Grand Central Hotel
40°43′39″N 73°59′43″W / 40.727617°N 73.995162°W
Grand Central Hotel | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | Manhattan, New York City |
Opened | 1870 |
Demolished | 1973 (collapsed) |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Henry Engelbert |
The Grand Central Hotel, later renamed the Broadway Central Hotel, was a
The hotel collapsed on August 3, 1973,[2] killing four residents and injuring at least twelve.[3]
History
This hotel, which opened in 1870, was designed by
THE LARGEST HOTEL IN AMERICA
Few people who pass through Broadway are aware that on that bustling thoroughfare, between Amity and Bleecker streets, there is now in course of erection, on the site of the old Lafarge Hotel, one of the largest and most magnificent hotels on the Western Continent, which, when completed, will throw in the shade the largest hotels in this country - rivalling even the "Grand Hotel" at Paris in magnificence. Since the disastrous fire in April, 1867,[4] which destroyed the Winter Garden Theatre,[5] under the Lafarge House, that hotel has been closed.
In March last it was sold at
St. Louis, which was burned some three years ago; 200 of the rooms will be parlors en suite. It is to be named the Southern Hotel, and is designed to accommodate 1,200 guests. It will be eight stories in height, surmounted by three gothic towers on the Broadway front. Three elevators, which will perform the trip from the first floor to the attic in thirty seconds, will be in use for the benefit of guests night and day. One item alone - upholstery and furniture - will involve an expenditure of $1,000,000. The articles mentioned having been ordered from Paris and this city.The halls and rooms will require carpeting sufficient to cover seven acres [28,000 m²], and will be of the finest quality - Brussels and velvet. All the rooms will be heated with steam, and on each floor hydrants, hose, and everything necessary will be furnished to extinguish fire. There will be three large dining-rooms extending from the main hall on the second story to the Mercer street wall, the largest of which will accommodate 500 guests. There are at present 350 men employed on the building, and the contractor calculates that he will complete it by the 1st of June next but the hotel will not be open for the reception of guests until the following August. When completed, it will have cost the proprietor $1,600,000.[6]
On February 2, 1876, 8 baseball teams formed what became the National League of Major League Baseball at the Grand Central Hotel. The event was celebrated at the league's 50 and 75th anniversaries at the hotel.[7]
Collapse
On August 3, 1973, allegedly due in part to illegal alterations on a basement bearing wall,
See also
References
- ^ Staff (January 7, 1872) "James Fisk Murdered" The New York Times
- ^ Schumach, Murray (August 4, 1973). "Broadway Central Hotel Collapses; 3 Walls Still Up; 320 Occupants". The New York Times.
- ^ Ferretti, Fred (August 11, 1973). "Two More Bodies Found in Rubble; 4 Are Now Known Dead in Collapse of Hotel, and 2 Are Unaccounted for". The New York Times.
- ^ The date of the fire is given as March 23 in "Destruction by Fire of the Winter Garden Theatre" The New York Times (Monday, March 25, 1867)
- ^ Winter Garden Theatre (1850), not to be confused with the present Winter Garden Theatre of 1911
- N.Y. Tribune, Thursday, November 11, 1869, p. 8, col.2 (bottom)
- ^ Pollak, Michael (6 November 2015). "Broadway Central Hotel's Heyday Before a Fatal Collapse". The New York Times.
- ^ McGrath, Garrett (September 3, 2013). "The Theater Came Crashing Down". Narratively. New York Post contemporary quote. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ Pollak: Michael (November 8, 2015) "Broadway Central Hotel’s Heyday Before a Fatal Collapse" The New York Times
- ^ a b Kabak, Cynthia (2002). "The Life and Times of Sy Kaback: Lap 12 - A "Dramatic" Effort". SimpleSevens.org (Interview). Interviewed by Donohoe, John. East Hampton, N.Y. Archived from the original on 24 July 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
External links
- Grand Central Hotel photos and history (Access may be blocked from some countries)
- Urban Sculptures