Grand Hotels of the Jazz Age:
The Architecture of Schultze & Weaver
Marianne Lamonaca

The Breakers, the Waldorf, the Biltmore, the Sherry, the Pierre—these landmark hotels are synonymous with grand luxury and style. When they were built, in the 1920s, their refined elegance and grandeur set the bar for hotels and resorts the world over. Responsible for creating these and countless other hotels throughout the United States, were the partners of a single architectural firm: Schultze & Weaver. Together, this duo—an architect and an engineer—virtually invented the glamorous lifestyle made famous in films like Grand Hotel. Catering to the social elite of which they were themselves a part, Schultze & Weaver synthesized the Old World style of Renaissance Italy, Moorish Spain, and Georgian England with all of the modern amenities that made hotel living luxurious.

This book presents portfolios of fifteen of the firm's most spectacular hotels, culminating in the Art Moderne masterpiece of the Waldorf-Astoria. Over two hundred period photographs and hand-colored architectural renderings chart the ascent of the American hotel in all its glory and glamour, before the Great Depression forever changed the lifestyles of America's rich and famous. Essays address the cultural and technological developments that underpin the creation of resort and residential hotels, including the elemental role played by Schultze & Weaver.

This book is published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Wolfsonian-Florida International University, Miami, held in celebration of their tenth anniversary.


Marianne Lamonaca is assistant director for exhibitions and curatorial affairs at the Wolfsonian-Florida International University. In addition to organizing a number of important exhibitions, she has contributed scholarly articles to numerous books and journals.
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Editorial Reviews

Nylon:
"A terrific repository of contemporary design, whether you're looking for inspiration for Art Deco-ish luggage tags, period postcards, or, perhaps, your very own wrought-iron blustrade." (Jan 2006)

It's DeLimit, It's Deluxe, Forbes:
"Jazz Age architects Schultze & Weaver ushered in the era of luxury hotels with masterpieces like the Waldorf-Astoria, The Breakers and the Los Angeles Biltmore. Eighty-five years later, their work is getting a second look. . . . Grand Hotels of the Jazz Age brings long-overdue kudos to two men who were instrumental in teaching America's emerging elite how to loaf like Euorpeans." (April 24, 2006)

Traditional Building:
"The photographs and illustrations . . . capture the details, the texture, the ambiance of the architectural spaces. . . . The writing throughout the book is consistently strong and numerous portraits of the era are created." (August 2006)

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