Mad Men Tour of Midtown Manhattan

1. Hotel Pennsylvania

New York, NY

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Pennsylvania 6-5000 is not just the name of an iconic Glenn Miller song, but also the former phone number of the Hotel Pennsylvania. Obviously, both the Hotel Pennsylvania and Penn Station across Seventh Avenue are both located far from the state of Pennsylvania, but the Pennsylvania Railroad Company did name Penn Station after themselves, making the state name synonymous with this area. The number Pennsylvania 6-5000 originated in the days of telephone exchange names, which ended over half a century ago. However, this hotel has held onto part of its iconic number, which is now 212-736-5000. Like the original Penn Station, the McKim Mead and White designed Hotel Pennsylvania was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the early 1900s, and opened across the street from the old beaux arts train station in 1919. During the first half of the 20th century, the Hotel Pennsylvania's Caf�© Rouge hosted numerous performances from big bands led by musicians like Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller. The residency of Miller's band here in the early 1940s inspired the jazz standard "Pennsylvania 6-5000." While the Hotel Pennsylvania now bears its original name, the hotel went though several changes of ownership, and several name changes, throughout its history. In 1948 the Hotel Pennsylvania became the Hotel Statler after its purchase by the Buffalo-based Statler Hotels. Conrad Hilton purchased all of Statler's properties in the 50s, and for several decades the hotel was the Statler Hilton. It was the Statler Hilton when "the Muppet Show" premiered in 1976 and the characters of Statler and Waldorf, named after two of New York's most famous hotels, made their debut. It was also known as the Statler Hilton in 1966 when the season five "Mad Men" episode "Lady Lazarus" takes place. In this episode, Pete tells his neighbor Beth Dawes to meet him at the Hotel Pennsylvania, its original name. As much as "Mad Men" has strived for authenticity, there have been a few mistakes, mostly in the form of anachronistic dialog. In this case, Pete refers to the hotel by a name that had not been the official name for years. It is unclear whether or not this is actually a mistake. Even though the city is constantly changing, New Yorkers are often surprisingly averse to change -- and Pete Campbell is nothing if not an inveterate New Yorker. Refusing to acknowledge the new name of a city institution, even after many years, does not seem out of character. If Pete lived to see 1992, he would have been glad to see the Hotel Pennsylvania revert back to its original name -- which it still has today. [Photo credit: Wikipedia/Public domain]