Jumeirah Essex House - History

History

Construction began on October 30, 1929, one day after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The hotel was first intended to be named the Park Tower and then the Sevilla Tower. However the Great Depression slowed construction and the hotel did not open until October 1, 1931, as the Essex House. It was built on part of the expansive site of José Francisco de Navarro's "Navarro Flats". built in the 1880s as an experiment in condominium apartments.

The following year, the hotel erected its iconic six-story sign on the roof. It was also taken from its bankrupt owners by the US Government's Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which owned it for the next 15 years. In 1946, the hotel was bought by the Sterling National Bank & Trust Co. They sold the Essex House to Marriott Hotels in 1969, who operated it until 1985 as Marriott's Essex House. Marriott sold the hotel to Japan Air Lines (JAL) in 1985, who ran it under their Nikko Hotels division as Essex House Hotel Nikko New York. Japan Air Lines then sold it to Strategic Hotels & Resorts in 1999, who brought in Starwood Hotels to manage it under their Westin Hotels division as Essex House - A Westin Hotel.

The Dubai Investment Group acquired the hotel from Strategic in 2006 for $424 Million. They put it under their Jumeirah Group as Jumeirah Essex House and undertook a $90 million renovation, overseen by Hirsch Bedner Associates, an Atlanta-based design firm.

In 2012, Strategic Hotels & Resorts re-acquired the hotel from the Dubai Investment Group for $325 Million - $50 Million less than they had sold it for 6 years earlier. The hotel was renamed JW Marriott Essex House New York on September 8, 2012, after the sale closed.

The hotel was formerly the home of a five-star restaurant, Alain Ducasse at Essex House. However, Ducasse closed the restaurant at Essex House in January 2007. In early 2008, South Gate Restaurant and Bar opened in the hotel.