The Plaza, located on the corner of Central Park, is perhaps one of the most popular hotels among filmmakers. Over its 100+ years of existence, the famous New York hotel has appeared in, according to IMDb, a total of 28 films including “North by Northwest” (1959), “Crocodile Dundee” (1986), “Scent of a Woman” (1992), “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993), “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (1992) and “The Great Gatsby” (2013). And that's not even counting the ones where The Plaza is simply mentioned.
Perhaps, most prominently it was featured in the comedy “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York”. Once again fending off his family and accidentally flying to New York, 10-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) effortlessly checks into The Plaza using his father's credit card and settles into one of the finest suites. In the hotel, he encountered Donald Trump and asked where the lobby was. Trump replied, "Down the hall and to the left." Donald Trump was the actual owner of the Plaza Hotel at the time, and allowed filming on the property only if he was given an acting role in the movie.
Scenes were filmed directly at The Plaza in the lobby and in the room where Kevin stayed. However, the pool where he takes a dive, losing his trunks in the process, is located at the Four Seasons in Chicago. Chicago was also the setting for the penthouse scene at the end of the film, where the entire McCallister family is reunited. In reality, it was a suite in a local Hilton hotel.
The Plaza has a rich non-cinematic history. Upon its grand opening in 1907, it established itself as a destination synonymous with celebrities and the wealthy, surpassing even the esteemed Waldorf Astoria in this regard.
Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt was the first guest to inscribe his name in the hotel's register. The Plaza Hotel also boasted an array of affluent residents, including George Jay Gould, Oliver Harriman Jr., and his spouse, Grace Carley Harriman. John Gates, one of the hotel's co-developers, occupied a generous 16-room apartment on the third floor. Harry Frank Guggenheim resided in the hotel's opulent State Apartment. On the same floor, Russian princess Vilma Lwoff-Parlaghy, a distinguished portrait artist of the early 20th century, lived luxuriously with her pet lion in a suite. What drew the affluent to the Plaza was its affordability in comparison to more upscale apartment buildings during the early 20th century, combined with its enviable location facing Central Park, which was a favoured haunt of the wealthy at the time.
Moving into the latter part of the 20th century, the Plaza Hotel became a haven for "wealthy widows," including the likes of entertainer Kay Thompson, renowned for penning the Eloise children's book series centered around a young girl residing in the hotel. During the years of the Great Depression, these "wealthy widows" became something of a tourist attraction in their own right, with their rents ensuring the hotel's financial stability.
The guest rooms have also housed notable personalities, such as opera singer Enrico Caruso, novelists F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzgerald. The Beatles stayed at the Plaza Hotel during their first visit to the United States in February 1964.
