Hotel McAlpin

Hotel McAlpin was a major historic hotel on Herald Square in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building occupies the block bounded by Broadway, Sixth Avenue, West 33rd Street, and West 34th Street, with the Empire State Building located immediately to its east. Developed by the Greeley Square Hotel Company and designed by architect Frank Mills Andrews, the hotel was constructed between 1910 and 1912 in an Italian Renaissance style. At completion it contained approximately 1,500 guestrooms and was described as the largest hotel in the world, making it an important example of the scale and technical ambition of early twentieth-century urban hospitality. The building was conceived as a self-contained commercial and hospitality complex rather than simply a collection of bedrooms. Its ground floor included retail space and entrances from several surrounding streets, while a large triple-height marble-and-stone lobby formed the principal interior focus. Public rooms included restaurants, a banquet hall, a library, reception rooms, private dining spaces, lounges, and a ballroom. The basement contained the Marine Grill, a 250-seat restaurant decorated with Spanish Renaissance-inspired terra-cotta work and murals by Frederick Dana Marsh. The hotel also incorporated extensive mechanical infrastructure, including multiple elevators, an in-house laundry, power generators, ice-making equipment, telephone systems, service facilities, and connections to nearby subway and Hudson & Manhattan Railroad infrastructure. An expansion designed by Warren and Wetmore was carried out during the mid-1910s, adding approximately 200 rooms and additional facilities. The property was refurbished in 1928 and changed ownership several times during the following decades. The Knott hotel chain managed it from 1938 to 1952, after which the Tisch Organization assumed operational control. Joseph Levy sold the property to Sheraton Hotels in 1954. Under Sheraton, it was renamed the Sheraton-McAlpin and then, after a 1959 renovation, the Sheraton-Atlantic Hotel. Sol Goldman and Alexander DiLorenzo acquired the property in 1968 and restored the McAlpin name. The hotel continued operating until 1976, when Sheraton reacquired it and sold it to developer William Zeckendorf Jr. The building was subsequently converted from transient lodging into a large residential property containing roughly 690 to 700 apartments. It reopened in 1980 as McAlpin House and was renamed Herald Towers in 1999. A later condominium conversion transformed the former hotel into a residential condominium building. Although the Hotel McAlpin brand is defunct, the structure remains notable for its architecture, its scale, its role in New York hotel history, and the survival of some elements of its decorative legacy. Six Marine Grill murals were reassembled in 2001 at the William Street entrance of the Fulton Street subway station under the MTA Arts for Transit program.

Hotel McAlpin was developed by the Greeley Square Hotel Company on a prominent site at Herald Square in Midtown Manhattan. Architect Frank Mills Andrews, who was also associated with the development company, designed the building in an Italian Renaissance style. Construction took place from 1910 to 1912. The resulting structure rose approximately 390 feet above the curb and contained 25 above-ground stories, four basement levels, and three principal wings arranged around light courts. Its exterior combined brick, limestone, and terra cotta, while its foundations and frame used substantial quantities of structural steel. The hotel opened with approximately 1,500 guestrooms and 1,100 bathrooms. Its size made it one of the defining large hotels of early twentieth-century New York and led contemporary descriptions to call it the largest hotel in the world. The building was designed to serve travelers at a time when Herald Square was a major retail, transit, and entertainment center. Retail premises occupied much of the ground level, allowing the hotel to preserve a large entrance lobby while placing many dining and social rooms above street level. The interior included a triple-height main lobby finished with marble, Caen stone, columns, arches, murals, chandeliers, and Renaissance-inspired ornament. A mezzanine gallery featured tapestries designed by Albert Herter. Other public rooms included a French Renaissance dining room, a banquet hall, a women's restaurant and tea room, a library, reception rooms, private dining rooms, and a large men's lounge. The top floor contained a ballroom, men's baths, a Turkish bath, a Russian bath, an outdoor lounge, and a swimming pool. A medical clinic operated on the twenty-third story, and a children's play area was added during the hotel's mid-1910s expansion. The basement contained the Marine Grill, originally also described as a ratskeller. The restaurant could seat approximately 250 people and was decorated with terra-cotta murals by Frederick Dana Marsh. Its Spanish Renaissance-inspired design included arched niches, vaulted ceilings, and colored glazed tiles. The original restaurant closed by 1951. It was renovated and reopened in 1957 as the Gate of Cleve, but that concept was unsuccessful; later occupants included German, Indian, and Japanese restaurants, followed by event use. The space was ultimately demolished in 1989 to make room for a Gap store. Six of the Marine Grill murals were later rescued and installed at the Fulton Street subway station in 2001. The building's technical systems were unusually extensive. It had thirteen elevators, multiple basement service and mechanical areas, an in-house laundry, power generators, ice makers, a wine cellar, cigar humidors, numerous telephone stations, and direct connections to nearby transit facilities. These features reflected the hotel's ambition to function as a vertically organized modern city within a building. The Greeley Square Hotel Company operated the property for roughly two decades and refurbished it in 1928. The hotel was sold in 1936 and refurbished again in 1937. The Knott hotel chain managed it from 1938 through 1952, when the Tisch Organization took over management. Joseph Levy acquired the hotel from New York Life Insurance Company in 1945 and sold it to Sheraton Hotels in 1954. Sheraton renamed it the Sheraton-McAlpin and, following a 1959 renovation, the Sheraton-Atlantic Hotel. Sol Goldman and Alexander DiLorenzo purchased the property in 1968 and restored the McAlpin name. By the early 1970s, the upper floors included the McAlpin Roof Theater, reflecting the building's adaptation to changing urban entertainment and hospitality markets. Hotel operations ended in 1976, when Sheraton reacquired the property and sold it to developer William Zeckendorf Jr. for conversion into approximately 690 to 700 rental apartments. The building reopened in 1980 as McAlpin House, was renamed Herald Towers in 1999, and was later converted into condominiums during the 2000s. The former Hotel McAlpin is therefore no longer a hotel brand, but its building remains a significant surviving component of Manhattan's architectural and commercial history.

• 2001

  Marine Grill murals relocated

  [1]Hotel McAlpinen.wikipedia.org

  Six surviving Marine Grill murals are installed at the Fulton Street subway station.

• 1999

  Renamed Herald Towers

  [1]Hotel McAlpinen.wikipedia.org

  McAlpin House is renamed Herald Towers.

• 1980

  McAlpin House opens

  [1]Hotel McAlpinen.wikipedia.org

  The converted building reopens as a rental apartment property.

• 1976

  Hotel closes

  [1]Hotel McAlpinen.wikipedia.org

  Short-term hotel operations end and the building is sold for residential conversion.

• 1968

  Original name restored

  [1]Hotel McAlpinen.wikipedia.org

  New owners Sol Goldman and Alexander DiLorenzo restore the Hotel McAlpin name.

• 1959

  Sheraton-Atlantic renaming

  [1]Hotel McAlpinen.wikipedia.org

  Following renovation, the property is renamed the Sheraton-Atlantic Hotel.

• 1954

  Sheraton purchase

  [1]Hotel McAlpinen.wikipedia.org

  Sheraton Hotels purchases the property and introduces the Sheraton-McAlpin name.

• 1938

  Knott management begins

  [1]Hotel McAlpinen.wikipedia.org

  The Knott hotel chain assumes management of the property.

• 1928

  Major refurbishment

  [1]Hotel McAlpinen.wikipedia.org

  The hotel undergoes a refurbishment under its original operating company.

• 1917

  Warren and Wetmore annex completed

  [1]Hotel McAlpinen.wikipedia.org

  An annex adds approximately 200 rooms and expands the hotel's facilities.

• 1912

  Hotel opens

  [1]Hotel McAlpinen.wikipedia.org

  The hotel opens with approximately 1,500 guestrooms and becomes one of the largest hotels in the world.

• 1910

  Construction begins

  [1]Hotel McAlpinen.wikipedia.org

  Construction of the Hotel McAlpin begins on Herald Square for the Greeley Square Hotel Company.

A large-scale, centrally located Manhattan hotel positioned around grand architecture, extensive public rooms, transportation access, and full-service urban hospitality. In its later history, the property shifted from a hotel landmark to a residential conversion.

• Hotel accommodation · 1912

  Hotel McAlpin guestrooms

  The original hotel offered approximately 1,500 guestrooms and 1,100 bathrooms, making it a high-capacity lodging property designed for visitors to central Manhattan. The rooms were supported by extensive elevator, telephone, laundry, mechanical, and service infrastructure.

• Restaurant · 1912

  Marine Grill

  The Marine Grill was a basement restaurant seating approximately 250 people. It was known for Spanish Renaissance-inspired architecture, glazed terra-cotta decoration, vaulted niches, and murals by Frederick Dana Marsh. After several later restaurant uses, the space was demolished in 1989.

• Events and hospitality · 1912

  Banquet and ballroom facilities

  The hotel included a banquet hall, a large Renaissance-style ballroom, private dining rooms, reception rooms, and multiple lounges. These facilities supported formal dining, social events, ceremonies, and other large-scale gatherings.

• Rental apartments · 1980

  McAlpin House

  After hotel operations ended, the building was converted into approximately 690 to 700 rental apartments and reopened in 1980 as McAlpin House.

• Residential condominiums · 1999

  Herald Towers

  The former hotel was renamed Herald Towers in 1999 and later converted into condominiums. The residential building occupies the former Hotel McAlpin site at Herald Square.

• 1989

  Marine Grill demolishedOther

  Background

  The former basement restaurant had passed through several unsuccessful or changing uses after the original Marine Grill closed.

  Action taken

  The restaurant interior was demolished to make way for a Gap clothing store.

  Aftermath

  Terra-cotta fragments were found in dumpsters, and six murals were subsequently preserved and installed at the Fulton Street subway station.

  Source

• 1976

  Conversion from hotel to apartmentsStrategy

  Background

  After decades of hotel operation and changing market conditions, the building was no longer retained as a short-term lodging property.

  Action taken

  Sheraton reacquired the property and sold it to developer William Zeckendorf Jr. for conversion into roughly 690 to 700 rental apartments.

  Aftermath

  The building reopened as McAlpin House in 1980 and later became Herald Towers, ending the Hotel McAlpin's operation as a hotel brand.

  Source

• 1954

  Sheraton acquisition and rebrandingM&A

  Background

  The property changed ownership as New York's large hotel sector evolved toward chain management and branded operation.

  Action taken

  Sheraton Hotels purchased the hotel and operated it under the Sheraton-McAlpin name, later changing the name to Sheraton-Atlantic after renovation.

  Aftermath

  The property was integrated into Sheraton's operating portfolio until its later ownership changes and eventual closure as a hotel.

  Source

1. 1Hotel McAlpinen.wikipedia.org