By:Chris Munzing
Years ago, however, it was home to performances by Sammy Davis Jr., the Marx Brothers and Barbra Streisand. It was home to a huge swimming pool and a restaurant with a retractable roof for dining under the stars. It was home to extravagant parties, fabulous dining and one of the country's most luxurious hotels.
Lido Beach Towers, formerly known as the Lido Hotel, was completed in 1929, and will celebrate its 75th anniversary on Sept. 6 with a cocktail party open to residents of the building and invited guests. The evening will feature a lecture by Long Beach historian Roberta Fiore on the storied past of the Long Island landmark and the Hughson Hawley 1929 watercolor architectural rendering of the hotel's master plan that hangs in the building's lobby.
The building was constructed next to the original, world-renowned Lido Beach Golf Course and Country Club by Senator William Reynolds. During construction of the mammoth project, Reynolds ran out of money and had to sell his plans for the Chrysler Building in order to support the hotel's completion.
"He had a choice between building his New York City skyscraper or finishing what he'd started in Lido," Fiore said. "And he chose Lido."
"He's the guy who made Long Beach, and this was part of his plan," said Joanne Belli, a nine-year resident of the Towers and a member of its Board of Managers. "The Chrysler Building even had a billboard on it that said, 'Come to Lido Beach.'"
The Lido Hotel was only one-tenth of Reynolds' original plan for a much larger complex, according to Fiore. Reynolds had intended to develop the land east of the hotel into a world-class resort, envisioning Lido as the Venice of America. Unfortunately, the stock market crash of 1929 made that impossible, though beach cabanas and an Olympic-size swimming pool were built where the Town of Hempstead Beach Park at Lido West now sits.
The swimming pool still exists, though it was buried by sand long ago. Fiore said if you dig deep enough in the right spot, you'll hit it.
In the 1930s, the hotel was home to some of New York's most influential social figures. "It was a Gatsby crowd," Fiore said. "It was a crowd that was now allowed to party after Prohibition. It was the ultimate playground of the '30s."
The building is most noted for its cupolas, two dome-like structures on its roof. Belli said that the cupolas and the building have been a landmark to boaters and pilots since its construction.
The hotel has gone through many changes through the years. From 1942 to 1947 it was used by the Navy to house sailors returning from World War II. The traditionally pink hotel was painted gray, which it remains to this day, though Belli said the Board of Managers was hoping to return it to its original color.
In 1972, when it was purchased by Yolanda Fischer for just $1.2 million, the hotel changed from a place where Jews were not welcome to one with a completely kosher kitchen.
Today, the Towers has a swimming pool, a full gym and health club, 24-hour concierge service and a private beach. "It was a magnificent place back then, and it still is a magnificent place," said Stanley Fleishman, a longtime resident. Fleishman was a frequent visitor in his youth, when his parents were members of the Lido Country Club. "It's the best-kept secret on the East Coast," he said. "It's like every day is a vacation."
