “Turret” suites that come with roof access” whose prizes start approximately at $470, depending on the room that you choose out of the variety of the hotel

This office industry, which gave it the nickname of Temple Court, pretty much ended when the main atrium, the building’s most highlightable part, was closed in the mid-20th Century by historians due to “safety reasons”, yet it remained an office building for small businesses (“Tenants include a marine-insurance broker, the War Resistors League, and the Citizens’ Union”, according to NY Magazine). However, the building in the Financial District soon lost his original appeal. Although it was given the title of City Landmark in 1998, The Beekman was officially emptied and closed in 2001 by architect Joseph Pell Lombardi, becoming an abandoned building.

In 2008 the Chetrit Group and Bonjour Capital purchased the building with the intention of restoring it and turning The Beekman into a hotel, but the financial crisis forced them to abandon the project, yet it sporadically opened its doors for special fashion-related occasions such as the launching party of the capsule collection Maison Martin Margiela X H&M in October 2012 or the presentation of Proenza Schouler’s Spring 2013 collection during September 2013.

The abandonment of the building created a halo of mystery surrounding it that increased even more when in 2013 it was announced that The Beekman would be reopened by GFI Development, who purchased the building and finally turned it into an exclusive hotel under the orders of architect Randy Gerner on a three-year-long restoration that nevertheless allowed few changes on the external structure since, as said, was named city landmark.

Although The Beekman was originally constructed in 1883, and soon became one of the first skyscrapers ever built in the city when in 1890 a ten-story annex was added to the original nine-floor building, it has never been considered one of the biggest icons in New York despite its age. As a matter of fact, it soon faded into the background of the city after its construction, eclipsed by the building fever New York underwent in the early 1900’s. However, its recent reopening has increased the interest on the unknown story of this building, which opened doors again a few months ago reconverted into a very exclusive hotel.

The Art-Decó building was designed by James Warnworth with the intention of being one ahead of its times, constructed in a steel and iron structure and covered in red Philadelphia brick, and was mainly used during the Victorian era to hold offices for a majority of lawyers.