The magnificent fence and gate referenced by maxvar surrounded the townhome of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, whose house occupied the entire west side of Fifth Avenue from 57th to 58th streets. It was razed in 1926 to make way for the Bergdorf Goodman building. I'm not going to swear to it, but I believe the gate may have been saved and is somewhere in Central Park. Someone more knowledgeable can correct me if I'm wrong.

[Scroll down. Did you read all of Maxvar's comment? - Dave]

[Addendum: I think the update to his comment was posted after I submitted mine. But it is good news. Too much from that era has been lost. -A/O]

My company sent us for a meeting in New York City around 1970. I saw the above play and we stayed at the Plaza.

A masterpiece of wrought iron railing, a work of craftsmanship that has now disappeared.

[Actually it just moved, to the 105th Street entrance to Central Park. - Dave]

"Look, Henry. Here's one of those obnoxious gas buggies intruding on our peaceful, poetic, Currier & Ives scene."

"Don't worry about it, Maud. Those machines will never catch on. Here today, gone tomorrow, I promise you!"

One type of horsepower leaving the scene, the future of horsepower entering stage left.

I never knew anything about this hotel, but had to attend a seminar there for work, back in the 1990s. A now famous person (work associate ... don't ask) couldn't believe I was going to stay there; he filled me in about why it was such a historic place. He asked me to bring back a souvenir for him.

Indeed, it was a visual treat to behold when I stepped inside the building for the first time. Elegance everywhere I looked. The Palms restaurant was such a splendor to behold. Chandeliers everywhere.

But the room? Whoa, talk about disappointing. I must have been assigned the worst room in the place ... small, dark, a window that displayed a brick wall. The room required artificial lighting all hours of the day; the bulbs were very low wattage, so it remained dingy even with all the lights on. One redeeming quality was the fresh odor of the room: It was the most delightful scent. And the service was exceptional -- at night, they turned down the bed and left a chocolate on the pillow. Aside from the dinky room, everything else was top notch, including the food.

I can't remember the total bill for the stay, but it was extraordinary ... and paid for by my company.

The souvenir I brought back for my friend? Somebody in another room had placed their food try outside the door, and their spoon called out to me -- so I nabbed it. It was just stainless steel, but it had the Plaza logo on it. My friend was delighted to receive it.