Stonehill & Taylor completes $70 million restoration project

Local architecture firm Stonehill & Taylor is helping the New Yorker Hotel—once one of the largest hotels in New York City—make a comeback. Restoring the art deco beauty to its former glory, the designers are replacing floral carpets and quilted bedspreads in all 910 guest rooms with contemporary interiors inspired by the various styles of the 1930s architectural movement. The project cost is $70 million. "During conceptualization, we researched the various different meanings of art deco," said Lorraine Knapp, Stonehill & Taylor's director of interior design. "There was a very big movement in New York, and the city has many significant facades and interiors, Miami is known for pastel colors on stucco facade, and in Hollywood, deco meant something else—dramatic interiors, luxurious furniture, and surroundings. We pulled in elements from each one and the design is a hybrid that translates well to the modern business person and all types of travelers." "Any opportunity to be a part of such a landmark, an important fixture on the New York skyline, is wonderful," Knapp continues. "It's nice to be part of something so recognizable." The guest rooms aren't the only part of the hotel getting a facelift. Next year Stonehill & Taylor is restoring the beautiful, original marble lobby floor, unfortunately disguised by carpet for years. Further improvements to the lobby include adding lounge seating and reconfiguring the three existing crystal chandeliers into cylindrical shapes. To finish the restoration, the firm will create a gold-coffered ceiling inthe double-height lobby; install new registration and concierge desks; redo restaurant facades opening to the lobby; re-imagine sign age throughout the public spaces as well as on the exterior (including the marquis); and put in new automatic revolving entrance doors. "We're breathing life back into the New Yorker," said Knapp. "This wonderful, historic hotel has flourished and faded, and we're giving it the edge it needs to reclaim its status in the New York hotel market."