Tauber constructed the luxurious Hotel Majestic on the site, retaining Queen Isabella's bathroom accoutrements, including her marble bath, in the Presidential suite.[1][2] Designed by Armand Sibien,[3] construction began in 1906 and the hotel opened in December 1908. The hotel was commandeered for use as a military hospital at the outbreak of World War I in 1914, and served in this capacity for five months. It was damaged during its hospital service, and was not renovated and reopened until 1916. In 1922 it was the site of a famous dinner hosted by Violet and Sydney Schiff and attended by Marcel Proust, Igor Stravinsky and Pablo Picasso. The "dinner party of the century": was immortalised in Richard Davenport-Hines's book, "Proust at the Majestic: The Last Days of the Author Whose Book Changed Paris". The 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad was held at the hotel in 1924. George Gershwin wrote An American in Paris while staying at the hotel in 1928.[4]