Above the entrance to the W Hotel at 49th and Lexington are four elephant heads—each with a trunk that wraps around a metal flagpole.
Even though they’re grimy and their tusks could use some whitening, they make for a triumphant sight.
Here are more pachyderms in New York City.
The W Hotel went through a bunch of name changes: It used to be the Hotel Montclair, then the Hotel Belmont Plaza—Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin got their start in the Glass Hat club there—and finally the Doral Inn.
Tags: bas relief elephant, Doral Inn Hotel, elephant reliefs on buildings, elephants in New York City, Hotel Belmont Plaza, Hotel Montclair, Lexington Avenue hotels, W Hotel New York City
Ephemeral New York 
February 4, 2021 at 1:59 pm |
I worked at this hotel 1969-71 and walked through the main doorway every day … but I never knew there were elephants guarding the entrance. I should have looked up more often.
July 3, 2022 at 10:46 am |
My previous comments should have stated that the elephant heads originally held awning supports — subsequent alterations reduced the elephants to flagpole support devices.