Howard Hotel (New York City)
History
The six-story hotel (161 feet in front and 130 feet deep, with a dining room of 160 by 30 feet) opened in March 1840. Hoteliers Daniel D. Howard and John P. Howard were its early proprietors. They were sons of John Howard, who long operated a hotel in Burlington, Vermont. By the late 1850s, J.E. Kingsley and Ainslee had taken over as proprietors.
U.S. President John Tyler stayed at the hotel on the night of June 25, 1842, the day before his marriage to Julia Gardiner Tyler. The hotel owners locked up the servants to prevent press leaks, so the wedding took the world by surprise.
Later African-American politician Tunis Campbell was the principal waiter at the hotel for some time (at least from 1842-45), and later wrote a well-regarded 1848 guide to hotel management.
The hotel was among those which the "Confederate Army of Manhattan" attempted to burn down in November 1864.
Demise
The building was converted into offices in 1868.
The location of the hotel is now occupied by the Cushman Building (1898) designed by C. P. H. Gilbert on the corner, and the building adjoining it to the north on Broadway.
References
- ^ Brown, Henry Collins. Glimpses of Old New-York, p. 166 (1917)
- ^ Appletons' New and Complete United States Guide Book for Travelers, p. 127 (1853)
- ^ (5 January 1921). Recollections of Maiden Lane and the Jewelry Business Sixty Years Ago, The Jewelers' Circular, p. 77
- ^ The Great Metropolis, Or Guide to New-York for 1846, p. 104 (1845)
- ^ Longworth's American Almanac, New York Register, and City Directory, p. 367 (1841)
- ^ Brother John Howard (obituary), Freemason's Monthly Magazine, p. 255 (1854?)
- ^ The Canada Directory for 1857-58, 1388 (1857)
- ^ Bunyan, Patrick. All Around the Town: Amazing Manhattan Facts and Curiosities 2d ed., p. 19 (2011)
- ^ Whitcomb, John & Claire Whitcomb. Real Life at the White House, p. 91 (2000)
- ^ Lynch, Matthew, ed. Before Obama: A Reappraisal of Black Reconstruction Era Politicians, Volume 1, p. 167 (2012)
- ^ Hansen, Gretchen (21 October 2012). The 1864 Plot To Burn Down New York City, BBC America
- ^ (21 March 1868). Real Estate Record and Builder's Guide, p. 3
- ^ Mower, Henry S. Reminiscences of a Hotel Man of Forty Year's Service, pp. 35-60, 133, 147 (1912)
- ^ (21 July 1897). Another Skyscraper Proposed for Maiden Lane, The Jeweler's Circular, p. 22
- ^ Gray, Christopher (19 November 2000). Streetscapes /The Donac, at 402 West 20th Street; A Curved 1898 Tribute to a Major Chelsea Developer, The New York Times
External links
- Howard Hotel c. 1845, Museum of the City of New York
- Howard Hotel menu (August 13, 1861)