The medal's obverse bears view of Hotel Commodore in New York City. In exergue, HOTEL / COMMODORE / NEW YORK CITY
The reverse depicts an open door flanked by shrubbery. In exergue a quote by Emerson, "Happy is the house / that shelters a friend" / Emerson
The Commodore Hotel s located directly east of the Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It opened on January 28, 1919.
Herbert R. Stone, of the New York State Realty and Terminal Company, oversaw the decor of its 2,000 rooms. The lobby, called the "Most Beautiful Lobby in The World," was the single largest room in the hotel, with modern low ceilings and a waterfall designed by John B. Smeraldi. A group of conventioneers once told Bowman that "New York City was like a circus," so the next day Bowman, ever a showman, arranged to place a circus, complete with elephants, in the grand ballroom. Another popular spot was the Century Room, which boasted its own orchestra.
On May 11, 1977, the now-bankrupt railroad's asset manager, Victor Palmieri, told the city that the Commodore had lost $1.5 million in 1976 and might have to be shuttered. At that point, the Trump Organization, partnered with the Hyatt Corporation, bought the Commodore.
At a cost of $100 million, Donald Trump gutted and renovated the building. On September 25, 1980 the hotel reopened as the Grand Hyatt Hotel New York. The Trump-Hyatt partnership would last for another 13 years before it ended in legal suits and countersuits. In 1996 the Pritzker family finally bought the Trump share for $146 million.
The circular medal measures 76.2mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.
References: MACo 1950-017