Four Seasons Hotel New York

During the 1980s, developer William Zeckendorf bought an empty lot on East 57th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues. The project was commissioned by EIE Regent Avenue Corporation, part of the Tokyo-based group EIE International. I. M. Pei designed the hotel, with Frank Williams & Associates acting as associate architect, and its doors opened in June 1993.

The tower stands on a through-block lot between 57th and 58th Streets. In response to the zoning rules it steps back up to a cruciform crown, and at each setback finely made lanterns add a festive touch that sets it apart from Midtown's office buildings. It has fifty-two storeys and rises 670 feet (204 metres). Clad in French Magny limestone, it merges with New York, still a masonry city in spite of its many glass skyscrapers, and the Art Deco-inspired design uses the same stone as the Louvre expansion.

The design puts the luxury-hotel experience ahead of quick check-in and check-out: rooms that feel like apartments, and public spaces built around attentive, discreet service, with 33-foot (10-metre) ceilings. Around the grand foyer, a terraced salon invites New Yorkers and travellers to meet over tea, drinks or dinner. Pei's firm was responsible for the architecture and the exterior envelope; the interiors went to Chhada Siembieda & Partners, with Betty Garber Design as consultant.

Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts owns the building, and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts runs the hotel. The Royal Suite, the Presidential Suites and the Ty Warner Penthouse were designed by Peter Marino Architects, while Pierre-Yves Rochon did FIFTY7, the event space set just above the lobby.

The hotel stands at 57 East 57th Street, between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue, a short walk from Central Park and Fifth Avenue; a restaurant occupies its Art Deco lobby.