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CENTRAL PARK PLAZA Officially named Grand Army Plaza, the plaza at the southeast corner of Central Park demarks the divide between commercial Fifth Avenue to the south and residential Fifth Avenue to the north. In the southern half of the plaza stand the two pools and four basins of the Pulitzer Memorial Fountain, donated to the city in 1916 by publisher Joseph Pulitzer. In the top basin is Karl Bitter's statue of the goddess Pomona, who, symbolizing abundance, was an appropriate guardian for one of the city's most opulent districts. In the 1930s, there were several new high-rise hotels across from the Plaza. At 61st Street (left) stood the Hotel Pierre (1929), and, flanking 59th Street, was the Sherry Netherland (1927) and the Savoy-Plaza (1927). Among the city's most luxurious hotels, they provided such services as golf and governesses, as well as spacious and well-appointed rooms. During the depression, prices ranged from $6 for a room with bath to $75 for a ten-room suite. The Sherry Netherland and the Savoy-Plaza were also residential hotels, offering larger suites for $20,000 per year. Abbott stood with her back to the Plaza Hotel (1907) and behind the fountain to photograph these hotels on the east side of Fifth Avenue. Looking up toward the skyscrapers, she did not correct the parallax distortion, allowing the towers and fountain to converge toward the center. A barren tree, slightly out of focus, fills the foreground to create a natural foil to the strict geometry and hard edges of the architecture. The Plaza and most of the surrounding buildings are protected by the Upper East Side Historic District, established in 1981. The landmark designation came too late to save the Savoy-Plaza, which was torn down in 1964 to make way for the 50-story General Motors headquarters. Return to the Middle East Side |