Jump to content

Hotel Astor (New York City): Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 40°45′28″N 73°59′11″W / 40.757778°N 73.986389°W / 40.757778; -73.986389
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Adding local short description: "Former hotel in Manhattan, New York", overriding Wikidata description "hotel in New York City" (Shortdesc helper)
 
(37 intermediate revisions by 22 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Former hotel in Manhattan, New York}}
{{Short description|Former hotel in Manhattan, New York}}
{{for|other hotels with similar names|Astor Hotel (disambiguation)}}
{{For|other hotels with similar names|Astor Hotel (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Hotel Astor
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| logo =
| logo_size =
| logo_alt =
| logo_caption =
| image = Times Square Hotel Astor, New York 1909.jpg
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Hotel Astor in 1909
| map_type =
| map_alt =
| map_dot_mark =
| map_dot_label =
| relief =
| map_caption =
| map_size =
| coordinates =
| former_names =
| alternate_names =
| etymology =
| status =
| cancelled =
| topped_out =
| building_type =
| architectural_style = [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]]
| classification =
| location = [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]], United States
| address =
| location_city =
| location_country =
| grid_name =
| grid_position =
| altitude =
| current_tenants =
| namesake =
| groundbreaking_date =
| start_date = 1904
| stop_date =
| topped_out_date =
| completion_date = 1910
| opened_date =
| inauguration_date =
| relocated_date =
| renovation_date = 1935 and 1949
| closing_date =
| demolition_date = 1967
| cost =
| ren_cost =
| client =
| owner =
| landlord =
| affiliation =
| height =
| architectural =
| tip =
| antenna_spire =
| roof =
| top_floor =
| observatory =
| diameter =
| circumference =
| weight =
| other_dimensions =
| structural_system =
| material =
| size =
| floor_count =
| floor_area =
| elevator_count =
| grounds_area =
| architect =
| architecture_firm =
| developer =
| engineer =
| structural_engineer =
| services_engineer =
| civil_engineer =
| other_designers =
| quantity_surveyor =
| main_contractor =
| awards =
| designations =
| known_for =
| ren_architect =
| ren_firm =
| ren_engineer =
| ren_str_engineer =
| ren_serv_engineer =
| ren_civ_engineer =
| ren_oth_designers =
| ren_qty_surveyor =
| ren_contractor =
| ren_awards =
| parking =
| public_transit =
| website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| embed =
| embedded =
| references =
| footnotes =
}}


'''Hotel Astor''' was a [[hotel]] on [[Times Square]] in the [[Midtown Manhattan]] neighborhood of [[New York City]], United States. Built in 1905 and expanded in 1909–1910 for the [[Astor family]], the hotel occupied a site bounded by [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]], [[Shubert Alley]], and 44th and 45th Streets.<ref name="page 13">{{cite Routledge Broadway|page=13}}</ref> Architects [[Clinton & Russell]] designed the hotel as an 11-story [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] edifice with a [[mansard roof]]. It contained 1,000 guest rooms, with two more levels underground for its extensive "backstage" functions, such as the wine cellar.
[[File:Times Square Hotel Astor, New York 1909.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Hotel Astor]]


The hotel was developed as a successor to the [[Waldorf–Astoria (1893–1929)|Waldorf-Astoria]]. Hotel Astor's success triggered the construction of the nearby [[Knickerbocker Hotel (New York)|Knickerbocker Hotel]] by other members of the Astor family two years later. The building was razed in 1967 to make way for the high-rise office tower [[One Astor Plaza]].
'''Hotel Astor''' was a [[hotel]] located in the [[Times Square]] area of [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]], in operation from 1904 through 1967. The former site of the hotel, the block bounded by [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]], Astor Plaza, [[44th Street (Manhattan)|West 44th Street]], and [[45th Street (Manhattan)|West 45th Street]],<ref name="page 13">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DQqOAQAAQBAJ&q=hotel+astor+new+york+sheraton&pg=PA14|title=Routledge Guide to Broadway|author=Bloom, Ken|page=13|publisher=Routledge|date=2007|isbn=9781135871178|access-date=24 February 2019}}</ref> is now occupied by the high-rise 54-story office tower [[One Astor Plaza]].


== Construction ==
== Construction ==

With its elaborately decorated public rooms and its roof garden, the Astor Hotel was perceived as the successor to the [[Astor family]]'s [[Waldorf–Astoria (1893–1929)|Waldorf-Astoria]] on [[34th Street (Manhattan)|34th Street]]. William C. Muschenheim and his brother, Frederick A. Muschenheim conceived plans for the grand hotel in 1900. The area was then known as [[Longacre Square]] and stood beyond the fringe of metropolitan life, the center of New York's carriage-building trade. The Muschenheim brothers became the proprietors for absentee landlord [[William Waldorf Astor]], from whom they leased the land. The hotel opened on September 9, 1904.<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DQqOAQAAQBAJ&q=hotel+astor+new+york+sheraton&pg=PA14|title=Routledge Guide to Broadway|author=Bloom, Ken|pages=14–15|publisher=Routledge|date=2007|isbn=9781135871178|access-date=5 September 2016}}</ref>
[[File:"TIMES SQUARE" map in 1916 with "HOTEL ASTOR" "BOOTH THEATRE" "SHUBERT THEATRE" "RIALTO THEATRE" "LYRIC THEATRE" THE LITTLE THEATRE" "TIMES ANNEX" "ST. LUKES" LUTHERN CHURCH, from- Bromley Manhattan Plate 071 publ. 1916 (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|Times Square map in 1916 with Hotel Astor and nearby theaters]]
[[File:"TIMES SQUARE" map in 1916 with "HOTEL ASTOR" "BOOTH THEATRE" "SHUBERT THEATRE" "RIALTO THEATRE" "LYRIC THEATRE" THE LITTLE THEATRE" "TIMES ANNEX" "ST. LUKES" LUTHERN CHURCH, from- Bromley Manhattan Plate 071 publ. 1916 (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|Times Square map in 1916 with Hotel Astor and nearby theaters]]
With its elaborately decorated public rooms and its roof garden, the Hotel Astor was perceived as the successor to the [[Astor family]]'s [[Waldorf–Astoria (1893–1929)|Waldorf-Astoria]] on [[34th Street (Manhattan)|34th Street]]. William C. Muschenheim and his brother, Frederick A. Muschenheim, conceived plans for the grand hotel in 1900. The area was then known as [[Longacre Square]] and stood beyond the fringe of metropolitan life, the center of New York's carriage-building trade. The Muschenheim brothers became the proprietors for absentee landlord [[William Waldorf Astor]], from whom they leased the land. The hotel opened on September 9, 1904.<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite Routledge Broadway |pages=14–15}}</ref>
The {{convert|35000|sqft|m2}} Hotel Astor was built in two stages, in 1905 and 1909–1910, by the same architects in the same style. Upon completion, the structure occupied an entire city block at a reported total cost of $7 million. Architects [[Clinton & Russell]] had designed a number of Astor commissions; here they developed a very Parisian [[Beaux-Arts architecture|"Beaux Arts" style]] completed with green-copper [[mansard roof]]. Its eleven stories contained 1000 guest rooms, with two more levels underground for its extensive "backstage" functions, such as the wine cellar.


The {{convert|35000|sqft|m2}} Hotel Astor was built in two stages, in 1905 and 1909–1910, by the same architects in the same style. Upon completion, the structure occupied an entire city block at a reported total cost of $7 million. Architects [[Clinton & Russell]] had designed a number of Astor commissions; here they developed a very Parisian [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts style]].
The Astor was an important element in the growth of Times Square and its character as an entertainment center. In 1904, ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' publisher [[Adolph S. Ochs]] moved his newspaper's operations to a new tower on [[42nd Street (Manhattan)|42nd Street]] in the middle of Longacre Square, and Ochs persuaded Mayor [[George B. McClellan, Jr.]] to build a subway station there and rename it Times Square. The [[Theater District]] would soon occupy magnificent new auditoriums along Forty-second Street, and electric lighting transformed this strip of Broadway into the "Great White Way".


The Astor was an important element in the growth of Times Square and its character as an entertainment center. In 1904, ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' publisher [[Adolph S. Ochs]] moved his newspaper's operations to a new tower on [[42nd Street (Manhattan)|42nd Street]] in the middle of Longacre Square (later [[One Times Square]]). Ochs persuaded Mayor [[George B. McClellan Jr.]] to build [[Times Square&ndash;42nd Street station|a subway station there]] and rename it Times Square. The [[Theater District, Manhattan|Theater District]] would soon occupy magnificent new auditoriums along Forty-second Street, and electric lighting transformed this strip of Broadway into the "Great White Way".
Hotel Astor's success triggered the construction of the nearby [[Knickerbocker Hotel (New York)|Knickerbocker Hotel]] by other members of the Astor family two years later, although that property became commercial office space within a few years. The Astor set the pattern for "a new species of popular hotels that soon clustered around Times Square, vast amusement palaces that catered to crowds with scenographic interiors that mirrored the theatricality of the [[Great White Way]]."<ref name=Stern>{{cite book| title=New York 1900| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=icxPAAAAMAAJ&q=hotel+astor| first1=Robert A.M.| last1=Stern| first2=Gregory| last2=Gilmartin| first3=John| last3=Massengale| date=15 January 1992| publisher=Rizzoli|isbn = 9780847805112|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Hotel Astor's success triggered the construction of the nearby [[Knickerbocker Hotel (New York)|Knickerbocker Hotel]] by other members of the Astor family two years later, although that property became commercial office space within a few years. The Astor set the pattern for "a new species of popular hotels that soon clustered around Times Square, vast amusement palaces that catered to crowds with scenographic interiors that mirrored the theatricality of the [[Great White Way]]."<ref name=Stern>{{cite New York 1900|pages=267, 269}}</ref>


== Amenities ==
== Amenities ==


[[File:HotelAstorBallroom.jpg|left|250px|thumb|southern end of the Grand Ballroom, circa 1910]]
[[File:HotelAstorBallroom.jpg|left|thumb|Southern end of the Grand Ballroom, circa 1910]]

Within its restrained exterior, the Astor featured a long list of elaborately themed ballrooms and exotic restaurants: the Old New York lobby, the American Indian Grill Room decorated with artifacts collected with the help of the [[American Museum of Natural History]], a Flemish smoking room, a Pompeiian billiard room, the Hunt Room decorated in sixteenth century [[German Renaissance]] style, and many other features.<ref name=Rider>{{cite book| title=Rider's New York city and vicinity, including Newark, Yonkers and Jersey| editor-first=Fremont| editor-last=Rider| year=1916| page=171| url=https://archive.org/stream/ridersnewyorkci00hopkgoog/ridersnewyorkci00hopkgoog_djvu.txt| access-date=2014-11-06}}</ref>
Within its restrained exterior, the Astor featured a long list of elaborately themed ballrooms and exotic restaurants: the Old New York lobby, the American Indian Grill Room decorated with artifacts collected with the help of the [[American Museum of Natural History]], a Flemish smoking room, a Pompeiian billiard room, the Hunt Room decorated in sixteenth century [[German Renaissance]] style, and many other features.<ref name=Rider>{{cite book| title=Rider's New York city and vicinity, including Newark, Yonkers and Jersey| editor-first=Fremont| editor-last=Rider| year=1916| page=171| url=https://archive.org/stream/ridersnewyorkci00hopkgoog/ridersnewyorkci00hopkgoog_djvu.txt| access-date=2014-11-06}}</ref>


[[File:Hotel Astor NY Ad 1922.jpg|thumb|right|1922 ad for the Hotel Astor]]
[[File:Hotel Astor NY Ad 1922.jpg|thumb|right|1922 ad for the Hotel Astor]]
The Large Ballroom (or Banquet Hall), on the ninth floor, opened on September 29, 1909 with a dinner that was part of the [[Hudson-Fulton Celebration]]. Measuring {{convert|50|x|85|ft|m}}, the Banquet Hall was decorated in the [[Rococo Revival|Rococo]] style of Louis XV and featured a high-groined arch ceiling in ivory white and old gold, supported by grouped [[caryatid]]s. A gallery spanned the south and west sides, affording a fine view of the room, which could accommodate 500 diners. A large Austin pipe organ was installed; in 1910 Leo B. Riggs was appointed organist and gave daily concerts for the hotel's guests. The organ's manuals included an integrated piano.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=July 1, 1910 |title=Organist at Hotel Astor |url=https://www.thediapason.com/sites/thediapason/files/191007TheDiapason.pdf |journal=[[The Diapason]] |volume=1 |issue=8 |page=3}}</ref>

The Large Ballroom (or Banquet Hall), on the ninth floor, opened on September 29, 1909 with a dinner that was part of the [[Hudson-Fulton Celebration]]. Measuring {{convert|50|x|85|ft|m}}, the Banquet Hall was decorated in the [[Rococo Revival|Rococo]] style of Louis XV and featured a high-groined arch ceiling in ivory white and old gold, supported by grouped [[caryatid]]s. A gallery spanned the south and west sides, affording a fine view of the room, which could accommodate 500 diners.


The smaller ballroom, seating 250, was decorated in the [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] Louis XVI manner and could be joined with the larger ballroom. Still another adjoining room, "The College Hall", could also open to the ballroom so that the combined rooms could seat up 1,100 persons. The Palm Garden, or "L'Orangerie", located in the rear of the first floor lobby, was intended to represent an Italian garden. Its ceiling, painted to represent a Mediterranean sky, was partly concealed by feigned vine-covered pergolas. Blue lighting, hanging lamps draped in vines, swaying fern baskets, and scenic pictures of the out-of-doors further enhanced the perception.
The smaller ballroom, seating 250, was decorated in the [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] Louis XVI manner and could be joined with the larger ballroom. Still another adjoining room, "The College Hall", could also open to the ballroom so that the combined rooms could seat up 1,100 persons. The Palm Garden, or "L'Orangerie", located in the rear of the first floor lobby, was intended to represent an Italian garden. Its ceiling, painted to represent a Mediterranean sky, was partly concealed by feigned vine-covered pergolas. Blue lighting, hanging lamps draped in vines, swaying fern baskets, and scenic pictures of the out-of-doors further enhanced the perception.
Line 34: Line 136:


== Social history ==
== Social history ==
[[File:Peace-society-dinner-hotel-astor-1909.png|right|thumb|300px|Peace Society dinner at the Hotel Astor, February 1909 with President Taft and Secretary of State [[Elihu Root]] in lower right]]
[[File:Peace-society-dinner-hotel-astor-1909.png|upright=1.2|thumb|Peace Society dinner at the Hotel Astor, February 1909 with President Taft and Secretary of State [[Elihu Root]] in lower right]]


As a popular meeting place and New York City landmark, the Astor had a place in [[popular culture]] for decades, from the extended [[double entendre]] song "She Had to Go and Lose It at the Astor", to its appearance in the 1945 film ''[[The Clock (1945 film)|The Clock]]'', which provides a good view of the wartime-era lobby (although reconstructed in Hollywood). The first notable regular dance band at the Astor was that of [[Fred Rich]], who made many records for [[Columbia Records]] and its budget subsidiary [[Harmony Records]] in the 1920s as "Fred Rich and his Hotel Astor Orchestra" and also as "The Astorites." Among many other later musicians, the [[swing era]] bandleader [[Tommy Dorsey]] appeared regularly on the rooftop bandstand, and it was there that [[Frank Sinatra]] made early New York appearances with Dorsey's band from 1940 to 1942. Another regular, in the 1950s, was [[Carmen Cavallaro]] and his orchestra, advertised on the marquee under the banner "On the Astor Roof". In 1933, it was the site of [[Fiorello La Guardia]]'s election night party when he was first elected mayor of New York.
As a popular meeting place and New York City landmark, the Astor had a place in [[popular culture]] for decades, from the extended [[double entendre]] song "She Had to Go and Lose It at the Astor", to its appearance in the 1945 film ''[[The Clock (1945 film)|The Clock]]'', which provides a good view of the wartime-era lobby (although reconstructed in Hollywood). The first notable regular dance band at the Astor was that of [[Fred Rich]], who made many records for [[Columbia Records]] and its budget subsidiary [[Harmony Records]] in the 1920s as "Fred Rich and his Hotel Astor Orchestra" and also as "The Astorites." Among many other later musicians, the [[swing era]] bandleader [[Tommy Dorsey]] appeared regularly on the rooftop bandstand, and it was there that [[Frank Sinatra]] made early New York appearances with Dorsey's band from 1940 to 1942. Another regular, in the 1950s, was [[Carmen Cavallaro]] and his orchestra, advertised on the marquee under the banner "On the Astor Roof". In 1933, it was the site of [[Fiorello La Guardia]]'s election night party when he was first elected mayor of New York.


In 1947, stuntman [[John Ciampa]] scaled the exterior of the hotel as part of a publicity ploy for the Sunbrock Rodeo and Thrill Circus. A 1947 post card, Hotel Astor claimed "1000 rooms, 1000 baths" and as "The Crossroads of the World"<ref name=Postcard>{{cite web| title=Hotel Astor, Time Square| url=https://www.cardcow.com/131330/hotel-astor-times-square-new-york/| publisher=CardCow| access-date=2014-11-06}}</ref>
In 1947, stuntman [[John Ciampa]] scaled the exterior of the hotel as part of a publicity ploy for the Sunbrock Rodeo and Thrill Circus. A 1947 post card, Hotel Astor claimed "1000 rooms, 1000 baths" and as "The Crossroads of the World"<ref name=Postcard>{{cite web| title=Hotel Astor, Time Square| url=https://www.cardcow.com/131330/hotel-astor-times-square-new-york/| publisher=CardCow| access-date=2014-11-06}}</ref>
Line 44: Line 146:


== Later years ==
== Later years ==
[[File:HotelAstorRooftopGarden.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Rendering of the Astor's rooftop garden]]
[[File:HotelAstorRooftopGarden.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Rendering of the Astor's rooftop garden]]
The hotel was completely renovated in 1935, and again in 1949.<ref name="books.google.com"/> It was sold to real estate entrepreneur [[William Zeckendorf]] on September 1, 1954. However he sold it again just two weeks later, on September 15, 1954, to [[Sheraton Hotels]], which renamed it the '''Sheraton-Astor'''. Zeckendorf repurchased the hotel in December 1957, regaining control of it in March 1958 and returning it to its original name.<ref name="books.google.com"/> During this period, the hotel was managed by Prince [[Serge Obolensky]].<ref name=Hellman>{{cite magazine| title=Astor's Obolensky| first=Geoffrey T.| last=Hellman| magazine=[[The New Yorker]]| date=25 October 1958| page=36| url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1958/10/25/astors-obolensky|url-access=subscription | access-date=2014-11-06}}</ref> As an indirect result of Zeckendorf's 1965 bankruptcy, the Astor was sold for $10.5 million in 1966.<ref name="books.google.com"/> It closed and was demolished in 1967 by Sam Minskoff & Sons.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=TxdQGX7pDsEC&dq=minskoff+building&pg=PA353 ''Broadway: An Encyclopedia'' by Ken Bloom] November 11, 2003</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Fried|first=Joseph P.|date=1967-08-03|title=The Astor, a Lady to the End, Resists the Wrecker's Advances; Crews Are Awed by Solidity Of Broadway's Grande Dame|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/08/03/archives/the-astor-a-lady-to-the-end-resists-the-wreckers-advances-crews-are.html|access-date=2022-01-30|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> After several years of delays,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Johnston|first=Laurie|date=1971-11-28|title=One Astor Plaza 87 Per Cent Rented|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/28/archives/one-astor-plaza-87-per-cent-rented.html|access-date=2022-01-30|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> the hotel was replaced by [[One Astor Plaza]], a 50-story skyscraper completed in 1972 and designed by [[Der Scutt]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=One Astor Plaza - The Skyscraper Center|url=https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/one-astor-plaza/1152|access-date=2021-04-08|website=www.skyscrapercenter.com}}</ref>

The hotel was completely renovated in 1935, and again in 1949.<ref name="books.google.com"/> It was sold to real estate entrepreneur [[William Zeckendorf]] on September 1, 1954. However he sold it again just two weeks later, on September 15, 1954, to [[Sheraton Hotels]], whIch renamed it the '''Sheraton-Astor'''. Zeckendorf repurchased the hotel in December 1957, regaining control of it in March 1958 and returning it to its original name.<ref name="books.google.com"/> During this period, the hotel was managed by Prince [[Serge Obolensky]].<ref name=Hellman>{{cite journal| title=Astor's Obolensky| first=Geoffrey T.| last=Hellman| journal=[[The New Yorker]]| date=25 October 1958| page=36| url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1958/10/25/astors-obolensky|url-access=subscription | access-date=2014-11-06}}</ref> As an indirect result of Zeckendorf's 1965 bankruptcy, the Astor was sold for $10.5 million in 1966.<ref name="books.google.com"/> It closed and was demolished in 1967 by Sam Minskoff & Sons.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=TxdQGX7pDsEC&pg=PA353&lpg=PA353&dq=minskoff+building&source=bl&ots=_T5KQvhBM-&sig=LOc9_dhC-Haegj2dRzByvcl1kSw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=I45mVbafIYmisAXCzoGAAg&ved=0CDYQ6AEwBDgK#v=onepage&q=minskoff%20building&f=false ''Broadway: An Encyclopedia'' by Ken Bloom] November 11, 2003</ref> The site is now occupied by a 54-story skyscraper designed by [[Der Scutt]] of [[Ely Jacques Kahn|Ely J. Kahn & Jacobs]] and completed in 1972.


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Hotels}}
* [[List of former hotels in Manhattan]]
* [[List of former hotels in Manhattan]]
*[[Titanic]], on which John Jacob Astor Was lost
* {{Ship|RMS|Titanic}}, on which John Jacob Astor was lost


==References==
==References==
Line 56: Line 158:


==External links==
==External links==
*{{Commonscat-inline|Hotel Astor|Hotel Astor (New York City)}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Hotel Astor|Hotel Astor (New York City)}}
* [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma04/ranger/astor_collection/hotel.html Astor Collection at the University of Virginia]
* [https://archive.today/20121212215746/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma04/ranger/astor_collection/hotel.html Astor Collection at the University of Virginia]


{{Times Square}}
{{Times Square}}
{{TonyAwards venues}}
{{TonyAwards venues}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|40.757778|-73.986389|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=title}}
{{coord|40.757778|-73.986389|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=title}}


[[Category:1904 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:1904 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:1967 disestablishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:1967 disestablishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1968]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1968]]
Line 71: Line 174:
[[Category:Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City]]
[[Category:Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City]]
[[Category:Demolished hotels in New York City]]
[[Category:Demolished hotels in New York City]]
[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in New York City]]
[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Astor family]]
[[Category:Astor family]]
[[Category:Buildings with mansard roofs]]
[[Category:Buildings with mansard roofs]]

Latest revision as of 19:55, 20 November 2024

For other hotels with similar names, see Astor Hotel (disambiguation).

Hotel Astor
Hotel Astor in 1909
Map
General information
Architectural styleBeaux-Arts
LocationManhattan, New York City, United States
Construction started1904
Completed1910
Renovated1935 and 1949
Demolished1967

Hotel Astor was a hotel on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, United States. Built in 1905 and expanded in 1909–1910 for the Astor family, the hotel occupied a site bounded by Broadway, Shubert Alley, and 44th and 45th Streets.[1] Architects Clinton & Russell designed the hotel as an 11-story Beaux-Arts edifice with a mansard roof. It contained 1,000 guest rooms, with two more levels underground for its extensive "backstage" functions, such as the wine cellar.

The hotel was developed as a successor to the Waldorf-Astoria. Hotel Astor's success triggered the construction of the nearby Knickerbocker Hotel by other members of the Astor family two years later. The building was razed in 1967 to make way for the high-rise office tower One Astor Plaza.

Construction

[edit]
Times Square map in 1916 with Hotel Astor and nearby theaters

With its elaborately decorated public rooms and its roof garden, the Hotel Astor was perceived as the successor to the Astor family's Waldorf-Astoria on 34th Street. William C. Muschenheim and his brother, Frederick A. Muschenheim, conceived plans for the grand hotel in 1900. The area was then known as Longacre Square and stood beyond the fringe of metropolitan life, the center of New York's carriage-building trade. The Muschenheim brothers became the proprietors for absentee landlord William Waldorf Astor, from whom they leased the land. The hotel opened on September 9, 1904.[2]

The 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2) Hotel Astor was built in two stages, in 1905 and 1909–1910, by the same architects in the same style. Upon completion, the structure occupied an entire city block at a reported total cost of $7 million. Architects Clinton & Russell had designed a number of Astor commissions; here they developed a very Parisian Beaux-Arts style.

The Astor was an important element in the growth of Times Square and its character as an entertainment center. In 1904, New York Times publisher Adolph S. Ochs moved his newspaper's operations to a new tower on 42nd Street in the middle of Longacre Square (later One Times Square). Ochs persuaded Mayor George B. McClellan Jr. to build a subway station there and rename it Times Square. The Theater District would soon occupy magnificent new auditoriums along Forty-second Street, and electric lighting transformed this strip of Broadway into the "Great White Way".

Hotel Astor's success triggered the construction of the nearby Knickerbocker Hotel by other members of the Astor family two years later, although that property became commercial office space within a few years. The Astor set the pattern for "a new species of popular hotels that soon clustered around Times Square, vast amusement palaces that catered to crowds with scenographic interiors that mirrored the theatricality of the Great White Way."[3]

Amenities

[edit]
Southern end of the Grand Ballroom, circa 1910

Within its restrained exterior, the Astor featured a long list of elaborately themed ballrooms and exotic restaurants: the Old New York lobby, the American Indian Grill Room decorated with artifacts collected with the help of the American Museum of Natural History, a Flemish smoking room, a Pompeiian billiard room, the Hunt Room decorated in sixteenth century German Renaissance style, and many other features.[4]

1922 ad for the Hotel Astor

The Large Ballroom (or Banquet Hall), on the ninth floor, opened on September 29, 1909 with a dinner that was part of the Hudson-Fulton Celebration. Measuring 50 by 85 feet (15 m × 26 m), the Banquet Hall was decorated in the Rococo style of Louis XV and featured a high-groined arch ceiling in ivory white and old gold, supported by grouped caryatids. A gallery spanned the south and west sides, affording a fine view of the room, which could accommodate 500 diners. A large Austin pipe organ was installed; in 1910 Leo B. Riggs was appointed organist and gave daily concerts for the hotel's guests. The organ's manuals included an integrated piano.[5]

The smaller ballroom, seating 250, was decorated in the neoclassical Louis XVI manner and could be joined with the larger ballroom. Still another adjoining room, "The College Hall", could also open to the ballroom so that the combined rooms could seat up 1,100 persons. The Palm Garden, or "L'Orangerie", located in the rear of the first floor lobby, was intended to represent an Italian garden. Its ceiling, painted to represent a Mediterranean sky, was partly concealed by feigned vine-covered pergolas. Blue lighting, hanging lamps draped in vines, swaying fern baskets, and scenic pictures of the out-of-doors further enhanced the perception.

The rooftop garden, with bandstand and observatory, was one of a number constructed in the city between 1880 and Prohibition, among them the American Theater on Eighth Avenue, the garden atop Stanford White's 1890 Madison Square Garden, and the Paradise Roof Garden opened by Oscar Hammerstein I in 1900.[3] In later years, the noted landscape architect Takeo Shiota redesigned the roof's North Garden on a Japanese theme.[6]

Artwork in the original lobby included four murals by William de Leftwich Dodge depicting Ancient and Modern New York. The ballroom held a marble group called the Three Graces, by sculptor Isidore Konti, with all three figures modeled on Audrey Munson, along with murals by designer Edward G. Unitt.

Social history

[edit]
Peace Society dinner at the Hotel Astor, February 1909 with President Taft and Secretary of State Elihu Root in lower right

As a popular meeting place and New York City landmark, the Astor had a place in popular culture for decades, from the extended double entendre song "She Had to Go and Lose It at the Astor", to its appearance in the 1945 film The Clock, which provides a good view of the wartime-era lobby (although reconstructed in Hollywood). The first notable regular dance band at the Astor was that of Fred Rich, who made many records for Columbia Records and its budget subsidiary Harmony Records in the 1920s as "Fred Rich and his Hotel Astor Orchestra" and also as "The Astorites." Among many other later musicians, the swing era bandleader Tommy Dorsey appeared regularly on the rooftop bandstand, and it was there that Frank Sinatra made early New York appearances with Dorsey's band from 1940 to 1942. Another regular, in the 1950s, was Carmen Cavallaro and his orchestra, advertised on the marquee under the banner "On the Astor Roof". In 1933, it was the site of Fiorello La Guardia's election night party when he was first elected mayor of New York.

In 1947, stuntman John Ciampa scaled the exterior of the hotel as part of a publicity ploy for the Sunbrock Rodeo and Thrill Circus. A 1947 post card, Hotel Astor claimed "1000 rooms, 1000 baths" and as "The Crossroads of the World"[7]

Beginning in the 1910s, the Astor Bar acquired a reputation as a gay meeting place.[8] During World War II, the Astor Bar was one of three American hotel bars "world famous for their wartime ambience", alongside the Top of the Mark at the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco, and the men's bar at the Los Angeles Biltmore.[9] Unlike the flamboyant late-night scenes at the automats, gay patrons at the Astor Bar were welcomed, allotted an entire side of the oval bar, and expected to be discreet (by the standards of the time). Thus "the Astor maintained its public reputation as an eminently respectable Times Square rendezvous, while its reputation as a gay rendezvous and pickup bar assumed legendary proportions."[8] The bar was further immortalized in Cole Porter's song "Well, Did You Evah!", which includes the line, "Have you heard that Mimsie Starr / Just got pinched in the Astor Bar?" The ribald tune "She Had to Go and Lose It at the Astor" explored a similar theme.

Later years

[edit]
Rendering of the Astor's rooftop garden

The hotel was completely renovated in 1935, and again in 1949.[2] It was sold to real estate entrepreneur William Zeckendorf on September 1, 1954. However he sold it again just two weeks later, on September 15, 1954, to Sheraton Hotels, which renamed it the Sheraton-Astor. Zeckendorf repurchased the hotel in December 1957, regaining control of it in March 1958 and returning it to its original name.[2] During this period, the hotel was managed by Prince Serge Obolensky.[10] As an indirect result of Zeckendorf's 1965 bankruptcy, the Astor was sold for $10.5 million in 1966.[2] It closed and was demolished in 1967 by Sam Minskoff & Sons.[11][12] After several years of delays,[13] the hotel was replaced by One Astor Plaza, a 50-story skyscraper completed in 1972 and designed by Der Scutt.[14]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Bloom, Ken (2007). The Routledge Guide to Broadway (1st ed.). New York: Routledge. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-415-97380-9.
  2. ^ a b c d Bloom, Ken (2007). The Routledge Guide to Broadway (1st ed.). New York: Routledge. pp. 14–15. ISBN 978-0-415-97380-9.
  3. ^ a b Stern, Robert A. M.; Gilmartin, Gregory; Massengale, John Montague (1983). New York 1900: Metropolitan Architecture and Urbanism, 1890–1915. New York: Rizzoli. pp. 267, 269. ISBN 0-8478-0511-5. OCLC 9829395.
  4. ^ Rider, Fremont, ed. (1916). Rider's New York city and vicinity, including Newark, Yonkers and Jersey. p. 171. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  5. ^ "Organist at Hotel Astor" (PDF). The Diapason. 1 (8): 3. July 1, 1910.
  6. ^ Lancaster, Clay (May 1983). The Japanese influence in America. Abbeville Press. ISBN 978-0896593428.
  7. ^ "Hotel Astor, Time Square". CardCow. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  8. ^ a b Taylor, William R., ed. (April 22, 1996). Inventing Times Square: Commerce and Culture at the Crossroads of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. xxiv. ISBN 978-0801853371.
  9. ^ Berube, Allen (April 1990). Coming Out Under Fire. Free Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0029031001. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  10. ^ Hellman, Geoffrey T. (October 25, 1958). "Astor's Obolensky". The New Yorker. p. 36. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  11. ^ Broadway: An Encyclopedia by Ken Bloom November 11, 2003
  12. ^ Fried, Joseph P. (August 3, 1967). "The Astor, a Lady to the End, Resists the Wrecker's Advances; Crews Are Awed by Solidity Of Broadway's Grande Dame". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  13. ^ Johnston, Laurie (November 28, 1971). "One Astor Plaza 87 Per Cent Rented". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  14. ^ "One Astor Plaza - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
[edit]

40°45′28″N 73°59′11″W / 40.757778°N 73.986389°W / 40.757778; -73.986389

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Hotel_Astor_(New_York_City)&oldid=1258634700"