Barclay Hotel
Encyclopedia
The Barclay Hotel is located at 237 S. 18th St. on the southeast corner of Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century in central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The park cuts off 19th Street at Walnut Street and also at a half block above Manning Street. Its boundaries are...

 in Philadelphia, PA. Once the most famous hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

 in the city and owned by John McShain
John McShain
John McShain was a highly successful American building contractor known as "The Man Who Built Washington."...

 (1898–1989), it has since been converted to condominiums. The hotel opened in October 1929.

The hotel was the site in 1980 of the FBI's Abscam
Abscam
Abscam was a United States Federal Bureau of Investigation sting operation run from the FBI's Hauppauge, Long Island, office in the late 1970s and early 1980s...

 sting operation, which exposed corruption in government. Federal agents posing as Arab sheikhs rented a suite here, where they solicited the help of local, state and federal officials.

Literary references

The narrator of Nicholson Baker
Nicholson Baker
Nicholson Baker is a contemporary American writer of fiction and non-fiction. As a novelist, he often focuses on minute inspection of his characters' and narrators' stream of consciousness, and has written about such provocative topics as voyeurism and planned assassination...

's novel The Fermata
The Fermata
The Fermata is a 1994 novel by Nicholson Baker. It is about a man named Arno Strine who can stop time, and uses this ability to embark on a series of sexual adventures.-Plot:...

first discovers his ability to "freeze time" while staying at the Barclay Hotel as a child.

Trivia

The Barclay Prime steakhouse opened on the Hotel's street level in 2004 and is famous for serving a $100 Philly Cheesesteak
Cheesesteak
A cheesesteak, also known as a Philadelphia cheesesteak, Philly cheesesteak, cheese steak, or steak and cheese, is a sandwich made from thinly-sliced pieces of steak and melted cheese in a long roll...

 made from Kobe beef
Kobe beef
refers to cuts of beef from the black Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyū cattle, raised according to strict tradition in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The meat is generally considered to be a delicacy, renowned for its flavour, tenderness, and fatty, well-marbled texture. Kobe beef can be prepared as steak,...

.
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