New York Palace (Budapest)

The New York Palace ( _hu. New York-palota) is a luxury hotel on the Grand Boulevard of Budapest's Erzsébet körút part, under Erzsébet körút 9-11, in the 7th district of Budapest, Hungary. Built by an insurance company as a company hall, its Café in the ground floor named New York Café ( _hu. New York kávéház) was a longtime center for Hungarian literature and poetry, almost from its opening on October 23 1894 to its closure in 2001, to reconstruct it into a luxury hotel, as it is now. The café was also reopened in May 5 2006 in its original pomp, as was the whole building.

Building history

The New York Life Insurance Company assigned architect Alajos Hauszmann, to plan the company's hall building in Budapest. Hauszmann, with Flóris Korb and Kálmán Giergl planned a four story eclectic palace, with a café on its ground floor. The building and the café opened on October 23 1894. The statues and other ornaments on the front side of the building, as well as the ground floor café's 16 imposing devilish fauns, each one beside the café's sixteen windows, are the works of Károly Senyey.

The building was nationalized during the communist era. After the collapse of socialism, the palace was bought by Italian Boscolo Hotels in February 2001. The building was totally renovated, and reopened in May 5 2006 as a 107 room luxury hotel, with the Café, also totally renovated, on its ground floor.

External links

* [http://www.boscolohotels.com/ita/hotels/new_york_palace/albergo_5stelle_budapest.htm Official site of New York Palace]