The Barbizon today.

Update: On April 18, 2012, the Barbizon became an official New York City landmark — number 127 — following a decision by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

New York boasts no shortage of thriving historic hotels, from the Pierre and the Algonquin to the Waldorf=Astoria. But the casualties on the ghost list can be almost as noteworthy, even on occasion, newsworthy.

Consider the fabled Barbizon Hotel for Women. An up-market version of the Footlights Club in Stage Door, the city’s premiere single-sex hotel flourished through the mid 20^th century as the ultimate career girl sorority house where anxious parents parked white-gloved daughters aspiring to be models, actresses, writers and secretaries.

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