Iconic Life magazine HQ in New York to become boutique hotel
An iconic New York landmark building which once served as the headquarters of Life magazine is to open as a boutique hotel next month.
Life Hotel will move into the neoclassical building, which is set in the boho Manhattan neighbourhood of NoMad.
The 98-room property will have a traditional-cum-contemporary style, with iron bedsteads, brass fittings and marble countertops, offset by modern artworks and quirky design features.
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Accommodation categories will range from "Classic Queens" to multi-room suites, featuring amenities such as 60-inch, internet-enabled televisions, bathrooms with rain showerheads, and LATHER bath products.
It will also host the Life Restaurant, which will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner, and will be run by prolific New York restaurateur and founder of B.R. Guest Stephen Hanson.
A post shared by Life Hotel (@lifehotelnewyork) on Mar 20, 2017 at 12:03pm PDT
Dining will be complemented by two bars: one in the lobby, and another serving cocktails in the basement.
Built in 1894, the building was the HQ of the original Life magazine, a humour periodical that morphed into its more famous news and photojournalism iteration after being bought by Time owner Henry Luce in 1936.
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Luce later moved the magazine to 9 Rockefeller Plaza, and the West 31st Street offices were turned into apartments. Of late, the building has been occupied by an unremarkable two-star hotel, The Herald Square.
Now it is to be hoped that the new Life Hotel will breath some fresh vigour into the building, which is considered to be of "outstanding significance" by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission. An opening is slated for late April 2017.
