@travelwithnoon: Donald Trump's first hotel is about to vanish from the New York skyline, and the deal that built it cost the city 410 million dollars. In 1976 a nearly bankrupt New York watched the Commodore Hotel, named for Cornelius Vanderbilt, close its doors beside Grand Central. Nobody wanted it except a 29 year old from Queens who had never built anything in Manhattan. He tied up the dying hotel with a 250 thousand dollar down payment, then asked the desperate city for something no commercial property in New York had ever been given, a 40 year tax break. The mayor, an old ally of his father, reportedly said of the Trumps, anything they want, they get. He partnered with Hyatt, wrapped the old brick in mirrored glass, and reopened it in 1980 as the Grand Hyatt. It made him famous, and everything came after. The break has now expired, at a final cost of 410 million dollars. The hotel is coming down, replaced by a tower taller than the Empire State Building. Share this with the one person you know who could pull off a deal like this. Follow for the untold stories behind the world's most iconic places, and save this for the next time you walk past Grand Central. #GrandCentral #CommodoreHotel #GrandHyatt #NYCHistory #HotelHistory

travelwithnoon :

Should the 1919 Commodore have been saved instead of wrapped in mirrored glass? 👇

ShellSpurr :

So he’s been playing the long game in order to scam the city - that tracks 😏

Glil77 :

Half-true, then dressed up. The Hyatt Grand Central is the old Commodore (opened 1919). Trump did not invent it. In the mid-1970s the hotel was dying, Penn Central was bankrupt, and the neighborhood around Grand Central was rotting. Trump + Hyatt bought it, wrapped it in glass, and reopened it in 1980 as the Grand Hyatt. That was his first major Manhattan hotel play. It is not “his first hotel” in the sense the overlay wants you to feel. He sold his stake to Hyatt/Pritzker in 1996. He has not owned that building for 30 years.

MrJoseLBatista1 :

I used to work there for 32 years as a server in the Crystal Fountain Restaurant.. I miss those days.

Apple User957245 :

The art of the deal

Armstrong Real Estate :

Art of the deal

Angellika Global Fashion Model :

travelwithnoon :

The Commodore was never really demolished in 1978. It was gutted to its bare steel frame and re-skinned, so the 1919 hotel has been standing inside that glass box for the last 45 years.

travelwithnoon :

Asked why he pushed for a 40 year tax break rather than something longer, Trump's own answer was: "Because I didn't ask for 50."

Mary-Lynn :

You can skip ALL trump stuff.

GhostRyder :

The mayor was Rudy Giuliani, who harassed the italian community simply because he suspected they were connected to the Mafia

chef :

[Innocent][Innocent][Innocent]