Morgans Hotel

Morgans Hotel
Morgans Hotel
General information
Architectural style	Italian Romanesque
Location	237 Madison Avenue,; Manhattan, New York City
Named for	John Pierpont (JP) Morgan's Morgan Library & Museum
Opening	1984 (Morgans), ; 1927 (previous ownership)
Renovated	2008
Closed	2018
Owner	Morgans Hotel Group ($MHG), 1984-2016; SBE Entertainment Group, 2016-2017; Shel Capital and Kash Group (2017-2018 closed, converted to No. 237 condos)
Technical details
Floor count	19
Design and construction
Architect	Andrew J. Thomas
Developer	Ian Schrager
Known for	World's first boutique hotel
Other information
Number of rooms	113 (1984); 149 (1927)
Number of restaurants	1
Website
	http://morganshotel.com

Morgans Hotel was the world's first boutique hotel,^[1]^[2]^[3] located on 237 Madison Avenue in New York City. Founded by Studio 54 cofounder, Ian Schrager as the first property in the Morgans Hotel Group ($MHG), it opened in 1984.

History[]

The 1927 building was designed by architect Andrew J. Thomas, erected as Hotel Duane intended for long-term stays. An article of the era notes, "in design, the exterior of the building indicates a free interpretation of the Italian Romanesque style harmonizing very well with the building at the north, designed in a similar style."^[4] When initially opened, the lobby and guest rooms showed "a rather free interpretation of Spanish Renaissance decoration."^[4] The hotel had operated under the name, Executive Hotel.^[5]

1984-2016: Ian Schrager's Morgans Hotel Group ($MHG)[]

In 1984, Studio 54 cofounder, Ian Schrager and his business partner Rubell opened their first hotel, Morgans Hotel, named after John Pierpont (JP) Morgan's Morgan Library & Museum next-door. Designed by Andrée Putman, the instant hit introduced the boutique hotel category, becoming a "worldwide phenomenon."^[1]^[2]^[3] It has triple-arched entrances that remain today.

In June 2005, Schrager sold most of his stake in the namesake Morgans Hotel Group to launch the Ian Schrager Company. Despite stepping down as Chair and CEO, he retained $4 million in consultant pay and perks through end of 2007.^[6]^[7]

On Valentine's Day 2006, the namesake $MHG IPO'ed in a $360 million-target raise underwritten by Morgan Stanley, with Schrager cashing in his remaining 450,000 shares for another $9 million.^[6] Morgans Hotel Group was a publicly traded company on NASDAQ for over a decade.

2016-2017: Sam Nazarian's SBE Entertainment Group M&A[]

In May 2016, Sam Nazarian's SBE Entertainment Group agreed to acquire the namesake MHG for $805 million, in a take-private transaction completed November 30, 2016. The son of Qualcomm board member and stakeholder Younes Nazarian (via M&A), Nazarian and SBE are better known as owners of LA lounges frequented by celebrity patronage and HBO's Entourage, appearing as himself in the "No Cannes Do" episode.

2017-2018 closure: No. 237 (PE luxury condo conversion)[]

In July 2017, the building was purchased as private equity by Shel Capital and Kash Group, who closed Morgans Hotel and converted it to luxury condos in 2018, named No. 237.^[3]^[8]

Design[]

Andrée Putman served as interior designer for the 1984 and 2008 complete renovations of the 1927 structure.^[5]^[9] New design features were evident throughout Morgans' public spaces, including:

An over-sized, 2-story, balconied "living room" lobby, with textured taupe-colored glass walls and overlaid bronze mullions, featuring a custom Putman-designed wool rug of black, rich camel and taupe in a bold three-dimensional cubist pattern.

Floors were in three varied shades of imported Italian granite in different finishes, with groupings of antique French leather club chairs, including a teak and caned plantation chair from the '40s, all culled from Paris' top flea markets. Putman designed dark wood end tables, with spherical-shaped desk lamps in nickel-plated brass created by in 1925. Candles were lit in the evening, coupled with black-and-white checkerboard patterned wool throws loosely draped over the French club chairs to further accentuate the "lived-in" feel.

Accommodations[]

Like everything else in Morgans, the 114 guest rooms steered away from formulaic institutional design. To update guest lodgings, Putman began in the hotel corridors, covered in wool carpet rich taupe with a black-and-white checkerboard patterned border. Guest room doors were of French custom-birdseye maple. With only 4-8 rooms per floor, each hallway contributed to the hotel's residential feel.

Inside the room, the walls were painted with a mixture of four muted tones, producing an effect like that of an "Impressionist wall painting" — an unusual backdrop for the specially commissioned black and white photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe. In addition to a regular closet, each room featured a four-drawer dresser cabinet with full-length lighted wardrobe mirror.

Inside the bathroom, unconventional features include customized stainless steel airplane-like sinks and hospital fixtures, floor-to-ceiling shower doors and partitions in 3/4" glass and poured -in-lace granite floors.

Morgans' duplex penthouse suite is a 19th-floor suite that came complete with its own greenhouse, kitchen, multimedia room with 60" Sony color television, curved staircase and two terraces with city views. Decorated in the same spirit as all Morgans' guest rooms, the suite offered a classic black wood bench by Bertola, and Ecart steel tube and opaline glass coffee tables.