Author Archives: samuel.oster

Strolling down Lexington Ave. between 53rd and 47th streets, one would be hard-pressed to find an establishment that isn’t a hotel. There’s the Hyatt on 48th, the W on 49th, the prestigious Waldorf Astoria on 50th and what seems like a million other hotels you have seen on a Travelocity commercial. Though on this block of overly advertised temporary domiciles, the one that stands out most is the one you probably have never heard of, Hotel Roger Smith.

With its massive vertically hanging neon-green sign, gold doors, fire engine red carpets and odd figurines guarding the main entrance, the Roger Smith looks less like a hotel and more like the entrance to a medieval art exhibit—which is exactly the point. In addition to its main function as a hotel, the Roger Smith serves as owner James Knowles’ personal display case for his art pieces. When Knowles took over the reigns at the Roger Smith, he insisted the hotel serve as more than just a leisurely retreat. He wanted it to be a cultural retreat as well and thus the Window at 125 was born.

It’s hard to believe, but the Window at 125 actually seems more out of place than the hotel it belongs to. It is literally a 7’x7’ window with an art display behind it being presented to those walking by. By the description of it one would expect to find the Window at 125 nestled on some cobbled street in the Lower West Side of Manhattan. However, it is located on 47th street between 3rd and Lexington avenues, where daily on-lookers usually consist of business clad professionals and Italian tourists. Not the tight jeaned and flannel topped folk you would expect to find around an exhibit like this.

Though the obscurity of its location is what makes the Window at 125 so magnificent. Those who walk by it are almost always in hurry to get to their destination, whether it is their next meeting or the shuttle bus to JFK. Yet in their time of haste, most people walking by stop to look. The Window is like nothing else in their daily routine. For people too busy to even sit down and eat their lunch it is a Window into the beauty of life beyond the cubicle.

Strolling down Lexington Ave. between 53rd and 47th streets, one would be hard-pressed to find an establishment that isn’t a hotel. There’s the Hyatt on 48th, the W on 49th, the prestigious Waldorf Astoria on 50th and what seems like a million other hotels you have seen on a Travelocity commercial. Though on this block of overly advertised temporary domiciles, the one that stands out most is the one you probably have never heard of, Hotel Roger Smith.

With its massive vertically hanging neon-green sign, gold doors, fire engine red carpets and odd figurines guarding the main entrance, the Roger Smith looks less like a hotel and more like the entrance to a medieval art exhibit—which is exactly the point. In addition to its main function as a hotel, the Roger Smith serves as owner James Knowles’ personal display case for his art pieces. When Knowles took over the reigns at the Roger Smith, he insisted the hotel serve as more than just a leisurely retreat. He wanted it to be a cultural retreat as well and thus the Window at 125 was born.

It’s hard to believe, but the Window at 125 actually seems more out of place than the hotel it belongs to. It is literally a 7’x7’ window with an art display behind it being presented to those walking by. By the description of it one would expect to find the Window at 125 nestled on some cobbled street in the Lower West Side of Manhattan. However, it is located on 47th street between 3rd and Lexington avenues, where daily on-lookers usually consist of business clad professionals and Italian tourists. Not the tight jeaned and flannel topped folk you would expect to find around an exhibit like this.

Though the obscurity of its location is what makes the Window at 125 so magnificent. Those who walk by it are almost always in hurry to get to their destination, whether it is their next meeting or the shuttle bus to JFK. Yet in their time of haste, most people walking by stop to look. The Window is like nothing else in their daily routine. For people too busy to even sit down and eat their lunch it is a Window into the beauty of life beyond the cubicle.