The original Algonquin Round Table, steeped in literary fame, is back in NYC

The Algonquin Round Table was a famous literary movement, but it was also an actual round table inside midtown’s Algonquin Hotel. Now, after a six-month restoration, the original round table is back at The Algonquin Hotel, Autograph Collection—and you can go visit it.

More than a century ago, the Algonquin played host to literary juggernauts such as Dorothy Parker, Franklin Adams, Robert Benchley, Edna Ferber, Harold Ross, Robert Sherwood, Alexander Woollcott and more. The group, who called themselves "The Vicious Circle," met for lunch at the hotel's round table. Now once again, the newly refurbished table is playing host to the city's tastemakers. 

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You can find the round table inside the hotel at The Round Table Restaurant. Look for the table (round, of course) with the tall blue booth that curves around it. You can practically envision the literary greats who packed into the seats around it.

Going back to the Roaring Twenties, the sharp-tongued theater critic Dorothy Parker was one of the round table's members. During her time with the round table crew, her fame grew as daily newspapers published her sharp and witty phrases. She wrote for Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Life Magazine, as well as wrote short stories, poems, and screenplays. Another round table acolyte was Harold Ross. He often played poker at the hotel, and with a winning hand, he used the proceeds to finance The New Yorker magazine, becoming its founder and editor. The hotel shares even more stories of the round table members here.

"Throughout history The Algonquin Hotel has been a gathering place for some of the greatest minds in literature and culture," as The Algonquin explains. It was a place "to engage in witty banter, original thought, and community connections."

To celebrate the table’s history, the hotel is welcoming a new era of thought leaders to hold court at the historic spot. Podcasters (including The Rap Dad’s Show and Soberness with Cat Greenleaf) were invited to record at the table, and an energy alchemist even hosted intuitive tarot card readings there. The hotel kicked off the table’s return this fall with a moderated salon titled “Celebrating Fearless Women: A Return to the Round Table.” Keep an eye out for future programming—and it can’t hurt to bring a notebook with you.