History and architecture
Admired for its unusual shape, color, and stainless steel sign, the Summit Hotel is an important work by Morris Lapidus. Begun in 1959, it was the first hotel built in Manhattan in three decades and the architect’s first hotel in New York City. Lapidus was especially proud of this building and reproduced an image of the Summit on the cover of his autobiography, The Architecture of Joy, published in 1979. Trained at Columbia University, he enjoyed considerable success as a retail designer in the 1930s.
After the Second World War, Lapidus began to design hotels, including the celebrated Fontainbleau and Eden Roc in Miami Beach. These accomplishments led to his association with the Tisch family, who commissioned the Americana Hotel in Bal Harbour, Florida, in 1956. After acquiring a controlling interest in Loew’s Theaters, they commissioned the Summit, which adapts many of the devices Lapidus perfected in Florida to a challenging, constricted site at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 51st Street.
Built in reinforced concrete, a material favored for its sculptural potential, the curving north and south elevations are clad in light green glazed brick and dark green mosaic tile manufactured in Italy. The top three stories, built as penthouse suites, are faced in green structural glass. To further distinguish the building from its neighbors, the door handles were inlaid with colorful mosaics and the base along East 51st Street is illuminated by globe-shaped lighting fixtures.
On Lexington Avenue, he designed a striking illuminated sign. Consisting of seven disks hung between stainless steel pins, this unique element enhanced the hotel’s street presence, making it visible from a distance. Other distinctive features include a pair of neon signs that direct drivers to the parking garage and a stainless steel ash tray that serves cigarette smokers descending into the subway. The hotel opened in August 1961, generating considerable media attention.
Some writers greeted the new hotel with disappointment or amusement, while others viewed it as a disharmonious addition to the streetscape. In subsequent years, however, the hotel attracted an increasing number of admirers and aside from alterations to the Lexington Avenue entrance, this flamboyant modern structure retains much of its original character.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.