The Knickerbocker Hotel

Highgate Holdings and Felcor Lodging & Trust commissioned Gabellini Sheppard Associates to reimagine the historic Knickerbocker hotel, renovating the fifteen story, 175,000 SF Beaux- Arts hotel for the next generation of guests while recapturing the legacy of the celebrated hotel. Structural improvements, preservation efforts of the historic façade combined with public programming strategy, a refined material palette, and a transformed spatial dynamic perpetuate the historic hotel into the modern era. Positioned at the heart of Times Square on the corner of Broadway and 42nd Street, the 330- key hotel draws upon the energy of the urban surroundings. The hotel is filled with dynamic public spaces; from the grand lobby and espresso bar on the ground floor to the fourth floor with a signature restaurant and bar by Charlie Palmer, wine room, library lounge, private event space, and health club. All guestrooms have customized layouts that emphasize spatial fluidity and elevate functional needs. The name suites were designed customized suites inspired by four legendary Knickerbocker regulars, including world famous tenor Enrico Caruso, celebrated playwright George Cohan, artist Maxfield Parrish and Martini Di Arma Di Taggia, the hotelʼs bartender recognized for inventing the Martini. The suites are individually fashioned to emulate the essence of their namesake. Atop the historic mansard roof of restored oxidized copper is the pinnacle of the re- inaugurated Knickerbocker experience, a 7,800SF indoor/outdoor rooftop lounge, St. Cloud. Carved within the historic oxidized copper along the mansard roof are private seating areas that can seat up to 20 guests by employing space that was previously used to hold flagpoles. The interior bar/lounge is conceived as a carved volume of charcoal slate, presenting a glowing ember reflecting off the Times Square skyline. The vertical garden wall adds an element of nature within Times Square while improving air quality for those enjoying the Rooftop.