It Was the Happiest Address in New York. Then Its Builder Was Found in a BATHTUB: The Plaza

Found in a BATHTUB. Called the Mona Lisa. Offered for Sale From a JAIL CELL: The Plaza Hotel Officially, the Plaza is the happiest address in New York. Eloise lived on its top floor. The Beatles waved from its windows. Truman Capote threw the party of the century in its ballroom. But the people who owned it tell a different story. It cost twelve and a half million dollars to build in 1907. During the war, Conrad Hilton bought it for about seven. In 1988 a buyer published a full-page letter in The New York Times calling it his Mona Lisa and admitting he could never justify the price he paid. Four years later it was in bankruptcy court. In 2014 another owner was allowed to use a conference room inside Tihar Jail in Delhi to try to sell it and raise his bail. And in January 2027 the doors close for at least four years. The man who built it is almost forgotten. His name was Harry Black. Six days before the crash of 1929, he was found in a bathtub in one of the Plaza's suites. Chapters: 00:00 — The happiest address in New York 02:36 — ACT I — THE RISE 06:19 — ACT II — THE FACADE 10:59 — ACT III — THE MONA LISA 17:00 — ACT IV — THE RECKONING 22:50 — ACT V — THE AFTERMATH Source Material Visual material used in this production is obtained from publicly accessible archives, including Wikimedia Commons and Europeana. Copyright & Fair Use Notice This channel incorporates copyrighted material under the principles of Fair Use as recognized by U.S. law. Under Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act, certain uses of copyrighted works such as for analysis, commentary, educational purposes, research, and reporting are permitted without prior authorization from the copyright holder. Sources Plaza Hotel, Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaza_H... Harry Black: from bootlegging liquor to building skyscrapers, The Real Deal — https://therealdeal.com/magazine/new-... The Long and Winding Ownership History of the Plaza Hotel, Commercial Observer — https://commercialobserver.com/2018/0... Plaza Hotel files for bankruptcy protection under Trump plan, UPI, 1992 — https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/11/... Selling the Plaza Hotel, From an Indian Jail Cell, Bloomberg — https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl... #documentary #history #PlazaHotel #NewYork