The hotels of Disneyland Resort Paris bring a bit of Americana to the Parisian countryside in the form of sophisticated architectural statements. We've previously explored the Disneyland Hotel, at the entrance to the park, with a design somewhat reminiscent of Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World. At the opposite end of Disney Village, though, is a property completely unique to the Paris resort - Hotel New York.
Designed by noted architect Michael Graves, Hotel New York is a loving tribute to the "city that doesn't sleep," complete with abstract skyscrapers and a Rockefeller Plaza-like ice skating rink (and yes, those are Big Apples incorporated into the barrier surrounding the ice in the photo above).
Step inside Hotel New York, and you'll find yourself in a space that is at once classic Art Deco as well as ultra-modern, done in a distinctive Michael Graves style.
The hotel includes quite a few nods to aspects, landmarks and neighborhoods of New York, NY.
For all the reverence shown the Big Apple, Graves also had a bit of fun with his design, like with these nods to New York teams playfully positioned in a face-off at either end of a main corridor on the ground floor of the hotel. Of course, with great restaurants and shops on each side, everyone's a winner in this Subway Series!
There are also some nods to Disney history. This children's area off the main lobby is inspired by the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The skyscrapers and yellow cab seem a natural fit. I guess the designers forgot that movie took place in Los Angeles.
Probably my favorite discovery from wandering the halls of Hotel New York was a set of reproductions of art from the 1939 New York World's Fair. The art complements the Art Deco styling of parts of the hotel, but it also represents a subtle connection to Disney. Walt visited the 1939 fair, where the Trylon and Perisphere and theme of the World of Tomorrow would heavily influence some of his later efforts in theme park and civic design. The 1939 fair was also held at Flushing Meadows, the same location where Walt would return in 1964 with influential exhibits and attractions of his own.
Just found this site. As someone who appreciates the details of themed design, I appreciate you taking the time to put up these great photos & posts. I've bookmarked the site.
ReplyDeleteI don't have very positive view of Graves' Hotel New York from a design standpoint. The French and Europeans have a very mythic view of NYC... they see it as it was in films of the mid-20th C. A hotel New York needed that authentic, cinematic treatment that you find in DisneySea, but on a large scale, and focused on architecture of the 1880s-1930s.
Graves' low-rise, ugly post-modernist take does little justice to the subject (NYC) - looking more like a 1990s Connecticut office park. Huge lost opportunity to get the Europeans excited by a Hotel New York. Bad choice by Eisner to go with a post-modernist like Graves for Hotel New York.
Regardless of my negative opinion of the hotel, your photo quality is great and I will continue to view the site and comment.