“Flock to Inspect the Biggest Hotel
The McAlpin
Thronged with Visitors When Its Doors
are Opened for Business.
A HOTEL OF SPECIALTIES”
From Wikipedia: “The 'Hotel McAlpin' was constructed in 1912 at the corner of Broadway and 34th street in Manhattan, New York City. When opened it was the largest hotel in the world... the New York Times commented that it was so tall at 25 stories that it “seems isolated from other buildings.” Boasting a staff of 1,500, the hotel could accommodate 2,500 guests. It was built at a cost of $13.5 million (nearly 300 million in 1997 dollars). The top floor had a Turkish bath and there were two gender-specific floors; women checking into the hotel could reserve a room on the women's only floor and bypass the lobby and check in directly at their own floor. One floor, dubbed the “sleepy 16th” was designed for night workers so that it was kept quiet during the day.”
In 1938 and again in 1954 the building was renovated. In the late 1970s the building was converted to 700 rental apartments. Most recently renovations brought it up to standards and it is “one of the places to rent”. Today the building operates under the name Herald Towers. There are 60 furnished apartments for short term use and 690 studios and one bedroom for lease rentals. Current rentals are 483 to 818 square feet (see floor plans HERE) and range in price from $2,300 to $3,700 a month!
I walked to 1726 N Cherokee Hollywood CA on Google and there is a parking structure there today!
Correspondence on the back:
Dear Nell, We are not staying here, but at an apartment of my cousins. We have seen almost as much of NY as we care to, and expect to move on about Friday. We are having a fine time but hope to have a rest at Keuka Lake the first two days of July. Grace EMore on Keuka Lake HERE!
8 comments:
Nice card - tight building. Thanks for visiting my blog. :)
Really quite an amazing place! I can't imagine a hotel with quite so many guests. They've obviously maintained its standards of excellence over the years, even after converting to apartments.
It's proabaly Keuka lake, in upstate New York.
Thanks for the link to the floor plans!
I'm glad the hotel was renovated and not torn down like most old hotels.
How well I know this landmark hotel. Used to pass it all the time when shopping at nearby Macy's in the 1960s and 1970s. If memory serves, the Laurel Book Shop was located at the McAlpin...Love that the card shows the elevated tracks in the foreground, and the streetcars, too.
Great story to "Go With"!
Very interesting! It's nice that the hotel had a happier ending than the PC recipient's home!
WOW! Love hearing about tidbits of history. They didn't use zip codes way back then...
-pamela
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