Another one bites the dust

New York's Plaza Hotel is going condo. You may wonder why LAGuy cares, but the Plaza is America's hotel, not New York's. Located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South, it's been in so many movies, TV shows and stories that it's sad to see it go the way of other New York landmarks.

This is where Eloise lived. This is where Cary Grant was kidnapped. This is where Arthur brought a hooker. Neil Simon thought so much of it he set one of his best-known plays there.

Its real-life story was just as exciting. The Plaza hosted royalty, heads of state, celebrities and a whole lot of rich people. Their greatest coup--probably unwanted--was when they housed The Beatles in 1964 while they were in town to play Ed Sullivan. Thousands of teenage girls gathered outside, screaming every time they imagined they saw a moptop.

I once stayed there. The first time I visited New York on my own, a friend and I rented a room. We weren't rich or famous--my friend had worked at a Plaza-affiliated hotel and we got a huge discount. Still, the room service nearly broke us.

So I'm glad I played at least a small part in its tradition. (Now when I visit the city, I stay where it's cheap--Jersey.) I wonder if we stayed in the same room as John, Paul, George or Ringo. Even Brain Epstein would do. I doubt it. We had the view of an alley.