October 7, 1906

Though the hotel’s opening was still a year off, The Plaza’s facade was almost fully in place by October 1906 (here). Behind-the-scenes activities, meanwhile, continued at an equally rapid clip. Fred Sterry was dispatched to Europe on a massive buying trip, where he purchased Irish linen, French crystal, and Swiss lace curtains. “Building a house like this is much like making a woman’s dress,” he said in an interview. “Everything is specially made and specially suited for a purpose. I will venture to say there is not one stock thing in the decorations [for The Plaza]. Even the border on the mosaic floor was designed for this room, and that open circle in the bronze work was made for a clock, in turn made for that particular space, and so on with the carpets, furniture and tapestries. Quite different from the old style of opening an inn!” Quite different, indeed. Few inns boasted furniture from the Pooley Company of Philadelphia, china from L. Straus and Sons, and carpets from W. J. Sloan. Moreover, the cachet of outfitting The Plaza was not lost on its suppliers. The Pooley Company, for one, prominently featured the hotel’s name in its advertising (here).

While the building had come a long way, so had the sign painters’ art, with bills for a trade show, a theater, cigarettes, soap, cordials, and catsup adorning the base of the building. This would not be the last time The Plaza would serve as a backdrop for advertising promotion.