Photographer Page

Sara Krulwich

Women in the lobby of the Barbizon Hotel in 1977. With the expansion of women's rights and legalised contraception, women's hotels fell out of favour in the 1970s. The Barbizon began taking male guests in 1981 and was converted to condominiums in 2006.

The Barbizon Hotel in New York City, with residents including Grace Kelly and Sylvia Plath, symbolized a more glamorous era of post-war women’s hotels. To live at the Barbizon, “you had to look young, eager, and attractive—and white,” says Paulina Bren, the author of a recent book on the hotel.

The three Schuyler sisters featured in the musical—Eliza, Angelica, and Peggy respectively played left to right by Phillipa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry, and Jasmine Cephas—had five other siblings, including three brothers who were purposefully omitted from the show.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator and star of “Hamilton,” stands center with the original ensemble cast on Broadway in 2015. Miranda wrote the play after reading an 818-page biography on the Founding Father and featured only a handful of characters in the two hour and 55 minute show.