The Home of Dreamers

On Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street sits an elegant building, a mixture of Italian Rennaissance and Late Gothic Revival architecture that, today, is expensive high-rise condominiums but, once upon a time, was a place that housed dreamers.

The dreamers were women, most newly arrived transplants to NYC, who had come to pursue careers in the city. And the place they stayed on 63rd and Lex was called the Barbizon Hotel.

This hotel was more than just a place to stay. It was a community of aspiring actresses, models, dancers, and professionals of all stripes. Built in 1927, the Barbizon's glory days were in the immediate post-World War II years when a plethora of future big names would check-in on their journeys to greatness.

Part of the hotel's allure was its strict rules -- no men, no booze, curfews. Is enforced discipline and protected these ladies who had come to the city to start new lives. It helped them to avoid the temptations and distractions and diversions that could thwart their professional paths. And it provided a sisterhood, a sorority of support for these young ladies, many of whom didn't know any one else in town.

Some of the people who stayed at the Barbizon back in the day: Lauren Bacall, Ali McGraw, Grace Kelly, Joan Didion, Liza Minnelli, Sylvia Plath, Elaine Stritch, Cloris Leachman, Joan Crawford, even Nancy Reagan! 

The Barbizon is the subject of a new book that examines its place in the culture of America and NYC. And its history and lore is a reminder that, once upon a time, the people who make and define our culture were just a bunch of dreamers like the rest of us.