Who is Mr. Neal Prince? Mr. Prince is a trained Architect from Rice University, an Art Historian, Art Collector and a person with a vast passion for Motion Pictures and Theatre History, especially Set Designs. These elements came together to build a foundation to Mr. Prince's skills, which later became recognized as his ability for designing Hotel and Restaurant Interiors. Mr. Prince incorporated his own passions of above, into an International branding philosophy that remains as strong today as it was when he developed his philosophy of Hotel and Restaurant Designs, which is visible today, in Hotels worldwide. But what makes Mr. Prince different? He was a pioneer within this Industry, along with Dale and Pat Keller, of Hong Kong, in designing Hotels in countries that never had an International Hotel presence. Mr. Prince, along with Kenneth Smith (Interior Designer), Charles Alvey (Graphic Designer), Richard Simpson (Graphic Designer), William Embury (Interior Designer), Joe Grusczak (Interior Designer), James Ray Baker (Interior Designer) and Irene D'Alessio (Interior Designer) and many others were the first, to sent the standards for International Hotel Interiors. And what is incredible is that he did not have the grand budgets that most designers have today. Mr. Prince used local talents and products, when available and appropriate, to augment his designs, which, in return, allowed local Artist, Gallery Owners, Merchants and vendors to view InterContinental not as an invader, but as a partner in creating new sources of commence within the local economy. What is even more unique in Mr. Prince being different, was that Mr. Prince has always credited his success, not in the terms of "I", but "WE". Mr. Prince, being from Corsicana, Texas, has always remained modest and respectful and always have contributed his success due to the fact that designing hotels is a "TEAM" effort, from his Departmental Staff to his Professional Associate Designers that he had brought on to do a certain project for the vast inventory of InterContinental Hotel holdings. This website is to bring together the collections, resources, stories and images documenting a period of time, before computers, mobile phones, fax's or video conferencing. This website is to recapture the time when International Hotel Design Industry remained in its infancy before the growth and development into what we have today as multi billion dollar companies. Each Hotel on this website will encompass how Mr. Prince and his Staff and Professional Associates overcame the troubles of designing Hotels, from a historic point of view, to what was necessary to open the Hotels, maintain the Hotels, and what lessons were learned to be applied for the next project.

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Hotel:          

InterContinental Barclay Hotel
       

Architect (Restoration):

Mr. William B. Tabler, Sr. (b. 1914-2004), American

Mr. William B. Tabler, Sr., was an Architect at the head of the movement to design hotels for efficiency, rather than charm, who designed more than 400 hotels in his career, most notably the large hotels for the Inter-Continental Hotel Corporation properties, including, but not limited to:

• El Salvador Inter-Continental Hotel, San Salvador, El Salvador, 1958-1975

• El Ponce InterContinental Hotel, Ponce, Puerto Rico 1960-1975

• Dublin InterContinental Hotel, Dublin, Ireland, 1963-1972

• Cork InterContinental Hotel, Cork, Ireland, 1963-1972

• Limerick InterContinental Hotel, Limerick, Ireland, 1963-1972

• InterContinental Jerusalem Hotel, Jerusalem, 1964-1988

• Karachi InterContinental Hotel, Karachi, Pakistan, 1964-1985

• InterContinental Dacca Hotel, Dacca, Bangladesh, 1966-1983

• InterContinental Lahore Hotel, Lahore, Pakistan, 1967-1985

• InterContinental Rawalpindi Hotel, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, 1967-1985

• InterContinental Lusaka Hotel, Lusaka, Zambia, 1968

• InterContinental Nairobi Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya, 1969

• Rose Hall InterContinental Hotel/Country Club, Montego Bay, Jamaica, 1974-1982

• The InterContinental New York (known as the Barclay Hotel) Hotel (Restoration), New York, New York, USA, 1978-

Mr. Tabler, Sr. was further known for his work with various other corporations, including the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York, the Washington Hilton and the Hilton in San Francisco. He died on February 3rd, 2004 in Upper Brookfield, New York at the age of 89. Mr. Prince worked directly with Mr. Tabler, Sr., and his son, Mr. William B. Tabler, Jr., who remains with the firm and continues the legacy of talents of the highest level of experience that is difficult to find in todays market for Hotel Designers. Mr. Prince, noted many times over that with experience, brings solutions to every problem, and that is why the William B. Tabler  Architecture Firm did to allow the Inter-Continental Hotel Corporation to grow with great speed to what it has become today, the leader in International Hotel Industry.

Mr. William B. Tabler, Jr., American  

Since Mr. William B. Tabler Jr. joining the firm, he has worked closely with the founder, his father, the late William B. Tabler Sr., FAIA on many award-winning projects located throughout the world, including The Hilton Hotel in New York City; The Meridian Hotel in Cairo, Egypt; The Heliopolis Meridian in Cairo, Egypt. He has also served as Project Designer and Project Architect for many projects constructed throughout the United States and overseas. In recent years, Mr. Tabler, Jr. developed an interest in combining a thorough knowledge of preservation with the advantage of modern design techniques in the renovation of many landmark hotels in New York City. Mr. William B. Tabler Jr. earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in 1965; a Masters in Architecture from Texas A&M in 1969 and a Masters in Urban Planning from Texas A&M in 1970. Mr. Tabler, Jr. is a Registered Architect in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa, Rhode Island, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and NCARB. Mr. Tabler, Jr. is the chairman of the planning board at the village of Matinecock, New York.

Lead Interior Designer:

Neal A. Prince, R.A., A.S.I.D, Lead Designer

V.P. of Graphic and Interior Design Department, InterContinental Hotel Group 1960-1985

Lobby -

ca. 1972 

ca. 2017 (renovation)

Location:     

New York, New York, United States (1978)
                 

Rooms:        

767 completely air-conditioned. Located just off Park Avenue, in the center of the city. Close to midtown business, fashionable shops and restaurants.

How does Mr. Prince's identify an outstanding Hotel?

Response: When you arrive at the Hotel, telephone room service and order a club sandwich to be delivered to your room. Once the room service had delivered your requested club sandwich, take a moment to access how it was prepared, what materials they used to create your club sandwich and then taste the sandwich. Mr. Prince firmly believes, from 55 years of travelling around the world that if a Hotel is able to prepare the "simple" club sandwich correctly, then that Hotel is being operated correctly.

Restaurants/Lounges:       

Specialty restaurant, 2 cocktail lounges and the elegant “La Recolte” restaurant for the ultimate gourmet dining experience

La Recolte Restaurant

Charles Alvey Menu Design -

The Gold Room Restaurant (ca.1956):

Example of the old glassware of the Barclay (ca. 1956):

Meeting Facilities:       

6 function rooms accommodating up to 75 people  

Images held by the Collection: