The hotel's construction was first disclosed on November 3, 1972, as a $75-million, 2,000-room project to be developed by Western International Hotels and architect/developer John Portman. The project was officially announced on July 11, 1973 by Mayor John Lindsay and Portman. Construction was set to begin in 1974, with the hotel set to open in 1977. The project was postponed after a fiscal crisis in 1975, before it was restarted under Mayor Ed Koch. Five historic theaters—the original Helen Hayes, Morosco, Bijou, and the remnants of the Astor and Gaiety—needed to be demolished to clear the site. Protesters, including actor Christopher Reeve and impresario Joseph Papp, tried to stop the destruction, even forcing a Supreme Court challenge. By the time construction began, years later, original operators Westin had dropped out due to the delay and Marriott built the hotel in a joint partnership with Portman's development company. The hotel opened on September 3, 1985. As a partial replacement for the demolished theaters, the Marquis Theatre was built as part of the approval for the building of the hotel. It is located within the hotel on the third floor. The Marriott was the first major project in the Times Square revitalization, and has been credited as the starting point for the regeneration of Times Square. The hotel is famous for its atrium lobby, rising 48 stories to "The View", New York's only rooftop revolving restaurant and lounge. The View is one of the highest restaurant in New York City behind others such as Manhatta on the 60th floor of 28 Liberty Street and the Rainbow Room on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. With 1,966 rooms and over of meeting space, it is the second largest hotel in the city, surpassed only by the New York Hilton Midtown. The Marriott Marquis high-tech elevator system, supplied by Schindler, is famous in its own right for being one of the earliest installations of destination dispatch, which reduces travel time and improves efficiency by assigning passengers to elevator cars according to their destination floors.
