Normandie Hotel
Encyclopedia
The Normandie Hotel is a hotel
located in San Juan, Puerto Rico
. The hotel originally opened on October 10, 1942. Its design was inspired by the ocean liner SS Normandie
. It features the same art deco
design as the ship that inspired it, and the hotel's roof sign is one of the two signs that adorned the top deck of the Normandie but were removed from it during an early refitting. It is a fine example of what came to be known as the Streamline Moderne
architecture style.
The Normandie Hotel was the brainchild of Puerto Rican engineer Félix Benítez
. The engineer met his future wife while on a trip aboard the SS Normandie. As a tribute to his French wife, Moineau, Benítez decided to construct a structure that imitated the lavish settings of the ocean liner. Designed by architect Raúl Reichard (1908-1996), the hotel began construction in 1938. The hotel's exterior was designed to resemble a luxury liner, elongated and curved in front, with portal-shape windows and lights. Inside, the hotel features art deco design, complete with Roman
, Egypt
ian, and French
details, high ceilings, and corridors looking down into a central skylighted atrium
. Designers and artists from the Dominican Republic
, France
, Spain
, and Puerto Rico all contributed to the hotel's overall construction and when it opened on October 10, 1942 it became an instant sensation among the island's social elite. Completed at a cost of more than US$2,000,000, the hotel catered to many major Hollywood and Latin American film stars such as Cantinflas
, Libertad Lamarque
and Jorge Negrete
. The hotel also served as a performing arts venue for many of Puerto Rico's top entertainers such as Ruth Fernández
, Myrta Silva
, Sylvia Rexach
, and Carmen Delia Dipini
. After being closed and abandoned in the 1960s, the hotel was restored in the early 1990s after it underwent massive renovations due to heavy damage caused by Hurricane Georges
in 1998. After fixing the damages, the hotel continued operations until 2004 when it underwent an interior renovation.
In early 2005, the 173-room hotel reopened after its refurbishing. It's presently closed while it undergoes an extensive renovation.
The Normandie Hotel has been declared a national historic site was added to the National Register of Historic Places
by the U.S. Interior Department's Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service
on August 29, 1980.
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...
located in San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
. The hotel originally opened on October 10, 1942. Its design was inspired by the ocean liner SS Normandie
SS Normandie
SS Normandie was an ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat; she is still the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled passenger ship ever built.Her novel...
. It features the same art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
design as the ship that inspired it, and the hotel's roof sign is one of the two signs that adorned the top deck of the Normandie but were removed from it during an early refitting. It is a fine example of what came to be known as the Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone or as Art Moderne, was a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s...
architecture style.
The Normandie Hotel was the brainchild of Puerto Rican engineer Félix Benítez
Félix Benítez
Félix Benítez Rexach was the Puerto Rican engineer who designed the Normandie Hotel, located in San Juan, Puerto Rico....
. The engineer met his future wife while on a trip aboard the SS Normandie. As a tribute to his French wife, Moineau, Benítez decided to construct a structure that imitated the lavish settings of the ocean liner. Designed by architect Raúl Reichard (1908-1996), the hotel began construction in 1938. The hotel's exterior was designed to resemble a luxury liner, elongated and curved in front, with portal-shape windows and lights. Inside, the hotel features art deco design, complete with Roman
Roman architecture
Ancient Roman architecture adopted certain aspects of Ancient Greek architecture, creating a new architectural style. The Romans were indebted to their Etruscan neighbors and forefathers who supplied them with a wealth of knowledge essential for future architectural solutions, such as hydraulics...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian, and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
details, high ceilings, and corridors looking down into a central skylighted atrium
Atrium (architecture)
In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...
. Designers and artists from the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and Puerto Rico all contributed to the hotel's overall construction and when it opened on October 10, 1942 it became an instant sensation among the island's social elite. Completed at a cost of more than US$2,000,000, the hotel catered to many major Hollywood and Latin American film stars such as Cantinflas
Cantinflas
Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes , was a Mexican comic film actor, producer, and screenwriter known professionally as Cantinflas. He often portrayed impoverished campesinos or a peasant of pelado origin...
, Libertad Lamarque
Libertad Lamarque
Libertad Lamarque was an Argentine-Mexican actress and singer. Originally from Argentina, she reached fame throughout Latin America while living in Mexico and working in Mexican cinema.-Career:...
and Jorge Negrete
Jorge Negrete
Jorge Alberto Negrete Moreno is considered one of the most popular Mexican singers and actors of all time....
. The hotel also served as a performing arts venue for many of Puerto Rico's top entertainers such as Ruth Fernández
Ruth Fernández
Ruth Fernández, a.k.a. Titi Ruth , is a Puerto Rican singer and former member of the Puerto Rican Senate. According to the "Comisiones Nacionales para la Celebración del Quinto Centenario" is said to be one of three artists whose contributions have helped unite Latin America...
, Myrta Silva
Myrta Silva
Myrta Silva was a Puerto Rican singer, composer and television producer. She was known affectionately as "La Gorda De Oro".-Early years:...
, Sylvia Rexach
Sylvia Rexach
Sylvia Rexach , was a comedy scriptwriter, poet, singer and composer of boleros .-Early years:Rexach was born and raised in Santurce, Puerto Rico. There she attended public school and received her primary education...
, and Carmen Delia Dipini
Carmen Delia Dipini
Carmen Delia Dipini , was a singer of boleros.-Early years:Born in Naguabo, Puerto Rico, Dipini often entertained her family and friends as a child with her singing. She attended the Eugenio Brac Elementary School where one of the teachers, Mrs...
. After being closed and abandoned in the 1960s, the hotel was restored in the early 1990s after it underwent massive renovations due to heavy damage caused by Hurricane Georges
Hurricane Georges
Hurricane Georges was a very destructive, powerful and long-lived Cape Verde-type Category 4 hurricane. Georges was the seventh tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season...
in 1998. After fixing the damages, the hotel continued operations until 2004 when it underwent an interior renovation.
In early 2005, the 173-room hotel reopened after its refurbishing. It's presently closed while it undergoes an extensive renovation.
The Normandie Hotel has been declared a national historic site was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
by the U.S. Interior Department's Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service
Heritage Conservation and Recreation Services
The Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service was an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which subsumed its functions from the National Park Service and Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. It was created by the Carter administration in 1977...
on August 29, 1980.
Popular culture
- The music video for singer SadeSade AduHelen Folasade Adu OBE , is a British singer-songwriter, composer, and record producer. She first achieved success in the 1980s as the frontwoman and lead vocalist of the Brit and Grammy Award winning English group Sade.-Biography:Sade was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria...
's song King of SorrowKing of Sorrow"King of Sorrow" is the second single from the English group Sade's fifth studio album, Lovers Rock .-Music video:The music video, directed by Sophie Muller, was filmed at and around the Normandie Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, one of the world's most famous examples of Art Deco architecture...
(from her Lovers RockLovers Rock (album)Lovers Rock is the fifth studio album by English band Sade, released on 14 November 2000 by Epic Records. The album reached number 18 on the UK Albums Chart and number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. It has since been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America,...
album) was filmed in and around the hotel by director Sophie MullerSophie MullerSophie Muller is a British music video director, noted for her long-time collaborations with artists like Sophie Ellis-Bextor, No Doubt, Sade, Shakira, Shakespears Sister, Garbage, Blur, Annie Lennox and Eurythmics.-Background:...
. - The hotel served as a locale for one of the four stories that helped compose the storyline for the 2001 film 12 Horas12 Horas12 Horas is a 2001 Puerto Rican movie. It was written and directed by Raúl Marchand Sánchez, and marked his both his screenwriting and directorial debut....
directed by Puerto Rican director Raúl Marchand Sánchez.