Algonquin Hotel

The Algonquin Hotel is on 59 West 44th Street, on the north sidewalk between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The rectangular land lot covers , with a frontage of on 44th Street and a depth of . Other nearby buildings include the Belasco Theatre to the west; Americas Tower to the northwest; 1166 Avenue of the Americas to the north; the New York City Bar Association Building and the Royalton Hotel to the south; and the Penn Club of New York building at 30 West 44th Street, the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen building, and the Hotel Mansfield to the southeast. When the hotel was developed in 1902, the area was filled with clubhouses, including those of the Harvard Club, Yale Club, New York Yacht Club, New York City Bar Association, and Century Association. Prior to the development of the Algonquin Hotel, the neighborhood contained a slaughterhouse, stables for stagecoach horses, and a train yard for the elevated Sixth Avenue Line. One of the stables became the Algonquin's three-story annex in 1904. There had been many stagecoach stables on 43rd and 44th Streets between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, By the 2010s, the hotel's annex was the only former stable on the block. The Algonquin is also one of six hotels on 44th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, the largest concentration of hotels on a single block in New York City during the early 21st century. == Architecture ==

The Algonquin Hotel was designed in 1902 by architect Goldwin Starrett of the Thompson–Starrett Company. Facade The hotel building has a symmetrical facade. The first two stories of the facade are made of rusticated limestone blocks. There are band courses on the facade above the second and tenth stories. There are two segmental arches on either side of the main entrance, all of which have canopies above them. There are glazed wooden doors in the westernmost bay, as well as metal service doors in the easternmost bay. The second-westernmost and second-easternmost bays contain tripartite windows. The four outer bays have rectangular windows, separated by large brackets that support the band course above the second floor, and topped by keystones flanked by festoons. The western annex was originally a two-story stable but was expanded to a three-story brick structure in 1905. The entrance is flanked by display windows, which in turn are topped by transom panels with metal grilles. On either side of the storefront are pilasters decorated with Native Americans' heads. as well as a smaller cafe. The Pergola restaurant occupied the west and north sections of the ground floor, with a kitchen on the same level. Above the second floor, the elevators open into a public hallway that connected all of the rooms on that floor. The core also contains a dumbwaiter leading from the hotel's kitchen; a set of stairs; and service rooms. There was also a water tower above the roof. The modern-day hotel contains 181 guest rooms and suites, as well as five meeting/conference rooms. The annex became part of the hotel in 1904. The third floor was then used as a ballroom for much of the 20th century, while the second floor became storage space. In 2012, the annex's second floor was renovated, becoming the John Barrymore Suite. The annex's first floor has contained the Blue Bar since 1997. Ground level Lobby Originally, the front (south) portion of the ground floor contained a lounge with palms and flowers. The lobby also contains wood paneling and a grandfather clock, which were both part of the original design. There was a glazed partition between the waiting area and reception desk. To the east of the lounge was a men's smoking room and club. The space also contains black-and-white tiled floors, which were installed in 1998 in a vintage style; The lobby contains an oil painting of several Algonquin Round Table regulars, designed by Natalie Ascencios on the site of a former bar. There is a blue-and-red marble desk with a shelter for the hotel's cat (see ) and, near the eastern window, a shelf with a small staircase for the cat. Above the reception desk is an artwork composed of salvaged guest books, which was added in 2022. There is also a seating area across from the reception desk, where guests can pet and play with the hotel's cat. The space contained red wallpaper, a red ceiling, and chandeliers with orange velvet tubes. The Round Table Restaurant was relocated into the Rose Room's former space. Oak Room The Oak Room occupied the ground floor of the annex and was originally the Pergola's rear section. The Oak Room Supper Club opened within part of the Pergola in 1939, with European chanteuse Greta Keller as the room's first star. The club closed during World War II. or 1981 Its first regular and star was singer-pianist Steve Ross. Mary Cleere Haran, Karen Akers, KT Sullivan, Barbara Carroll, Sandy Stewart and Bill Charlap, Diana Krall, Jessica Molaskey, Jamie Cullum, and John Pizzarelli. Andrea Marcovicci performed there for over 25 years, sometimes with her mother Helen Stuart Marcovicci. Harry Connick Jr. and Michael Feinstein performed at the Oak Room early in their careers. New York Times critic Raymond Sokolov described the Oak Room as intimate and more masculine than the Rose Room. The space had theatrical equipment and lighting, as well as a grand piano. Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune wrote in 1993 that the room's decorations, size, furnishings, and waiters' services evoked "an era when visitors sat back, sipped a drink, listened to music and savored life in an unhurried way". The Oak Room permanently closed as a cabaret nightclub in 2012, and a portion of the room was converted into a private breakfast room for Marriott Reward Elite customers. Originally, the Blue Bar was placed in a niche behind the reception counter. The Blue Bar relocated to the annex in 1997, The New York Times wrote in 2000: "The Blue Bar is frequented by widows and well-traveled gentlemen with a predilection for theater." In 2012, the Blue Bar was renovated and expanded into part of the space formerly occupied by the Oak Room. The largest suites available in the hotel contained a private hallway, a sitting room, a library or dining room, three bedrooms, and three bathrooms. Each unit originally contained mahogany woodwork and waxed-oak floors. The hallways also contain cartoons taken from The New Yorker. The modern-day hotel contains 156 rooms and 25 suites. == History ==

Development and opening Construction The Algonquin was the third hotel to be built on the surrounding city block, after the Iroquois and Royalton, which had opened in 1900. The hotel would be similar in design to the then-newly completed Touraine, at 9–11 East 39th Street, The owners hired 28-year-old Goldwin Starrett to design the hotel, Starrett's firm, the Thompson–Starrett Company, was to build the hotel for $500,000 The Puritan Realty Company acquired a $250,000 loan from the Century Realty Company at the end of 1901. Albert T. Foster and Ann Stetson Foster obtained a majority ownership stake in the Puritan Realty Company in February 1902. At the end of the month, the company submitted plans to the New York City Department of Buildings for an unnamed 12-story hotel, to be built on the north side of 44th Street east of Sixth Avenue. The Thompson–Starrett Company completed the hotel within a seven-month period, between April and November 1902. The Fosters hired Frank Case as a clerk in late 1902, a few weeks before the hotel opened. According to one account, Case believed the "Puritan" name was too pompous and evocative of European influences. Early years The hotel opened on November 22, 1902, The Algonquin had amenities that were considered modern for its time, such as trained servants, in-suite telephones, heating, and plumbing. the Smiths took title that November. In partial exchange for the hotel, the Smiths sold a building at the corner of Madison Avenue and 42nd Street. Albert Foster continued to hold a lease on the Algonquin Hotel, paying $45,000 a year in rent. A New York state judge subsequently appointed Albert as the hotel's receiver. Ultimately, Case took over the day-to-day operations, Albert was assigned the lease and all objects in the hotel, and Ann acquired the building itself (notwithstanding the fact that it had already been sold to the Smiths). The hotel bought a two-story stable at 65 West 44th Street in 1904 and built another floor above the stable the next year. The New York Hippodrome opened directly across 44th Street in 1905, which Case described as "an important event for us". Manhattan's theater district also shifted to Times Square during the first decade of the 20th century; several Broadway theaters, including the Belasco, Broadhurst, Forty-fourth Street, and Winthrop Ames (now Hayes), were developed on 44th Street in the 1900s and 1910s. and decided to operate the Algonquin as a short-term hotel. Under Case's management, the Algonquin gained a reputation for hospitality toward struggling authors, actors, and producers, which contributed to the hotel's popularity among theatrical and literary figures. For instance, Case paid playwright Eugene Walter's railroad fare when the latter was a guest at the hotel, and Case allowed guests to defer payment of their bills. The Toronto Star wrote: "Through the years, the hotel has played an important role in keeping various (literally) starving artists and actors alive until their next job, their future book or Broadway hit." The hotel's restaurant caught fire in February 1909. After Andrew Smith died in 1910, the hotel's ownership was split equally between his daughter Juliet E. Smith and his wife Jane Wells. The annex caught fire the same November, destroying Frederic Thompson's residence on the top story. The Rocky Mountain Club leased the Algonquin's three-story annex in May 1913, and Frederick J. Sterner remodeled the annex into a clubhouse, which opened that December. and he closed the hotel's bar in 1917, saying he did not want to fund his children's college tuition with "saloon money". Following World War I, the hotel became a meeting place of the Algonquin Round Table, a group of actors, critics, wits, and writers, between 1919 and 1929. In addition, the Beethoven Association moved into the hotel's annex in 1922, staying there for twelve years. The Algonquin's success prompted Case to consider opening a similar hotel in Hollywood in the early 1920s. Case ownership Case bought the property in 1927, paying Andrew Smith's family $1 million. By then, the hotel contained 250 rooms. After the New York Drama Critics' Circle was founded at the Algonquin in 1935, it started hosting annual dinners at the hotel, wherein the group voted on the best play of the year. and the Algonquin's staff have remained unionized since then. Chemical Bank, the trustee of Case's estate, placed the Algonquin for sale that August. At the time, the hotel had 192 units (143 of which were suites), as well as a bar and three restaurants. Bodne ownership In September 1946, Chemical Bank sold the hotel for $1 million to Ben Bodne of Charleston, South Carolina, who acquired the title to the property the next month. Bodne and his wife Mary had stayed there during their honeymoon in 1924, and Ben had promised Mary that he would one day buy the hotel. Bodne owned the hotel for the next four decades, occupying the suite in which Case and his family had once lived. Ben and Mary Bodne had two daughters, both of whom were married; their respective husbands both eventually became managers of the hotel. Ben and Mary's sons-in-law Sidney Colby and Andrew Anspach initially were hired as the hotel's vice presidents. Colby became the hotel's manager in 1951, and Anspach had taken over as managing director by the 1970s. John Martin, the hotel's general manager of nine years, helped Bodne with the improvements, which included refurbishing all the rooms and adding a refrigeration plant. Under Bodne's ownership, the Algonquin became the first hotel in New York City to replace its hotel keys with electronic key cards. The hotel was among the first in New York City to give walkie-talkies to its staff and install smoke detectors in its rooms. The hotel received modern wiring, plumbing, and heating systems; Around 1963, stage designer Oliver Smith redecorated the hotel's Rose Room with white, gilded, and rose draperies, Most guests were unaware of the renovation work, as it was largely conducted at night. Even so, the bar and restaurants were often full. In addition, it did not offer gaudy entertainment or host private parties; the only visible symbol of luxury was the dining room's crystal chandelier, which the hotel had bought in the 1930s for $25. By the late 1970s, the Algonquin employed close to 200 staff members, about one for each unit on average. The Algonquin also ran few formal advertisements, instead obtaining most of its business through word-of-mouth marketing. Nightly room rates were relatively cheap, ranging from $43 to $80, so the hotel had many repeat guests. Staff recorded each guest's needs and preferences on index cards. The hotel's Oak Room reopened as a cabaret venue at the end of 1980. Even so, Ward Morehouse III wrote in 1981 that the Algonquin "just never seems to worry about the so-called 'bottom line', or profit picture, despite the fact it is one of the most reasonably priced first-class hotels in the city." Aoki ownership Bodne sold the hotel to Caesar Park Hotels, a subsidiary of Japanese company Aoki Corporation, for $29 million in June 1987. The sale came four months after Bodne had publicly denied a rumor that he was considering selling the hotel; Aoki's purchase marked the first time that a company or a foreign entity had owned the hotel, and it was part of a trend of foreign investment in New York City buildings in the late 1980s. Ben Bodne continued to live at the Algonquin until he died in 1992, after which Mary Bodne remained there until her own death in 2000. The hotel's elevators were in dire need of upgrades; decades earlier, writer James Thurber had joked that the hotel's literary guests "became writers while waiting for the elevators". In 1989, Aoki began renovating the hotel to designs by architect John Ciardullo and designer Laura Gottwald. The hotel's 170 rooms were redecorated in a Victorian style, with wooden trim and sliding doors in each room, as well as wallpaper, tapestries, and fabrics with early-20th-century designs. The old operator-controlled elevators were supplanted by self-service elevators, The owners installed a plaque in the lobby, describing the hotel's history; the plaque had to be remade because it contained so many spelling and grammatical errors. The renovation took five years to complete, as the contractors only renovated three floors at a time; The Algonquin was one of several hotels around Times Square that were developed or renovated in the late 1980s and 1990s. Arthur Kaptainis of the Montreal Gazette wrote that the project had "cleared the funny smells without stripping the lobby of its cushiony Edwardian elegance". The hotel was no longer known for its cheap room rates; the Gazette noted that the neighboring Hotel Iroquois charged much less. Even so, the Algonquin remained popular among those visiting nearby Broadway theaters. In 1995, Aoki added a James Thurber-themed suite to the Algonquin. Camberley and Olympus ownership In March 1997, the partnership of Atlanta-based Camberley Hotel Company and Dallas-based Olympus Real Estate bought the Algonquin. The two companies paid $30 million for the hotel, which had 165 units at the time. The bedrooms were small by modern standards, and the Algonquin also had extremely slow elevators, mouse infestations, constant hot-water interruptions, and bad food. Camberley officials announced plans to spend $4 million on a "discreet" renovation of the entrance and lobby. Some hotel regulars wrote letters to Lloyd-Jones, daring him "to change a thing". which ultimately cost $5.5 million. Camberley and Olympus placed the hotel for sale in January 2001, receiving bids from about 20 potential buyers. Bernard Goldberg, who had been in contract to buy the hotel at the time, canceled his plans following the attacks. The Algonquin's visitor numbers largely recovered within two years of the attacks. Anthony Melchiorri was hired as the hotel's new general manager. Miller Global spent $3 million on renovating the hotel. When the hotel had been sold, the previous owner had relocated the first painting to the Martha Washington Inn in Virginia, so Miller Global hired Ascencios to create another painting of the Round Table's members. this was the first time that the Algonquin had been fully closed in its history. and the restaurant offered discounted lunches to authors. Miller Global hired Cushman and Wakefield to find a buyer for the hotel in mid-2005. Mid-2000s to present The hotel was sold again to HEI Hospitality in October 2005. HEI spent $4.5 million on yet another renovation of the hotel, completed in 2008, and they hired Gary Budge as the general manager. In September 2010, the Algonquin Hotel became affiliated with the Marriott International chain's Autograph Collection brand, becoming the Algonquin Hotel Times Square, Autograph Collection. The hotel retained several of its traditions, including its name and its cat. HEI continued to own the hotel but paid a franchise fee to become part of Marriott's rewards program. The affiliation with Marriott came amid an increase in tourism in New York City. Cornerstone bought the hotel that June for about $80 million, becoming the hotel's fifth owner in 15 years. In late 2011, Cornerstone announced that it would close the Algonquin for renovations for four months. The Algonquin was closed for renovations in February 2012, during which time the Oak Room was closed permanently. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the Algonquin was closed from March 2020 to April 2021. Stonehill Taylor further renovated the hotel in 2022, including the Algonquin Round Table, the Blue Bar, and the Oak Room. The hotel's round table was also restored in 2024. == Traditions ==

Cats The Algonquin Hotel has kept a cat in its lobby since the late 1920s. The practice was formerly thought to have originated in the 1930s, but a book by Frank Case indicates that he had cared for a cat named Billy until the feline's death in the 1920s. When a guest was sick, Rusty frequently went to that guest's room and stayed there until they had recovered. Rusty was renamed Hamlet at the suggestion of John Barrymore, who at the time was performing on Broadway in the play Hamlet. Since then, all the male cats have been named Hamlet, while all the female cats have been named Matilda. The cat's collar interacts with an electric geo-fence, which prevents the cat from leaving the lobby, because the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene does not permit animals in dining areas. Another cat, a female Ragdoll, was named 2006 cat of the year at the Westchester Cat Show. Every August, the hotel holds a fundraiser with a feline fashion show featuring the hotel's cat. The fashion shows started in the 1930s In addition, the hotel hosts birthday parties for its cat; these events have also served as fundraisers, such as in 2010, when Matilda III's fifteenth birthday raised money for North Shore Animal League America. The Wall Street Journal wrote that the cat's birthday party "is the kind of party where you would find [...] $20 Purrtinis for sale, made of Grey Goose vodka, lychee juice, coconut, white creme de cacao and lemon juice and advertisements for Reiki treatments for cats. It is also a party where you would see a cat dressed as a fruit basket..." The $10,000 "Martini on the Rock" was added to the hotel's menu in 2004; it consists of a martini of the buyer's choice with a single piece of "ice", a diamond, at the bottom of the glass. though over a decade elapsed before anyone actually bought that drink. The Blue Bar's menu includes several cocktails that allude to the TV series Mad Men, in which the bar was featured. One bartender at the Algonquin, Hoy Wong, was believed to be the oldest bartender in New York state; by the time Wong retired in 2009, he was nearly 90 years old. In the late 20th century, writers on tour could get one free night at the hotel in exchange for an autographed copy of their book. The practice has been amended to include a discount on standard room rates. Additionally, in 2009, the hotel offered discounted room rates to authors who had a draft manuscript and were experiencing writer's block. == Notable guests ==

Among the Algonquin's early guests were actors Douglas Fairbanks, By the beginning of the 21st century, the hotel's guests included theatrical personalities such as Brenda Fricker, Simon Gray, Peter Hall, Richard Harris, Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Irons, Angela Lansbury, John Osborne, Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Rea, Diana Rigg, Tom Stoppard, and Peter Ustinov. "a place where a lot of slang, phrases and attitudes were shaped". The Round Table's members referred to themselves as the Vicious Circle and met almost daily for nearly ten years. Playwright George Bernard Shaw, actress Fanny Brice, and composer Irving Berlin were among the many people who vied for invitations to eat lunch with the club. Case's daughter Margaret wrote: "First, the people who sat at the Round Table were interesting people whose doings and sayings caught and held public attention; and secondly, they were as brave, mentally, as any dashing medieval cavalier was physically brave." In celebration of this, modern hotel guests receive free copies of The New Yorker. The group sat at a 15-seat round table, but it is unknown where the original round table was relocated after the Round Table club was disbanded. By the late 1990s, all the tables in the Rose Room were square. The Rose Room was demolished in 1998 to make way for an expansion of the lobby. During that project, the hotel's then-owner Camberley Hotel Group added a circular table in the lobby, a homage to the former luncheon group. Hotel guests could reserve the round table; the other tables in the lobby could be used without reservation. The rebuilt round table was relocated to an alcove adjacent to the Blue Bar in 2022. == Reception and impact ==

When the Algonquin opened in 1902, the New-York Tribune—which, according to John Tauranac, seldom described things in hyperbolic terms—called the hotel the "last step in excellence in this class of structure". The New York Times wrote in 2021: "A list of New York literary hotspots would not be complete without the Algonquin, which played host in the 1920s to an assortment of New York writers, playwrights, journalists and actors." Frank Case had written three books about the hotel during his lifetime, By the hotel's 75th anniversary in 1977, it had been the subject of seven books. Similarly, a reporter from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote in 1997: "In a city of wrecking balls and cranes, plate glass and cold chrome, incessant sirens and frenetic foot traffic, the Algonquin remains an island of civility." Some critics also wrote about the quality of the hotel itself. Rosalie Earle of the Sunday Gazette-Mail wrote in 2010: "The one-bedroom has a king bed and the living room has a pull-out couch, which makes for comfortable and affordable accommodations, when the tab is divided three ways". A writer for the Palm Beach Daily News said in 2013 that the units had been enlarged into "sleek, sophisticated guest rooms and suites". Landmark status The Landmarks Preservation Commission considered designating the Algonquin Hotel as an official city landmark in 1985. Unlike other city landmarks, the hotel was known more for its historical associations than for its architecture. The LPC designated the Algonquin Hotel as a city landmark in September 1987. Although the hotel's longtime owner Ben Bodne had opposed the designation, The hotel's facade contains another plaque, dedicated in 1963, which commemorates a horse stable that previously occupied the site, and had belonged to either Jay Gould or W. H. Aiken. The building is counted among Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. == See also ==