A three-story glass penthouse, completed in the 1980s to designs by Stephen B. Jacobs, rises above the original roof and contains the hotel's pool and fitness center.

[6][8] Along the base is a series of triple-height piers made of rusticated blocks, which in turn form an arcade that wraps around both Fifth Avenue and 55th Street.

[8][15] Instead, two revolving doors on 55th Street led to the foyer, a square space with Caen stone walls and columns,[8][19] a brown-and-gold ceiling, and a bronze chandelier.

[22] Modeled after the Doge's Palace in Venice,[22] it was decorated in green and red, with walnut wainscoting, as well as columns supporting a coffered ceiling.

[19] The original rooms included mahogany furniture and brass bed frames; white trim; and carpets and wallpaper in various colors.

[25][26][30] During a 1998 renovation, the rooms were further modified to include electronic control panels near each bed; a desk for computers and telephones; and larger, wheelchair-accessible bathrooms.

[7] In addition, the hotel was redecorated in a gold, cream, and black color scheme, with paintings by Robert Motherwell and Helen Frankenthaler.

[67][68] Although the St. Regis eventually secured a liquor license by moving its entrance,[69][70] the Gotham had no such recourse, as it was much closer to the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church.

[101] Among the Gotham's guests in the early 20th century were composer Victor Herbert, as well as pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski, the latter of whom lived there for sixteen years.

[116] The hotel was also the site of a notable suicide in 1938, when 26-year-old John William Warde jumped from the 17th floor in front of 10,000 spectators;[117][118] the incident inspired the 1951 film Fourteen Hours.

[141] Webb and Knapp completed its acquisition in October 1961 and immediately began contracting to sell the hotel, while continuing to operate it, as part of a leaseback agreement.

[143] A syndicate led by Alvin Greenstein bought the hotel in December 1961 and leased it back to Webb and Knapp for 21 years, with sixteen renewal options.

[154] The hotel also continued to lease space to commercial tenants, including shipping company Italian Line[155] and shoe store Charles Jourdan.

[164][43] Hatt hired Stephen Jacobs to design the renovation, which included rehabilitating the interior and reducing the 330-room hotel to 250 rooms.

[165] The Nova Park Gotham was expected to include multiple restaurants and bars, a nightclub, various meeting rooms, and a business center.

[159] After Nova Park AG gave up the hotel to its lenders, Goldman moved to restructure the ground lease, and he sought a partner to complete the conversion.

Goldman had acceded to the Maxim's agreement by early 1987, on the condition that Cardin not receive any royalty payments unless the hotel made a profit in its first two years.

[185] Even though the hotel had opened after the Black Monday financial crash, the owners hoped to take advantage of a tax break that expired at the end of 1987.

[188][189] As a result, the hotel was placed for sale a few months after it reopened, and several foreign companies expressed interest in buying Maxim's.

[188][35] HSH did not plan to significantly change the Peninsula New York's operations; at the time, the hotel had 250 units and employed 200 workers.

[188][192] HSH officials believed the purchase price was justified by the presence of the ground-floor storefronts facing Fifth Avenue, as well as the three-story health club atop the roof.

[204] Tourism in New York City had stagnated by early 2001,[205][206] but business was even more negatively impacted by the September 11 attacks, prompting the Peninsula's operators to discount the hotel's room rates significantly.

[212][213] Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, and a corresponding downturn in tourism globally, the Peninsula's hotel rooms were temporarily closed in March 2020.

[215][216] In 2024, the hotel's operators began renovating the Peninsula again, with electronic controls and an Art Deco-inspired color scheme in all rooms.

"[168] The New York Times wrote of the 1980s penthouse: "It is as if a French gentleman of the Belle Epoque had crowned his silk top hat with a spaceman's helmet.

[219] After HSH acquired the former Gotham, in 1989, a writer for The Wall Street Journal wrote: "You will check in at a leather-trimmed writing desk and never set eyes on anything so crass as a cash register or a mail slot.

"[195] A writer for The Globe and Mail wrote that the decorations were "Belle Epoque gone trop" but criticized the relatively slow speed of the room service.

[25] The New York Times wrote in 1993 that the hotel's restaurant "offers deep armchairs and rose-tinted banquettes, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Fifth Avenue and an energetic, hospitable staff.

"[222] A reviewer for CN Traveler said the Peninsula's "huge, luxurious guest rooms, a top notch spa and swimming pool, an excellent restaurant (Clement), and one of the best service staffs in NYC make for an exceptional experience".

[225] During the 1980s, preservationists had proposed designating the Gotham as a contributing property to a planned historic district along the midtown section of Fifth Avenue.