Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Happy 100th Birthday, Hotel McAlpin


It's now a residential building called the Herald Towers that somewhat blends in with surrounding tall architecture, but when it was first built in 1912, the Hotel McAlpin was a formidable presence. At 25 stories tall, it was the largest hotel in the world with 1,500 rooms, not including the Turkish bath, roof garden (a solid amenity if there ever was one), ballroom (throwback to the Gilded Age), and convention hall (meh).

The McAlpin going up, March 1912. Photo: MCNY

The building was designed by American architect Frank Mills Andrews and besides its fortuitous location next to the Sixth Avenue El train, it was smack in the center of rapidly changing part of the city. In 1912, the Macy's store on West 34th Street and Broadway (across the street) was celebrating its tenth year, and the area was quickly transforming from the den of sin it was in the late 1800s to a retail and hospitality center. A few blocks away on 34th Street at Park Avenue, the Vanderbilt Hotel was under construction; the Titanic sank in April 1912, taking with it Macy's founder Isidor Strauss; and the first monument dedicated to a woman was celebrated in Bryant Park. One year earlier, the New York Public Library opened its doors to the public, and in 1913, the Grand Central Oyster Bar opened its doors. In short, people were traveling, shopping, and eating out more.

The Hotel McAlpin opened for business on December 29, 1912, a Monday.

Photo: LOC

A year after the hotel's opening, members of the Blackfoot Confederacy from Montana visited the hotel. The visit was arranged by Louis W. Hill, fonder of the Northern Railroad Company to promote train service from western states.
Photo: MCNY
All sorts of PR stunts were staged, some with phonographs.

Photo: MCNY
The McAlpin was also one of the first hotels to rent ground-level space to retailers. By 1917,  the hotel's owners had purchased additional frontage along the 34th Street entrance, and were slated to add 200 more rooms.

Photo: NYPL
The McAlpin was also known for its restaurant located in the Alpine Cellar, called the Marine Grill, not so much for the food, as for the decor. The walls and ceilings were covered in Terra Cotta murals based on paintings by Fred Dana Marsh, and showed the history of the New York harbor. 

Marine Grill, c. 1924. Photo: MCNY
The restaurant eventually closed, but thankfully the murals were rescued and are now installed at the Chambers Street / Park Place A train stop as part of the MTA's public art program.


Postcard: Pisark's
 

11 comments:

  1. Your photos are very fine and do catch the vibe.

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  2. Whoa, now that is an old hotel!
    -Jack @ Tribeca hotel

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  3. My grandfather was the architect. My name is Frank Mills Andrews III. He was very prolific in his work. The state capital of Kentucky is beautiful.

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    1. Thank you for your comment. Your grandfather's work is wonderful. I've never seen the State Capital of Kentucky building in person, but it looks spectacular. - Anne

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  4. I just found, metal detecting in Southampton, NY, a key fob from the hotel.
    It is quite thick and heavy for what it is. Oval shaped it is embossed with the words "Hotel McAlpin New York"on one side and the initials M A with a leaf decoration on the other. Thanks to your site this find has a little more meaning.

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  5. Wow, what a great find! I'm glad to have helped in a very small way. Thanks for writing.

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  6. My great grandpa Berthard and grandma Lillie were married at the McCalpin June 12 1913, I have a funny NYT article about how they met. Also the family joke called "Mr Mustard", which my grandpa and dad told takes place at the McCalpin. It's a magnificient facade to look at seated in herald square park in the early morning before the crowds come.

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    1. That is such a lovely story, and what a great place to be married, especially at that time. I like walking around that area early in the morning too without all of the crowds. Thanks for your comment. - Anne

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  7. The hotel is the McAlpin Hotel, not the McCalpin......... it has been referred to as the place of the wedding of Berthard and Grandma Lillie. I know how to spell my
    maiden name very well.......It was McAlpin !!! The photographs that you have supplied are wonderful and the descriptions of the construction and of the rooms
    are classic. It seems that spelling the name McAlpin is difficult.....the title comments on the McAlpin Hotel celebrating the 100th birthday. It is spelled correctly until the opening paragraph.....Then it is in error once again, McAplin is not correct. At least the heading is accurate. You are to be commended for posting the information on a very famous hotel.

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