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Established as Manhattan’s preeminent luxury hotel in 1926, InterContinental New York Barclay is fortunate and honored to soon reach 100 years of service. November 4, 2023 began our three year countdown to a century. To help us celebrate, we’ve launched our “Journey to 100” campaign, encouraging any and all guests who have stayed at The Barclay over the years to share some of their fondest memories.  

How can you participate? Share your memories with us in our digital telegram à-la-1920s below and tell your #MyBarclay story – or, if you’re visiting us, stop by the front desk and request a hard copy telegram to put pen to paper.   

We will collect your stories, treasure them, and select 100 of the most influential submissions to join us in the centennial celebration of InterContinental New York Barclay in 2026. As we receive your uplifting anecdotes, we will be featuring some of them on our page to reminisce and share your tales. 

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David W. Dunlap's account to his fourth-grade class of what he saw at the hotel during a trip he and his mother made to Manhattan from Chicago in 1962. Read full article.

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#MyBarclay Stories

Gerald, London

I used to travel on business from London to New York often and The Barclay was always my hotel of choice. The new renovation is beautiful. They did an amazing job keeping the historic charm, but made it modern and luxury. 

David, Chicago

When I visited the hotel in the1960s with my mother, there was a large birdcage in the lobby with songbirds. The hotel's central revolving door has eight brass warbler silhouettes as a homage. 

Ethan, Ohio

BEST HOTEL IN ALL OF NEW YORK! Now that I am back home, I have spent hours researching New York City’s deep history and looking through countless photos of my trip. I miss the Big Apple every day and my time there was even better thanks to your amazing staff!

Denise, South Carolina

My family and I love coming to The Barclay during the holidays. We have family all across New England and we come together at the hotel for almost four years now. 

"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."

Ernest Hemmingway, Former Barclay Resident 

Book your stay

Relish in the History

As we countdown to The Barclay's 100-year anniversary, this package is perfect for guests to learn a bit more about the hotel's history and glorious past for almost a century. Experience a historic stay with a room upgrade, guided map, book full of our history, Barclay momento & more.

Poem by Michael Rosenwasser

The Barclay

We lingered in the delightfully ornate lobby, on lunchtime escapades one short block from our office on Park Avenue.

We imagined ourselves elegantly sipping everything from champagne to afternoon tea, elaborate fox hunts in the Hamptons, golf at Shinnecock, nights at the opera.

In that lobby dreaming so often, the staff became confidants. Recounters of the vast history of the hotel. While the Petes and Jims and Gerrys toiled back on the third floor of the office at the bank.

Ourselves. Together. Imagining.

Until the ourselves together imagining became a reality.

Lacking fox hunts, or golf at Shinnecock. Just one opera. Fifty years later, still chasing dream upon dream.

Ourselves. Together. Imagining.

Written by Michael Rosenwasser, who revisited The Barclay with his wife Suzanne, in celebration of their 50th Anniversary in June 2023. They were co-workers at Chemical Bank in 1972-73, who were dating and often spent their lunch hours sitting in or wandering around The Barclay lobby.

A Landmark is Born

Midtown East is one of the most important and influential neighborhoods not just in the city, but in the world. Everything changed here in the early 1900s, when the New York Central Railroad — owned by the Vanderbilt family — decided to electrify its rail tracks and place them underground. This sparked a building boom on the streets north of Grand Central Terminal, giving rise to sleek Park Avenue penthouses, gleaming skyscrapers, and some of the most elegant hotels in the world — including InterContinental New York Barclay. Take a look at the timeline below to see how the hotel has evolved over the years.

The Barclay through the years

Scroll through our timeline from the inspection of The Barclay to present day. 

Timeline

2016

Introducing the new InterContinental New York Barclay

Learn More
2026

The Barclay Celebrates 100 Years