US Congressman, Jurist, Hotelier. Elected as a Democrat to represent New York's 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, he served from 1881 to 1883. He built the landmark Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, New York City, New York. An 1878 graduate of Columbia College's law department, he was admitted to the New York State bar that year and set up practice in New York City. His first public office was as a member of the State Assembly (1879). From 1887 to 1896 he was a judge of the New York County Superior Court, and he served as associate justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1896 until his death. Dugro was a longtime power broker in the Democrats' Tammany Hall political machine, and became wealthy through real estate investments. In 1907 he opened the luxurious Hotel Savoy on New York's 5th Avenue, which he owned and lived in for the rest of his life. It became the Plaza Hotel in 1920 and has been depicted in notable fiction ("The Great Gatsby", the "Eloise" books) and films ("North by Northwest", "Home Alone 2"). The Plaza was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
US Congressman, Jurist, Hotelier. Elected as a Democrat to represent New York's 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, he served from 1881 to 1883. He built the landmark Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, New York City, New York. An 1878 graduate of Columbia College's law department, he was admitted to the New York State bar that year and set up practice in New York City. His first public office was as a member of the State Assembly (1879). From 1887 to 1896 he was a judge of the New York County Superior Court, and he served as associate justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1896 until his death. Dugro was a longtime power broker in the Democrats' Tammany Hall political machine, and became wealthy through real estate investments. In 1907 he opened the luxurious Hotel Savoy on New York's 5th Avenue, which he owned and lived in for the rest of his life. It became the Plaza Hotel in 1920 and has been depicted in notable fiction ("The Great Gatsby", the "Eloise" books) and films ("North by Northwest", "Home Alone 2"). The Plaza was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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