Hotel Location (1923)
When a Tokyo old-timer recalls the Imperial Hotel (Teikoku Hoteru), they are, no doubt, referring to the luxury establishment that welcomed dignitaries and well-heeled visitors to Tokyo between 1923-1968, and which was known for two things: it famously survived the Great Kanto Earthquake only months after opening for business in June, 1923, and it was the most famous of four buildings in Japan designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright1. Under construction from 1915 to 1923, and made largely of volcanic stone and ferro-concrete, the Wright-designed Imperial Hotel enjoyed a 45-year reign as Tokyo's premiere hotel. So highly-regarded was the hotel that it was used after World War II (which it survived unscathed), during the Occupation of Japan, as billeting for none but the most senior SCAP and Allied military personnel.
(Above:) The Imperial Hotel. A ca. 1923 street view of the Imperial Hotel. The strong horizontal lines and low imprint of the design are familiar to even the most casual follower of Wright architecture, and his Imperial Hotel is still widely regarded as one of Wright's most charismatic projects.
(Above:) Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan. The main entrance of the Imperial Hotel. The shift in elevation, seen here looking from the outdoor curbside in, and the broad, elegant steps Wright designed for the entry created a wide Modernist promenade through which the hotel's habitue could see and be seen.
(Above:) Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan. While Wright's "Prairie School" architectural style was said to be heavily influenced by Japanese design, he also was influenced by Mayan architecture and combined the two styles together in his rendering of the hotel. As with his many other projects, Wright was also intimately involved with the design of the hotel's furnishings.
(Above:) Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan. An early view of "Peacock Alley," so-named for the manner in which the hotel's prosperous guests, visitors, and local cognoscenti would sashay in their finery through the lobby area as if peacocks on parade.
(Above:) Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan. Hardly any area of the hotel was not boldly embellished by Wright's vision of modern grandeur and sophistication. This is the rear entrance to the Imperial Hotel.
(Above:) Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan. A view of one of the hotel's inner courtyards. Lacking the natural surroundings in the city Wright was used to working with, the layout nonetheless incorporated into it Wright's philosophy of organic architecture, a principal that would be widely copied by other hotel architects around the world in the coming decades. The green space provided a perfect palate to which the simplicity of the Japanese garden could be easily and artfully applied, and enjoyed indoors or out no matter what the weather.