Site overview
The theatrical, U-shaped Ambassador Grill at One UN Plaza Hotel was completed in 1975 and opened in 1976. Located in a windowless room at the rear of the building, it features mirrored walls and a dramatic, vaulted faux skylight, which is backed by illuminated mylar panels. The dining and bar area is divided by angled walls, freestanding walls, serving counters, and several piers. Of particular interest is the glazed ceiling vault that snakes through both areas. The atrium-like reception area, completed in 1983, parallels the entrance along East 44th Street and features a stepped octagonal glass dome and a ramped hallway flanked by free-standing columns of unusual design. Built during an era when relatively few new hotels were constructed in New York City, these nearly intact lavish interiors are a distinctive example of both Late Modern and Postmodern design in the 1970s and 1980s.