The Knickerbocker Hotel was originally the project of J.E.
and A.L. Pennock in 1903, but due to financial difficulties, the project was
surrendered to John Jacob Astor IV in 1904.&nbsp;Astor was a descendent of an immigrant of modest means who arrived in the United States in 1783. A successful fur trader, Astor invested his wealth by buying land in New York City prior to the growth of the city.&nbsp;Under the guidance of the Astor family, the building was redesigned shortly after opening. The family invested heavily in the property, redesigning the&nbsp;interior and adding&nbsp;a three-story restaurant and bar which was able to hold
2,000 patrons. When the Knickerbocker Hotel opened on October 23, 1906, it
immediately became a popular spot among the New York City social scene. The bar
and restaurant were almost always hugely active, especially being so close to
the downtown area. However, with the death of Astor IV on the Titanic and the
advent of prohibition, the Knickerbocker began to suffer financially. Instead
of keeping the Hotel alive, Astor’s son Vincent Astor decided to convert the
Hotel for use as offices.

From 1921, the Knickerbocker Hotel building was used as
various office spaces and was renamed the Newsweek Building from 1940 to 1959
after the eponymous magazine made the building its home. From then until the
early 2000s, the building switched hands numerous times, until it was sold in
2006 to a hotel firm planning to revitalize the building. However, the plan
fell through, and the building was surrendered in 2010 with little progress made.
The building was purchased a final time in 2012 by FelCor Lodging Trust, who
began a renovation project on the Hotel. In February of 2015, the Knickerbocker
Hotel reopened under its old name, and once again offers lavish accommodations
as it did in its glory days.

The Knickerbocker Hotel during its period of restoration in 2012.

The official website for the Knickerbocker Hotel.

Website

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John Jacob Astor: Business and Finance in the Early Republic, by John Denis Haeger

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This iconic hotel New York was acquired by businessman John Jacob Astor IV in 1904 and opened two years later. The influential hotel owner saw the building's potential to provide luxurious hotel accommodations in New York City and acquired the building from a pair of businessmen who launched the hotel's construction in 1903 but soon ran into liquidity issues. Astor's wealth and fame brought success to the hotel in the early 1900s. However, the management of the Knickerbocker found themselves saddled with growing expenses in trying to maintain the grand hotel following the onset of prohibition just fifteen years after the ambitious hotel opened. the building served as the home for many offices and retailers until 2015 when the restored building reopened as a historically-themed luxury hotel. The hotel emphasizes its history and seeks to recreate the luxury and grandeur envisioned by its founder. 

The Knickerbocker Hotel

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Take a tour of famous New York City hotels, from The Plaza Hotel which is associated with many pop culture films and events, to The Hotel Chelsea home of one of rock and rolls most famous deaths. Take a walk, talk the subway, or take a taxi, but don't miss out on all the history these temporary lodgings have to offer.

Arnold Rothstein was murdered in this hotel in 1928, nine years after he allegedly "fixed" the 1919 World Series. Rothstein was born in 1882 and from a young age, he Rothstein demonstrated skill as a gambler. By the time he was 20, Rothstein was operating his own casino and quickly cultivated a reputation for being cunning and manipulative which earned him many names like "the Brain," "Mr. Big," and "Big Bankroll." In addition to his gambling, Rothstein was also heavily involved and influential in racketeering and selling liquor during prohibition. His techniques were followed after his death by some of the largest crime syndicates of the 1930s. Arnold Rothstein's proclivities often involved gambling and crime. For example, he purchased and operated a horse track in Maryland where he was suspected of rigging the races. Rothstein denied these allegations, but few believed him, especially after his involvement with the infamous World Series of 1919. Five White Sox players were found guilty of throwing the game to the Cincinnati Reds and two of those men were indicted for their involvement. Rothstein is considered to be the mastermind behind the operation and he won approximately $350,000 for betting against the heavily-favored White Sox. Rothstein was indicted for his involvement but never convicted of any crime relating to the incident.  Rothstein was killed inside one of the hotel's suites in 1928. The same fate befell Albert Anastasia, a founding member of the Gambino crime family. In 1957, Anastasio was shot dead in the Park Central's barbershop. Both men turned to organized crime at a young age, and both wound up dead in similar fashion in the same place. Rothstein was one of the original "big men" in the organized crime profession, and his death occurred just one year after the illustrious hotel opened.The hotel was also home to leaders who fought for human and civil rights. Eleanor Roosevelt lived in one of the hotel suites from 1950 to 1953, a time in which the widowed First Lady helped shape the United Nations Committee on Human Rights. On September 12, 1962, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech commemorating the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. In that speech, King challenged the prevailing view among many whites that the United States had become a place of racial equality. "If we look at our history with honesty and clarity we will be forced to admit that our Federal form of government has been, from the day of its birth, weakened in its integrity, confused and confounded in its direction, by the unresolved race question," King exclaimed. The only known audio recording of that speech is linked below.

This historic New York hotel opened in 1927 and was operated by the Sheraton corporation from 1948 to 1983. The hotel features the Renaissance Revival style of architecture and with its sixteen hundred rooms and location near many iconic New York City landmarks and establishments, the Park Central continues to be a favorite for tourists visiting the Big Apple. Beyond its elegant facade and interior, Park Central is best known for an event that occurred within a year of its opening. The hotel was one of the preferred meeting places of Arnold Rothstein, a leader of New York's organized crime circuit in the 1920s, and Rothstein was shot and killed in the hotel. A similar fate befell Albert Anastasia of the Albert Gambino crime family who was killed in the hotel in 1957. The hotel has been frequented by many celebrities and world leaders and was also the site of a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. Eleanor Roosevelt lived in a suite at the Park Central from 1950 to 1953 while she worked as the US Representative to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. 

Park Central Hotel

Publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst was one of the most powerful men in the United States when he became infatuated with Marion Davies in 1916. At the time, Davies was a Ziegfeld Follies showgirl and by many accounts, Hearst was immediately smitten and reportedly attended performances for several weeks straight just to watch her. Eventually the couple began a relationship that would last for years and was the talk of New York and Hollywood.Hearst was devoted to Davies and accounts of their relationship often refer to her as his "soul mate." But marriage was not an option for the couple as Hearst already had a wife, Millicent, as well as five children. Millicent was devoutly religious and refused to grant her husband a divorce. Instead, the couple lived separately for many years. To provide Davies a base in New York and to be able to see her whenever he wished, Hearst began to develop plans for the Warwick Hotel where she could stay and Hearst could visit under the premise of visiting his property. Hearst hired acclaimed architect Emery Roth to design an elegant hotel that would be within walking distance of New York's Theater District. When the Warick was completed, in 1926, Hearst moved Davies into the top floor and she lived there off and on through the 1930s when she retired and moved to California.The Warwick isn't only known for its somewhat scandalous origin. Over the years, the hotel hosted a number of celebrities from music and film, including Cary Grant, who lived in the Warwick for several years. Irving Berlin and his wife were also residents. During their first trip to the United States in 1964, the Beatles stayed at the property while in Manhattan, and on a return visit in 1966, the band held their press conferences at the Warwick. It was during an interview in the Warwick that John Lennon made his controversial remark that "the Beatles are more popular than Jesus." Elvis Presley was also known to be a regular at the Warwick when he was in the city.One of the hotel's restaurants, Murals on 54th, has a colorful history as well. Hearst hired Dean Cornwell, who painted murals depicting Sir Walter Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth when Raleigh received his charter and when he landed at Roanoke. The murals were completed, but Hearst and Cornwell had a disagreement over the artist's fee, and Cornwell retaliated by including some discreet, but mildly offensive, details in the paintings.Sharp-eyed film buffs can find any number of nods to old Hollywood in the Warwick. The hotel features photographs of many of its famous guests and former residents, including Davies. The carpet in Randolph's Bar and Lounge features a stylized rosebud pattern, a subtle nod to the film classic "Citizen Cane," which was loosely based on Hearst's life.

Manhattan is full of storied hotels, but few can match the colorful provenance of the Warwick. The hotel was built in 1926 by media tycoon William Randolph Hearst as part of his plan to provide a place for his mistress, Marion Davies, to live. One of the most powerful men of his era, Hearst built the Warwick to be one of the grandest hotels in the city. While Davies lived in the hotel's penthouse for only a few years, the hotel grew into a New York institution that has hosted many of the biggest celebrities of the twentieth century. Cary Grant lived in the hotel for a number of years. During their first appearance in New York, the Beatles stayed at the Warwick, as did Elvis Presley when he was in the city. 

Warwick Hotel 

The three investors in the newly-constructed Plaza Hotel wasted little time expanding their hotel after its opening.&nbsp;The 19-story building was one of the largest hotels at the time of its construction and the investors spared little expense on the interior,&nbsp;enlisting the help of designer Janeway Hardenbergh who worked to make the New York hotel emulate the&nbsp;style of a lavish French Chateau. Hardenbergh designed and placed the single largest gold-encrusted china order in history with Straus &amp; Sons, along with an order of 1,650 crystal chandeliers. The plan was to make the glitz and glam of the hotel inviting to the wealthy clientele it would serve.

The building was also a residence for wealthy New Yorkers. Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt were the first to sign the guest register and many wealthy New Yorkers maintained a suite at the hotel. The Plaza has hosted kings, ambassadors, actors, business executives, and world leaders. The Beatles were among the many musicians to stay at the hotel, and their six-day stay in 1960 enhanced the Plaza's reputation as the city's premier hotel. The Plaza has appeared in many films, including Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 North by Northwest. The hotel was also the site of the filming of the original Great Gatsby, and its temporary owner Donald Trump (whose mismanagement of the hotel led to bankruptcy)&nbsp;was featured in Home Alone 2.&nbsp;In 1978, the hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Later, in 1986, is was given the prestigious title National Historic Landmark.&nbsp; It remains the only hotel in New York with that designation. Eight interior rooms including The Palm Court, the Grand Ballroom, the Terrace Room, the Edwardian Room, The Oak Room and the Oak Bar, the 59th Street lobby and the Fifth Avenue lobby were designated by The New York City Landmarks Preservation in 2005. That same year the Plaza closed its door for another extensive restoration—with the project’s total cost reaching $450 million. The doors reopened in 2007 to celebrate 100 years of business.Perhaps ironically, the hotel's most famous resident is a fictional character. Eloise is an elusive and unpredictable 6-year-old created by children’s author Kay Thompson. Eloise was Thompson’s alter ego, and she used her Eloise “voice” to entertain friends. She later wrote a book about Eloise’s adventures living in the Plaza with Nanny, her turtle Skiperdee, and her pug Weenie. The first book was published in November 1955 and was a huge success with three more books following:&nbsp;Eloise in Paris, Eloise at Christmastime, and Eloise in Moscow. Thompson&nbsp;lived at The Plaza and predictably began receiving phone calls from girls saying “Please may I speak to Eloise?” Children even began visiting the Plaza asking to meet the character. Soon, the staff began to play along and respond “I’m sorry, you just missed her. But if you run into Eloise, please tell her we found her missing shoes.” A pair of Mary Jane’s, her signature, was kept on hand to demonstrate Eloise’s continuous presence.&nbsp;The Plaza embraced Eloise over the years having people come in to play the character for all the visitors. Many parts of the hotel and activities in it were linked to Eloise’s adventures in tribute. In 2010, on The Plaza Concourse Level, the Eloise Plaza Shop opened and Betsy Johnson, a famous fashion designer, designed a spectacular Eloise Suite.&nbsp;

From its opening in 1907 to today, this iconic hotel has represented the glamour of New York City and has entertained celebrities and world leaders. The current Plaza Hotel replaced a much smaller hotel, also known as the Plaza Hotel, that operated at this location from 1890 to 1905. Investors Bernhard Beinecke, Fred Sterry, and Harry S. Black recognized the value of this location and constructed the present luxury hotel which became the first in the city to become a National Historic Landmark. 

The Plaza Hotel 

The Hotel Elysee was founded in 1926. It was a time of frenzied building in Manhattan, of both skyscrapers and opulent, Jazz Age hotels. Though it has been remodeled more than once over the decades, the hotel still retains its elegant 1920s aesthetic.&nbsp; The property is centrally located in Midtown, but is often described as having a "tucked-away" feel to it, which may be why the Hotel Elysee has appealed to many celebrities and public figures over the years. The hotel offered all manner of creature comforts as well as a degree of privacy in the heart of the city. As a result, it developed a reputation as a place for affairs and assignations, and earned the moniker the "Easy Lay." The hotel also featured the Monkey Bar, the famous watering hole on the ground floor that drew its share of luminaries.&nbsp; Over the hotel's long history, it has served as both a temporary and a long-term residence for the well-heeled and famous. Tallulah Bankhead lived in the hotel for eighteen years and was famous for her days-long parties and her pets, which included a myna bird, a monkey, and a tiger cub named Winston Churchill. Among the property's regulars were Ava Gardner, Frank Sinatra, Joe DiMaggio, Maria Callas, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Jimi Hendrix, who reportedly left after guests complained about his late-night guitar playing. Marlon Brando stayed often enough that he had his own suite, which the hotel named the Sayonara Suite because he stayed there while filming Teahouse of the August Moon.&nbsp; The property has not been without tragedy. One of its longest and most well-known residents was Tennessee Williams. The famous author lived in the Elysee for the last fifteen years of his life and guests frequently complained about the sound caused by Williams's typing in the middle of the night. The hotel responded by moving guests farther away from Williams's suite. It was in his suite that Williams died in 1983, from choking on the cap to a bottle of eye drops, a result, apparently, of his habit of balancing the cap on his mouth while he used the drops. The suite he occupied--one of the largest in the hotel--is now known as the Sunset Suite.&nbsp; After World War II, the children of the owner redecorated each room with its own distinctive style. They kept the Old World elegance, but the varied decor gives the Elysee a quirky sort of charm not found in many hotels.&nbsp;

Manhattan has a wealth of hotels with rich and colorful histories, including the Hotel Elysee. this elegant, French country style property on E. 54th Street has been in business since 1926 and has a storied history. The hotel's famous Monkey Bar has been used as the backdrop for many movies and television shows such as “Mad Men.” Playwright Tennessee Williams lived in the hotel for a number of years, and it was there that the author died in 1983. Marlon Brando also maintained an apartment in the hotel, as did many other luminaries during this New York establishment's long history. After the original owners filed for bankruptcy in the Great Depression, the hotel was purchased by Mayer Quain. The hotel is now part of the Library Hotel Collection, a company that operates several literary-themed hotels in New York. 

Hotel Elysee 

Commissioned by Henry Villard, McKim, Mead &amp; White designed and constructed the building beginning in 1882. The original houses were styled in a neo-Italian Renaissance tradition. However, some of the most popular rooms in the current Hotel did not come until later. The Madison Room, a triple drawing room, was designed in 1891. This room is characterized by light green marble walls, dual fireplaces on each side of the room, and morals created by P.V. Galland. There are also stained glass windows, decorative mosaics, and gilded capitals that add to the room's beauty.&nbsp; Other add-ons and changes came over the years as the buildings eventually ended up in the hands of Publisher Random House and the Archdiocese of New York, who might have demolished the site at several points in its history had it not been for the work of the Municipal Art Society of New York. With the help of the Society, the Archdiocese sold the property to real estate developer Harry Helmsley in the 1970s. Hemsley built a 55-story tower hotel behind the property, and he worked to incorporate the former Villard Houses into the grand hotel. The hotel opened in 1981 and stayed in the Hemsely family until the early 1990s, when the Sultan of Brunei purchased the property from bankruptcy court after the aging Hemsley and his wife were found guilty of tax evasion. The property was soon involved in another legal struggle and was acquired by Northwood Investors in 2011. The property is currently operated by Lotte Hotels and Resorts. It provides 909 guestrooms and one of the most sought after event venues in New York City. With its location in Manhattan, the hotel provides a spectacular view of New York and is a great location for visitors.

Built as a series of six private homes around a central complex between 1882 and 1884, this architectural masterpiece is now the Lotte New York Plaza Hotel. The complex was financed by Henry Villard, president of the Northern Pacific Railway. Unfortunately for Villiard, the railroad construction boom outpaced the growth of the economy and he lost his fortune shortly after the "Villiard Homes" went on the market. The property was used as private residences until 1943 when it became home to the Women’s Military Services Club--a space that offered accommodation for thousands of women who joined the armed forces during World War II. Today, the hotel hosts guests from all over the world and the Villard Ballroom serves as a venue for weddings and other social gatherings. 

Villard Houses, now the Lotte New York Palace Hotel 

In 1893, William Waldorf Astor opened the Waldorf Hotel on the site of his mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The 13-story hotel was designed by an architect named Henry Hardenburgh. In 1897, The Waldorf Hotel was combined with the Astoria Hotel, which was a 17-story building owned by Waldorf’s cousin John Jacob Astor IV. On April 15, 1912, John Jacob Astor IV died on the Titanic along with more than 2,000 other people, and William Waldorf Astor passed away in October of 1919 in England, where he moved to in 1893. With the death of both owners the first Waldorf-Astoria closed in 1929. The building was torn down and sold to the developers of the Empire State Building.

The current Waldorf-Astoria, which was the second hotel built under this name, was opened on October 1, 1931, on the current site where it stands today on Park Avenue. It is one of the world’s largest and tallest hotels. When the new hotel was opened, President Herbert Hoover made a radio broadcast from the White House, which gave great regards to the Waldorf Astoria. He stated that “The opening of the new Waldorf Astoria is an event in the advancement of hotels, even in New York City. It carries great tradition in national hospitality…marks the measure of nation’s growth in power, in comfort and in artistry…an exhibition of courage and confidence to the whole nation…” Many people heard the President’s radio broadcast and were impressed with the high standards that the Waldorf possessed.

In 1945, a motion picture was made about the hotel. It was called “Weekend at The Waldorf.” It was filmed inside the hotel. The film was ranked 7th in the box office&nbsp;and brought in more than $4,000,000. On October 12, 1949, Conrad Hilton took control of the Waldorf-Astoria with the&nbsp;ambition to add the Waldorf to his hotel collection.&nbsp;Many famous people have stayed and lived in the Waldorf-Astoria. Some of these famous people include&nbsp;Marilyn Monroe, Queen Elizabeth II, Madonna, and J K Rowling. Marilyn Monroe lived in the hotel for $1,000 per week in 1955. explaining that she moved to the Waldorf-Astoria to get away from her crazy life in Hollywood.

The Waldorf-Astoria was named a New York City landmark in 1993 along with the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building. Today the hotel offers historical tours, a gift shop, valet parking, a theater, and tour desk.

One of the leading icons of the city of New York, the 13-story Waldorf Hotel was opened in 1893. In 1897, the hotel merged with the Astoria Hotel - a 17-floor building. Once one of the most luxurious hotels in the world, the facility became dated and closed at the end of the 1920s. The original hotel was replaced with a new building created by the developers, and it would eventually become the Empire State Building. The second and current Waldorf-Astoria opened in 1931 and is once again regarded as one of the most luxurious in the world. Currently, it is under renovation to restore and enhance the experience for guests. 

Waldorf Astoria

Originally named the Commodore Hotel, the Grand Hyatt New York was originally designed&nbsp;by Herbert R. Stone. The hotel, located near and connected to Grand Central Terminal,&nbsp;opened its doors on January 28, 1919 with&nbsp;2,000 rooms. Boasting a lobby called the "Most Beautiful The World" with&nbsp;low ceilings and&nbsp;an indoor waterfall, the hotel featured a&nbsp;ballroom with its own orchestra. Prominent guests included Albert Einstein, who stayed here when&nbsp;in New York City to promote the opening of his Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1921. The Commodore Hotel remained successful for decades. However, this changed in 1977 when news broke that the hotel was struggling financially and had lost $1.5 million the previous year.&nbsp;When this occurred, Donald Trump, a local businessman, bought the Commodore. Trump was born in the world of New York real estate, with his father being a wealthy apartment developer. Donald Trump gained his start in business with a degree in finance from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Finance in 1968. Throughout his years as a developer, Trump bought and renovated several Manhattan hotels. Eventually, by gaining more tax concessions, he would take over his father's business and oversee further growth.&nbsp; Donald Trump convinced the Hyatt hotel chain&nbsp;to partner with the&nbsp;Trump Organization&nbsp;and purchase the Commodore.&nbsp;Wanting to revitalize the area and the hotel, Trump invested $100 million to renovate the historic hotel into a newer, modernized version. He hired Der Scutt, a renowned architect, to oversee the process. Scutt, a modernist architect, had many projects under Trump. His most famous works included glass windows and exteriors and lavish bronze and gold works. His plans for the Commodore included a new, lavish reflective glass exterior, with the only untouched section of the building being the foyer that led to the ballroom. The renovated hotel opened in 1980 to much fanfare. However, the story was not yet finished. The building cost a large amount of money and the finances were still in the air.&nbsp; To pay for the extensive project, Donald Trump needed to gain financial support from the local government. What arose was a groundbreaking 40-year tax break, the first ever given to a commercial project. Trump would use his father's and his own political connections to gain his groundbreaking concessions. The finished project opened in 1980. In retrospect, the tax breaks proved widely unpopular. Since the total&nbsp;project cost $120 million, the&nbsp;city would eventually go on to lose over $360 million in uncollected taxes.&nbsp; The hotel project spanned a controversial sixteen years. Eventually, in 1993, Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against the Pritzkers, leaders of the Hyatt organization. Trump argued that the family was using finances for the hotel and other areas for other means.&nbsp;Eventually, the Pritzkers countersued and stated that Trump was not as involved with the greater business dealings of the hotel. Finally, in 1996 Trump sold his share of the hotel to Hyatt for $142 million, ending the partnership for good. Hyatt completely renovated the hotel in 2011, a project that included removal of the 1980s modern changes, at a cost of $130 million.

Originally designed by The Bowman-Biltmore Hotels, the 2,000-room building was named the Commodore in honor of "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, originator of the New York Railroad system. Opening its doors in 1919, it had a successful six-decade run before financial issues nearly forced its closure. In 1976, businessman Donald Trump, bought the hotel in an attempt to save it and moved to refurbish the building. The ensuing public battles regarding tax breaks placed the building and its owner into the national limelight. 

The Grand Hyatt Hotel

The hotel was designed by architect Goldin Starrett and his brothers (designer of the Empire State Building, among other famous landmarks). The Renaissance limestone and brick facade is twelve stories tall, with 174 guest rooms. Originally, the hotel was to be named The Puritan, but the first general manager, Frank Case, suggested The Algonquin instead. When the Algonquin opened on November 22, 1902, single rooms rented for two dollars a night, and three-bedroom suites for ten. Two years later, a nineteenth-century, two-story horse stable on the adjoining property was annexed as part of the hotel, and a third floor was added to the annex in 1905. The annex has housed a barber shop, apartments, a supper club, a rehearsal studio, and several restaurants in its time. Thanks to Frank Case, who welcomed theater and literary guests genially, the hotel was frequented by actors, critics, writers, and publishers.In the summer of 1919, New York Times drama critic Aleck Woollcott returned from World War I. A lunch party was thrown in the Algonquin's Pergola Room (now the Oak Room) by approximately twenty-four of Woollcott's friends, including newspapermen Franklin P. Adams, Heywood Broun, George S. Kaufman, Marc Connelly, and Deems Taylor; actresses Peggy Wood and Margalo Gillmore; magazine writer Margaret Leech; publicists John Peter Toohey and William Murray; and Vanity Fair writers Robert E. Sherwood and Dorothy Parker, along with their managing editor, Robert Benchley. The group returned nearly every day for lunch for the next ten years, outgrowing the Pergola Room and accommodated in the main dining room by Frank Case, who gave them a round table in the Rose Room (now the Round Table Restaurant). According to the Dorothy Parker society, "The 'Vicious Circle' is the most celebrated literary group in American Literature," [3]. In addition to their six-days-a-week, long lunch meetings, the Algonquin Round Table (also known as the Vicious Circle) often met upstairs in the hotel rooms of its members for night-time poker games. At one of these, Harold Ross won enough money to finance and found The New Yorker in 1925.The Algonquin opened the Blue Bar in 1933, after Prohibition ended. The bar's name comes from its blue lighting, suggested by actor and long-term hotel guest John Barrymore. Barrymore is also responsible for the tradition of naming the hotel's resident male cats Hamlet, though the first cat, who took up residence in 1923, was named Billy. Since Billy's time, the hotel has had seven Hamlets and three Matildas (the name of the current Algonquin cat).On March 25, 1936, the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards judges met at the Algonquin to vote for a winner. After three days of arguing, a winner was decided, and a dinner reception was held at the hotel to award Maxwell Anderson's Winterset. After Frank Case's death in 1946, Ben Bodne purchased the hotel to fulfill a promise made to his wife, as the couple had fallen in love with the Algonquin during their honeymoon stay in 1924.The Oak Room opened as a cabaret in 1981, launching the careers of Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Kroll, Michael Feinstein, Peter Cincotti, and Andrea Marcovicci. The Algonquin was designated a New York City Landmark in 1987, though it is not protected from renovation or demolition by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The Friends of Libraries USA added the hotel to the list of National Literary Landmarks in 1996. Renovations to the hotel beginning in 1998 included the restoration of the lobby to its pre-war appearance, modernization of amenities, and the installation of a new round table. The hotel closed for the first time in its 102-year history for renovations in the summer of 2004 for the addition of two special events rooms and 3,000 square feet of meeting room space on the second floor. The upstairs hallways are decorated with New Yorker cartoon wallpaper, and the Library Boardroom includes the hotel's permanent book collection. The multi-million dollar renovations were designed by Alexandra Champalimaud.Marker inscriptions:[Historic Marker]The Algonquin Hotel, which opened its doors in 1902, is best known as the home of the famed Round Table, a group of writers and critics who met for lunch and stimulating conversation during the 1920s. The hotel's cultural associations, nurtured by its early congenial proprietor Frank Case, have attracted generations of famous figures in literature and theater. Architect Goldwin Starrett designed the Algonquin's main twelve-story structure in brick with limestone, metal, and terra-cotta elements. The Beaux-Arts inspired building was designed with projecting metal bay windows and classical details. In 1905, the three-story annex of brick, metal, and glazed wood was converted from a nineteenth century stable to a cafe and dining room for the hotel.[Historic Hotels Marker]Historic Hotels of AmericaNational Trust for Historic Preservation TM[Literary Landmarks Marker]Friends of Libraries USALiterary Landmarks RegisterThe Algonquin HotelSite of the legendary Algonquin Round Table of the 1920s, where such acid-tongued wits as Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and Alexander Woollcott traded barbs and bon mots daily over lunch. The centuries literary luminaries William Faulkner, Sinclair Lewis, Harold Ross of The New Yorker, Gertrude Stein and James Thurber among countless others -- also found a haven within its oak-lined walls.Designated a Literary Landmark July 6, 1996

As New York City's most prestigious literary hotel, The Algonquin is designated a New York City Landmark and a National Literary Landmark. It has hosted writers, editors, actors, producers, critics, and publishers for over one hundred years, including the famous Algonquin Round Table (also known as the Vicious Circle), actors John Barrymore and Harpo Marx, and authors William Faulkner, Gertrude Stein, J.D. Salinger, and Maya Angelou, among many others. Its Oak Room Cabaret has helped launch musical careers such as those of Harry Connick Jr. and Michael Feinstein. The Round Table Restaurant is the meeting place of the literary circle which included the founder of The New Yorker, Harold Ross; Dorothy Parker; Robert Benchley; and many other important writers and editors of the 1920s. Monthly walking tours of the hotel and nearby sites related to the Algonquin Round Table are available through the Dorothy Parker Society (see links at bottom of entry), led by Kevin C. Fitzpatrick, the Society's president.

Algonquin Hotel

In 1868, Broadway was just beginning its transformation into the neon-lit entertainment center that it would become. It was a time when well-heeled New Yorkers were slowly moving northward toward Madison Square, and businesses, hotels, and residences followed suit.&nbsp;Elias Higgins, a carpet manufacturer who made a fortune and then expanded into real estate development, was prescient when he decided to build an elegant new hotel at this location on Broadway. Higgins worked with architect Henry Engelbert, with whom he would collaborate on numerous buildings in the city, including the Grand Central Hotel. The Grand Hotel was built in the French Second Empire style and included&nbsp;a total of eight stories, including two inside the mansard roof. Like many of the Paris apartments it emulates, the building features a cast iron ground floor with large windows.&nbsp; Higgins planned for the building to be a residential hotel. Consequently, the hotel was built without kitchens or dining rooms, as residents would eat in a communal dining room. Later, as the theater district moved closer to Times Square, it made economic sense to convert the property into a traditional hotel with a restaurant.&nbsp; Over the course of the twentieth century, the hotel and the building's fortunes declined. By the 1980s, the building was a single occupancy hotel whose owners painted over the marble facade in violation of landmark laws. The ground floor was divided into leasable storefronts in the 1950s. In recent years, preservationists were able to remove the paint without damaging the marble and significant restoration work has helped to preserve the building's facade.&nbsp;

In the years following the Civil War, the areas along Broadway and Fifth Avenue became home to numerous fashionable businesses and residences. One of those was the Grand Hotel, which was commissioned by Elias Higgins in 1868. Higgins was a successful carpet manufacturer who expanded into real estate, often building impressively elegant structures. As its name suggests, the Grand Hotel was an opulent white marble structure. As the theater district shifted northward, new luxury hotels and theaters were built beyond this neighborhood. By the turn of the century, Times Square became the location of the city's leading hotels and the Grand Hotel became something less worthy of its moniker as vice-filled what was then known as the Tenderloin District. Thanks to preservationists, the building once again offers a grand facade and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. 

Grand Hotel 

Designed by Philip Hubert in 1883, the Hotel Chelsea was built with the vision of being one of the offshoots of the Hubert Home Club, one of the first private apartment cooperatives in the Manhattan area. The Chelsea opened for business in 1885 and was a hit for a brief moment in time, offering patrons apartment living in the theater district of New York. However, as Upper Manhattan began to open with abundant housing, people began to leave the Chelsea, and within a few years, the apartment complex went bankrupt.

The building eventually reopened as a hotel in 1905&nbsp;but switched hands numerous times throughout the following century. During the Hotel Chelsea’s time serving as a hotel, it played host to numerous iconic patrons who stayed there both short and long-term. The Hotel was popular, especially from the 1960s through the 1970s, and was the subject of songs, films, and other forms of popular media that were produced by the patrons of the Hotel.&nbsp;A list of the hotel's famous residents and guests reads like a who's who of the twentieth century. Mark Twain once called the Chelsea home, a fact which could make the building a landmark even if no other celebrities or literary titans lived there. Tennessee Williams also lived there, and apparently occupied the room that Jon Bon Jovi would have many decades later. Jack Kerouac wrote On the Road there and Dylan Thomas had his last (and fatal) drinking binge in the hotel. Arthur C. Clarke wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey during a stay at the place that he referred to as his spiritual home. Arthur Miller stayed at the Chelsea while dealing with the demise of his marriage to Marilyn Monroe. Thomas Wolfe spent most of the last years of his life living at the property. Eugene O'Neill, Brendan Behan, Allen Ginsberg, and Simone de Beauvoir were also residents.And then there are the musicians. Leonard Cohen and Janis Joplin had a one-night stand that led to Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel No.2." Bob Dylan lived there while carrying on an affair with fellow resident Edie Sedgwick. He also wrote "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" at the Chelsea. Dee Dee Ramone checked into the Chelsea for a self-imposed detox. Jimi Hendrix, Madonna, and Iggy Pop also called the hotel home.&nbsp;With a long list of colorful former residents and guests, the Chelsea has one of the city's most storied pasts, as well as its share of tragedies. The Chelsea's most notorious incident occurred in 1978 in Room 100, where Nancy Spungeon, girlfriend of the Sex Pistols's Sid Vicious, was founded fatally stabbed. High on heroin, Vicious had no memory of the attack, and died of a heroin overdose while awaiting trial for her murder. The "Vicious Room," as it came to be known, was eventually closed and knocked into adjoining rooms to end its notorious reputation.More than a few acclaimed visual artists have made a home at the storied property. Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollack, and Andy Warhol lived there. During the famous tenure of Stanley Bard, the Chelsea's owner-manager from the 1960s to 2007, artwork was often accepted in lieu of cash for rent, and until renovations began, many of those works adorned the hotel's lobby.In 2011, the Hotel Chelsea changed hands, which signaled a change in the Hotel as a whole. The Hotel Chelsea stopped taking reservations in August of 2011, and renovations to the building began soon after. Permanent patrons feared that they would be ousted from the building, but no such thing happened. Since then, the Hotel Chelsea has changed management twice, and as of this writing, the renovations are ongoing. The Hotel Chelsea is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Hotel Chelsea is an iconic hotel in the Manhattan area, which was established in 1884. The hotel was home to many iconic residents, such as Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, and Iggy Pop, and it was the setting and subject of many films, novels, and other forms of popular culture. The Chelsea was closed for renovations in 2011, and as of April 2019, the renovations are ongoing.

Hotel Chelsea

Many historic New York properties have storied pasts, and the Prince
George Hotel is no exception. The hotel was built in 1904. The area around the
hotel, Madison Square, was a bustling social center at the time and the
completion of the Lexington Avenue Subway transformed it into a commercial
district as well. The architect behind the hotel was Howard Greenley, who was
president of the Architectural League of New York.&nbsp;

Greenley assured that the new property would be an opulent addition to the
city’s landscape. The hotel, then one of the city’s largest, was designed in
the Beaux Arts style with ornate elements throughout the building, including
arched ceilings, Renaissance-style murals, and a massive, 5,000 square foot
Main Lounge with elaborately plastered pillars. The hotel was also the first to
have private bathrooms in each guest room. The hotel’s restaurants became
favored gathering places for the city’s well-heeled denizens.&nbsp;

Like the city as a whole, the Prince George entered a long period of
decline in the 1970s. Tourism in the city declined, and the Prince George was
one of a number of hotels in the city to accept city contracts to house
homeless families. Hundreds of families were crammed into the once-grand hotel,
with perhaps as many as 1,500 children living in the building at any given
time. The hardwood floor of the ballroom was painted over and used as a
basketball court. The city had minimal resources or security to offer residents
at the Prince George, and drug use and crime became rampant. One of the most
notorious addresses in the city, the Prince George came to be known as “hell’s
embassy in Manhattan.”&nbsp;

By the early 1990s, the homeless families were forced out of the
property and it sat vacant for a number of years. It was an eyesore in the
neighborhood and many residents blamed it for the area’s decline. In 1996, the
building was purchased by Common Ground (now known as Breaking Ground), and
with federal, state, and private funds, the organization began an extensive
renovation of the Prince George. The renovation was overseen by Beyer Blinder Belle,
the same firm which was responsible for the renovation of Grand Central
Station.&nbsp;

The renovated property began welcoming new tenants in 1999. It now
provides 416 units of affordable housing for low-income residents, the
homeless, and people with mental illness or HIV/AIDS. The property also
provides on-site social, medical, and psychiatric services.&nbsp;

The restored ballroom is now used as an event space and has been
featured in television shows and movies.&nbsp;
The Prince George is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


&nbsp;

The elegant Prince George Hotel was built in 1904 by Howard Greenley. It quickly earned a reputation for being one of the city’s most modern and lavish hotels, and the first with private bathrooms in each room. In addition to its modern amenities, the hotel also featured a majestic Main Lounge with ornate ceilings and murals. In the late twentieth century, however, the city began using the property as a welfare hotel for hundreds of homeless families. Eventually the families were forced to leave the property, which sat vacant for a number of years and was nearly demolished. More recently, the building was renovated and is used as apartments for low-income residents, homeless people, and people with HIV/AIDS. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Prince George Hotel

The exclusive enclave known as Gramercy Park began in the 1830s, when
Samuel B. Ruggles began to convert what was then little more than marsh into a
private park. Ruggles donated the land, which was then expertly drained and
landscaped with native plants. Ruggles envisioned the park as a place where
moneyed New Yorkers would want to live, away from the increasing population and
noise to the south. The idea behind Gramercy Park was a peaceful, exclusive
neighborhood in the heart of a rapidly growing city.&nbsp;

The carefully planted park has been tucked away behind locked iron
gates since the neighborhood’s creation. It remains New York’s only private
park, and access to the park is granted only to residents who pay an annual fee
and live in one of the 39 townhouses immediately surrounding the two-acre
expanse. And even key-holders have to abide by a series of strict rules, such
as no commercial photography, no alcohol, and no feeding of birds.&nbsp;

Over the years, many well-known New Yorkers have made a home in
Gramercy. One of its most famous early residents was Edwin Booth, the more
famous (at least initially) brother of John Wilkes Booth. An acclaimed actor,
Booth retired from public life for several months following the assassination
of Abraham Lincoln, preferring the solitude of his Gramercy home. A statue of
Edwin Booth still adorns the park. In the early 1900s, Joseph P. Kennedy and
his young family, including John F. Kennedy, lived in the Gramercy Park Hotel.
Today, Julia Roberts and Karl Lagerfeld own apartments in the neighborhood.&nbsp;

A number of the city’s oldest apartments were built around Gramercy
Park, as well as one of its most elegant hotels. The Gramercy Park Hotel was
built in two phases, beginning in 1924. An extension was added between 1929 and
1930. The property has long been a popular residential hotel, attracting
numerous public figures, including the Kennedy family. Humphrey Bogart was
married in the hotel in 1926, and Edmund Wilson and Mary McCarthy lived there
in the 1940s.&nbsp;

There have been extensions to Gramercy Park over the years and the
boundaries of the Historic District lie inside the neighborhood itself. The
neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

One of the oldest and grandest neighborhoods in Manhattan, Gramercy Park has long been associated with the city’s moneyed elite. Built around the private Gramercy Park, whose gates have been locked to the general public since the 1840s, the neighborhood is lined with Italianate and Greek Revival designs. Numerous celebrities and dignitaries have called Gramercy home, and many made a home at the Gramercy Park Hotel, which was built in two stages in the 1920s. Former residents of the hotel include the family of Joseph P. Kennedy (including a young John F. Kennedy), and Humphrey Bogart was married there.

Gramercy Park Hotel & Gramercy Park Historic District 

In 1850, three separate row houses were built on 32-36 East 11th Street in Lower Manhattan. The buildings were all separate homes, but a few years later, the team of investor Albert Rosenbaum and manager William Ryder came together, gathered up the row houses, and converted them into a collective business called the Hotel St. Stephen. The hotel saw success in the years following its founding, and in 1880, Albert Rosenbaum commissioned architect Henry Hardenbergh to construct a series of luxury apartments close to the Hotel St. Stephen. These apartments saw some success, as well, but in 1886, Rosenbaum decided to convert those apartments into yet another hotel. In the mid-1890s, the hotels merged to become the Hotel Albert, and over the following years, two more buildings were added to the hotel’s property.

During its prime, the Hotel Albert was popular among artists of all kinds, including the likes of Salvador Dali, Jackson Pollock, and Andy Warhol. In addition to artists, the Hotel Albert was also popular among political radicals in the early 1900s. Parts of the complex were sold off, but in the 1970s, the entire complex was sold and converted into a large-scale apartment complex. On June 13th of 2012, the Hotel Albert was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the Hotel Albert, now known simply as The Albert, remains intact as a series of apartments, and continues to celebrate its historic heritage as the successor of the fantastic Hotel Albert.

The Hotel Albert is both a historic hotel and a apartment complex located in Lower Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighborhood. The hotel was created in the 1880s through the combination of three different houses that were constructed before the Civil War. The combined structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in June of 2012. Today, the Hotel Albert no longer functions as a hotel, but instead operates as an apartment complex.

Famous New York City Hotel Tour

The Knickerbocker Hotel

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Additional Information