The Barbizon Hotel was built in 1927 for use as a residential hotel for women. Men were not permitted above the ground floor lobby. (Men were admitted as guests in the 1980s.) The hotel featured sound proof rooms for those wanting to practice music and art. The book had several stories about famous female guests, which I found extremely interesting. Grace Kelly used to dance around topless in the hallways, which is certainly before her princess days. Sylvia Plath, whose work I adore, spent time here. Molly Brown lived here after she survived the sinking of the TITANIC. The Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School had three out of the twenty three floors for their own personal use, helping women develop "respectable" skills. A few other famous tenets were Lauren Bacall, Rita Hayworth, and Nancy Reagan.

Ownership changed a couple of times, remodeled, and repurposed. The hotel was renamed Melrose, and renamed again to Barbizon 63. It was refitted for use as condominiums, though several female residents remained under their original leases due to a rent control situation. The indoor pool is used by a fitness club, and the building itself is on the National Register of Historic Places and the New York City Landmarks list. This book was really interesting, beyond the celebrity stories. I love a historical building. A lot of times, people just think of historical buildings in terms of the age of the building. They often overlook the purposes of the building throughout generations, the residents, important events that occurred in them, and even the architects/architectural style. I love visiting places like this and learning about the history. As I am not going to be in New York anytime in the near future, this was a great way to visit a famous location. The book was well written and packed full of facts and stories. I really enjoyed this book.