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Hotel Gerard
Hotel Gerard in 2008.
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Location123 West 44th Street, New York, New York
Coordinates40°45′24″N 73°59′03″W / 40.75667°N 73.98417°W / 40.75667; -73.98417
Arealess than one acre
Built1893
ArchitectGeorge Keister
Architectural styleRenaissance
NRHP reference No.83001729[1]
NYCL No.1242
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 10, 1983
Designated NYCLJuly 27, 1982

The AKA Times Square, formerly the Hotel Gerard, Hotel Langwell, and Hotel 1-2-3, is a historic hotel at 123 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The building was designed by George Keister and built in 1893. It is a 13-story, "U"-shaped, salmon colored brick and limestone building with German Renaissance style design elements. The front facade features bowed pairs of bay windows from the third to the sixth floor and the building is topped by steeply pointed front gables and a highly decorated dormer. It was originally built as an apartment hotel.[2]: 2, 4 

The hotel is located at 123 West 44th Street, next door to the Belasco Theatre.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 10, 1983.[1]

Site edit

The AKA Times Square (originally the Hotel Gerard) is on 123 West 44th Street, on the north sidewalk between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, near Times Square in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City.[3][4] The square land lot covers 10,000 sq ft (930 m2), with a frontage of 100 ft (30 m) on 44th Street and a depth of 100 feet.[4] On the same block, the Belasco Theatre is to the east and the Hudson Theatre and Millennium Times Square New York are to the west. Other nearby buildings include 1166 Avenue of the Americas to the northeast, the Americas Tower and High School of Performing Arts to the north, the Lyceum Theatre and 1540 Broadway to the northwest, 1500 Broadway to the southwest, and the Chatwal New York hotel and the Town Hall to the south.[4]

Before the Hotel Gerard was developed, the surrounding area generally had a mixture of low-rise residences and commercial buildings. The hotel's site was previously occupied by the Shaari Tephila Synagogue, built in 1865. The surrounding neighborhood was filled with three- arid four-story Italianate or French Second Empire townhouses.[5]

Design edit

The AKA Times Square was designed by George Keister in the Renaissance Revival style.[3] It is thirteen stories tall. On 44th Street, the lowest two stories of the facade are made of limestone, while the remaining stories are made of light-colored Roman brick. The side elevations are made of common bond brick and do not have any ornamental detail.[6] The hotel is "U"-shaped in plan, with a rear light court facing northward.[7]

Facade edit

The 44th Street elevation is divided into six vertical bays. The first and second stories are made of rusticated blocks of limestone. The first story contains the hotel's entrance at the center and storefronts on either side.[6] The first story originally contained a portico with columns running across most of the width of the 44th Street elevation. The portico was replaced with storefronts after it was demolished in 1917. The second floor is part of the original design and contains 14 rectangular window openings, each with one window. There are three windows in each of the two central bays, as well as two windows in each of the four outer bays.[8] Above the central bays is a small stone balustrade, which projects slightly.[7]

Within each bay, there are three windows on each of the third through sixth stories. The outer four bays are curved outward and rise four stories to a terracotta cornice. Within the outer bays, each window is rectangular and is topped by a lintel with splayed bricks.[8] In the two central bays, the third- and fourth-story windows are surrounded by terracotta frames, which are angled rather than curved.[6] The three windows in each bay are separated by Ionic-style pilasters, while a wider pier decorated with anthemia runs between the two bays. A rounded balcony runs in front of the central bays at the fifth story. The fifth and sixth stories of the central bays are clad with brick and are angled outward. The two bays are separated by a Corinthian-style pier.[8]

The seventh story is treated as the building's midsection. There are two round-arched windows in each of the four outer bays.[6] The two central bays each contain a wide round arch with three smaller round-arched windows and two roundels. The spandrels above the corners of the larger arches contain foliate terracotta decorations, and there is an anthemion separating the two arches.[8] There were formerly iron railings in front of the seventh-story windows.[7] At the eighth and ninth stories, the two central bays have three rectangular windows on either story, while the outer bays contain double-height oriel windows.[6] The central bays are separated by double-height Ionic pilasters. There are terracotta corbels beneath the outer oriel windows.[8] On the tenth story, there are three rectangular windows in each bay; there were formerly iron railings in front of these windows.[7] The central bays are separated by Ionic pilasters, and a cornice runs above the entire tenth floor.[8]

On the top three stories, the outer bays on either side merge into a single gable, and there is an ornamental dormer projecting from either of the central bays. A sloping mansard roof rises behind the gables and dormers.[6] The gables are accented by multiple terracotta bands. The central dormers each consist of a double-height arched window; pedestals and Ionic columns on either side of the window; a cornice above the columns; and an arched pediment. Above the dormers are nine urns. The roof formerly also had chimneys and Spanish-tile cladding.[8] The Spanish tile was replaced with tarpaper.[7]

Interior edit

The ground floor retains little of its original decoration. The storefronts were originally reception rooms for the Hotel Gerard and contained egg-and-dart moldings. The ground story also contained a cafe with a tiled floor surface and fluted columns.[7] During a 1983 renovation, the storefronts were rearranged into three "garden apartments".[9] The guestroom suites were arranged around the light court.[10] There was a staircase in the center, as well as halls extending to the sides, connecting with two elevators.[10][11] There was another fire escape in the rear.[11]

Each suite typically had four rooms: a bathroom, a living room, and two bathrooms. The living room typically faced the light court or 44th Street, while the bedrooms were oriented toward the inner portion of the hotel. In addition, doors between adjacent suites allowed patrons to occupy multiple suites.[10] The suites were converted into 123 apartments in 1983. Some of these apartments were duplexes spanning the twelfth and thirteenth floors.[9]

History edit

Early years edit

Manhattan's theater district began to move northward from Union Square and Madison Square to what is now Times Square in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[12][13] At the time, Times Square was still a predominantly low-rise residential neighborhood known as Longacre Square. The Hotel Gerard was completed around 1893 and was the first high-rise building to be erected in Times Square.[12] The hotel, the first to be developed north of 42nd Street, had been developed by William Rankin.[14] It was managed by William G. Gerard, for whom it was named. Originally, the hotel had 132 suites, each with a bathroom and two to five rooms. There were also 25 single-room units.[12] In addition to hotel rooms, the hotel contained businesses such as a hairdresser's salon.[15]

Sales and renaming edit

In November 1919, Rankin sold the hotel to Gilbert S. Kramer and S. Morrill Banner.[16] At the time, the hotel had 368 rooms.[16] Kramer and Banner resold the hotel to Samuel K. Jacobs in February 1920[17][14] at an assessed valuation of $1 million.[14] The hotel was renamed the Langwell; it continued to host events, such as an annual dinner for veterans of the 38th Infantry[18] and meetings of the New York Coolidge Leagues.[19] The hotel's notable residents during this era included real-estate operator Edward S. Farrow.[20] The Hotel Langwell was sold again in August 1923 to the Meister Buildings Inc., which resold the property in April 1924.[21] Its new owner, Harry Hirschfeld, leased it to Louis Fichandler in June 1926 for fifteen years.[22] The New York City government charged the Langwell's operator with violating fire regulations in 1946. In particular, the hotel's fire escape could only be accessed by going through guest rooms, and there was trash on the floor, presenting a fire hazard.[11]

After the hotel went into foreclosure, a syndicate led by Frank W. Morgenstern acquired the hotel in January 1950 at an assessed value of $700,000.[23][24] The Langwell was resold that September to Manny Alt, who planned to renovate the hotel.[25] The former Gerard was known as the Hotel Henry by May 1952, when Morgenstern Seixas Inc. leased the hotel to Wales Associates Inc. for 21 years. At the time, the hotel was recorded as having about 400 rooms, as well as several stores and a restaurant.[26] The Henry's restaurant was known as La Bourgogne.[27] In 1956, the hotel was sold once again to Galen Associates; by then, it was known as Hotel 1-2-3.[28]

Hotel 1-2-3 (also referred to as Hotel One Twenty Three) was a single room occupancy hotel. By 1972, the New York City Department of Social Services classified it as an "unreferrable" hotel, indicating that the facility had received numerous complaints about its social conditions from the city or from community members.[29] The hotel had 91 residents; the New York City Police Department said the presence of the hotel was contributing to increased crime in Times Square.[30] By September 1974, the hotel's operator Maurice Bunietz planned to close the hotel. At the time, there were only 40 tenants within the hotel's 350 rooms, even as housekeeping, utility, and repair costs increased greatly.[31] The owner, Seymour Durst, said he would try to keep the hotel open by sending it into receivership.[32] Durst considered renovating the Hotel 1-2-3, but he determined it to be infeasible because it would create windowless "interior rooms", which were generally unpopular with guests.[33] By the early 1980s, the hotel contained a cafe called Un Deux Trois.[34]

Residential conversion edit

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Hotel 1-2-3 as a city landmark on July 27, 1982.[35] In 1983, Thurcon Properties bought the Hotel Gerard and renovated it into a residential apartment structure. The old lobby was converted into an apartment entrance, and some storefronts were converted to apartments. The former suites were rearranged into 123 rental apartments with between one and three bedrooms, requiring the demolition of some interior walls.[9]

See also edit

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on July 1, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015. Note: This includes Anne B Covell (December 1982). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Hotel Gerard" (PDF). Retrieved December 1, 2015. See also: "Accompanying photos".
  3. ^ a b White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 298. ISBN 978-0-19538-386-7.
  4. ^ a b c "123 West 44 Street, 10036". New York City Department of City Planning. Retrieved March 25, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1982, p. 2.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Landmarks Preservation Commission 1982, p. 4; National Park Service 1983, p. 2.
  7. ^ a b c d e f National Park Service 1983, p. 2.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Landmarks Preservation Commission 1982, p. 4.
  9. ^ a b c "Postings; a Times Square Venture". The New York Times. July 10, 1983. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c National Park Service 1983, pp. 2–3.
  11. ^ a b c "City Fire Law Violation Filed Against Hotel: Langwel's Alarm System and Escapes Faulty, Says Prevention Bureau Head". New York Herald Tribune. December 14, 1946. p. 26. ProQuest 1291280188.
  12. ^ a b c Landmarks Preservation Commission 1982, p. 3.
  13. ^ "Theater District -". New York Preservation Archive Project. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c "Hotel Gerard Sold; S.K. Jacobs Buys $1,000,000 Property in Times Square Section". The New York Times. February 5, 1920. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  15. ^ "Business Concerns Find Space in Loft Buildings". New-York Tribune. August 27, 1919. p. 17. ProQuest 576127540.
  16. ^ a b "Hotel Gerard Pioneer Hostlery Of Long Acre District Is Sold". New-York Tribune. November 7, 1919. p. 23. ProQuest 576185247.
  17. ^ "Three New York City Boys Named as West Point Cadets". New-York Tribune. February 5, 1920. p. 20. ProQuest 576185413.
  18. ^ "The American Legion: News: Local, State, National Veterans of 38th Infantry, "Rock of Marne Regiment," to Hold Reunion at Hotel Langwell Monday Warning Is Issued Against Bogus Canadian Soldiers; Keep-on-Keeping-On Post Formed With 48 Members". New-York Tribune. July 14, 1921. p. 4. ProQuest 576420316.
  19. ^ "1 Drowned, 2 Saved as Tug Upsets Scow; Tide Swerves New York Central Craft Against Sand Vessel at Pier". The New York Times. April 7, 1924. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  20. ^ "E. S. Farrow, Realty Operator, Dies in Street: Classmate of Pershing, Indian Fighter and Developer of Pinevrald, N. J., Is Stricken in Columbus Av. Author of Books on War Also Invented Toxic Gases and Grenade; Honored for Conspicuous Bravery". New York Herald Tribune. September 10, 1926. p. 17. ProQuest 1112611899.
  21. ^ "Deal for Three Tall Hotels on The West Side: Operator's Resell Langwell on West 44th St. Edward Arlington Gets San Rafael Winter Buys Clendening". New York Herald Tribune. April 4, 1924. p. 27. ProQuest 1112952734.
  22. ^ "$200,000 Lent on Flat In Amsterdam Avenue". New York Herald Tribune. June 23, 1926. p. 36. ProQuest 1112557051.
  23. ^ "Syndicate Obtains Hotel Langwell; Gets $700,000 Property on W. 44th St. at Auction-- Other City Deals". The New York Times. January 27, 1950. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  24. ^ "Upper 3d Ave. Buildings Sold By Schulte Co: 4 Tenements at 84th St. Purchased by Investor". New York Herald Tribune. January 27, 1950. p. 32. ProQuest 1335482656.
  25. ^ "Hotel Langwell To Be Altered By New Owner: Manny Alt Buys 350 Room West 44th St. Structure". New York Herald Tribune. September 22, 1950. p. 51. ProQuest 1326833321.
  26. ^ "Hotel Henry, W. 44th St., Leased". New York Herald Tribune. May 24, 1952. p. 21. ProQuest 1323090316.
  27. ^ Meeker, Arthur (May 25, 1958). "Expert Tries Dining Spots in New York". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. D7. ProQuest 182068850.
  28. ^ "Hotel 1-2-3 Purchased By Spitzer: 12-Story Building On W 44th St. Sold". New York Herald Tribune. May 26, 1956. p. A6. ProQuest 1327601209.
  29. ^ Seigel, Max H. (November 21, 1972). "Limit Proposed on Singles in Any Welfare Hotel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  30. ^ Seigel, Max (November 16, 1972). "Wide Community Crime Traced To 'Singles' in Welfare Hotels". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  31. ^ Seigel, Max H. (September 30, 1974). "Relief Cuts Evict Old and Disabled". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  32. ^ Seigel, Max H. (October 1, 1974). "123 Hotel Closing Denied by Owner". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  33. ^ Goodwin, Michael (June 18, 1978). "Times Square Hotels Surviving With a Pied‐à‐Terre Motif". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  34. ^ Sheraton, Mimi (May 14, 1982). "Restaurants; East Side French, West Side eclectic". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  35. ^ Daly, Stephen (August 1, 1982). "Three New Landmarks for the City". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 20, 2022.

Sources edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hotel Gerard.

Category:Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Category:Renaissance Revival architecture in New York City Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1893 Category:Hotels in Manhattan Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Category:Midtown Manhattan

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