Martin Dressler

The story of Martin Dressler tells the story of a man who wanted nothing more than to live out his fantasy of achieving the "American dream." Through his hard work and perseverance, everything Dressler touches turns to gold. From his humble beginnings as his father's helper, to eventually building his own chain of hotels, it seems that nothing he achieves can fail. With all his success eventually came over excess. Martin's dreams become too much for his own good and eventually lead to the ultimate demise of everything he poured his heart and soul into.

From the time Dressler was a young boy, he was ambitious and eager to achieve. When he was assisting his father in the family cigar shop, he was attentive and eager to please the customers. His first successful business venture was with Charles Stratemeyer, one of the clerks at the Vanderlyn Hotel. Martin proposed the idea that if he hand delivered his favorite cigar, it would save him time when he was on his lunch break. Customers of the store were always impressed by his knowledge of the cigars and his devotion to the store.

His work ethics eventually landed him a job as a bellhop at the Vanderlyn hotel. He would contribute all his time to working at the cigar store and at the hotel. His dedication to his customers was evident in his attention to Mrs. Hamilton. He waited on her hand and foot even though she was impossible to please. He answered to her every call even when it wasn't his turn.

Martin Dressler's attention to his customers is what started his path to his success. He had an eye for what the customer's wants and needs were. Martin's inspirations come from his fascination with the impressive displays showcased at high-end department stores. He would model his father's cigar store the same way the department stores would display their merchandise. When he started work at the Vanderlyn, he drew his attention to the hotel's cigar stand. It irritated him that everything about it was wrong from the choice of cigars to the dullness of the man selling them. He believed that the patrons of the hotel deserved more eloquent concessions. If the business of the hotel was to attract customers, then it was the responsibility of the hotel to offer guests amenities that were upscale.

The beginning of Martin's entrepreneur skills began with him taking over the cigar stand. He fancied it up with elaborate figurines and increased the display space and added things such as cigarette cases lined with silk. He also appealed to the female clientele by advertising cigar sets for woman to purchase for the men in their lives. After this, the amount of female customers tripled and Martin's business venture was a huge success.

Even though the cigar stand was a success, Martin craved for more. He was told by his father that Paradise Muse' was closing. He saw that this was a great opportunity to open his own business, a lunch café. He opened the Metropolitan Lunchroom and Parlor on his twenty-second birthday. It was a huge success on its opening week but Martin made sure it would continue to be a success by having it continually advertised. He believed that if the public constantly saw ads for the café it would intrigue them more and more to eat there.

Martin did not just stop at having one café. He scoured the city all the time looking for empty properties and building his next business there. He eventually built five more cafés and turned them into a chain. His next adventure was conquering the hotel business. Martin was not satisfied with just being the owner of a chain of lunchrooms. He wanted something grander and he knew he was capable of much more than running a few lunchrooms.

The first hotel he took on was the Vanderlyn. He wanted to modernize it by installing telephones; luxury baths with marble, plate glass windows and self-threading sewing machines in drop cabinets. He also wanted to expand the lobby and add more stores such as a beauty parlor and barber shop. While the renovations of the new Vanderlyn were underway, he stopped by different department stores. He was intrigued by the ideas the department stores portrayed. Having a little city where customers had everything they needed and would never have to leave. He was fascinated by the idea of a small city within the borders of the advanced city.

Martin attracted guests on the opening day by releasing ten thousand balloons and having an orchestra play in the lobby of the grand opening of the New Vanderlyn. He feverishly advertised the remodeling of the hotel by having it posted in magazines and newspapers and by having a special brochure he distributed to travel agencies. The grand opening was a success but was again he was not satisfied.

Martin wanted something grander than the Vanderlyn. Once again, he dreamt of something bigger and more opulent. He took his new passion and met with an Austrian architect who helped him achieve his dream of building his own hotel. He opened the Hotel Dressler on his twenty seventh birthday. It was a bold building that was elegantly designed. Dressler advertised it as an attraction for the expanding middle class. It was a way for them to get away from the busy city life and to enjoy it for its leisure. The hotel itself was contradictorty because it offered a retreat away from the city even though it was in the center of downtown Manhattan. Like everything else Dressler built, it was a huge success.

With the success of Dressler, there came on two more endeavors for Martin, the building of the New Dressler and the Grand Cosmo. Each was