Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 253 Hotel History: Hotel Pennsylvania

by stanley turkel, cmhs

hotel history: pennsylvania hotel (1704 rooms)

an iconic hotel in downtown manhattan is closing its doors for good. hotel pennsylvania will not reopen, succumbing to last year’s covid 19 pandemic and years of narrowly avoiding the chopping block. The fourth largest hotel in New York City was conveniently located, directly across from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station, making it a natural and affordable stopover for travelers and concertgoers alike.

the pennsylvania hotel was built by the pennsylvania railroad and operated by ellsworth statler. it opened on january 25, 1919 and was designed by william symmes richardson of the firm mckim, mead & white, who also designed the original pennsylvania station located across the street.

Statler Hotels, which had managed Pennsylvania since its inception, purchased the property directly from the Pennsylvania Railroad on June 30, 1948 and renamed it the Hotel Statler on January 1, 1949. The 17 Statler Hotels were sold to Conrad Hilton in 1954 and the hotel became Statler Hilton in 1958. It operated under this name until 1979, when Hilton sold the hotel to developer William Zeckendorf, Jr., for $24 million. The hotel was renamed the New York Statler and was operated by Dunfey Family Hotels, a division of Aer Lingus. The hotel was sold again for $46 million in August 1983. Abelco, an investment group made up of developers Elie Hirschfeld, Abraham Hirschfeld and Arthur G, bought a 50% stake. Cohen, with the other 50% bought by the Penta hotel chain, a joint venture of British Airways, Lufthansa and Swissair. The new owners changed the name of the hotel to New York Penta and undertook a massive renovation. In 1991, Penta partners purchased the chain’s stake in the hotel, returning it to its original name, Hotel Pennsylvania.

there’s a fair amount of history in this huge hotel, most notably “pennsylvania 6-5000” by the glenn miller orchestra. Through early May 2021, you can still call 212-pe6-5000 and listen to the refrain “pennsylvania 6-5000” before connecting with an operator. It was the longest continuous use of a phone number in New York. From the moment you called the hotel, the music and history invited you to reminisce about the great tradition of Hotel Pennsylvania.

café rouge was originally the main restaurant of hotel pennsylvania. It served as a nightclub for many years, but now functions as a completely separate venue from the hotel, as a multipurpose space. it is the only space in the hotel that escaped significant alterations during the building’s massive renovation in the 1980s.

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the café rouge had a remote big band connection to the nbc network (after 1942, the nbc radio network) and became known for presentations live that were performed inside. Several artists played at the café, including the Dorsey Brothers, Wood Herman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and the Andrews Sisters.

On a November afternoon in 1939, while in the midst of an ongoing long-term engagement at the Cafe Rouge, bandleader Artie Shaw left the bandstand between performances, deciding he had had enough of the bandwagon business. band and all the hype of having become, in a year and a half, the leader of the most popular big band in the country. Shaw essentially quit his own band on the spot, forcing the New York Times to comment in an editorial.

During 1940-42, the Glenn Miller Orchestra also had repeated long-term bookings at the venue during the three years of Miller’s highest profile as conductor. the miller orchestra broadcasting from the cafe; some were recorded by rca victor. Shaw’s principal orchestrator from 1937 to 1939, Jerry Gray, was immediately hired by Miller as a staff arranger when Shaw left his band; It was during Miller’s hotel engagement in 1940 that Gray wrote the tune “Pennsylvania 6-500” (with lyrics later added by Carl Sigman) using the hotel’s telephone number, 212-736-5000, which was the telephone number New York’s longest continuously used number, Les Brown’s Band, with lead singer Doris Day, performed their song “Sentimental Journey” at the cafe in November 1944.

the new york city landmarks preservation commission reviewed cafe rouge for landmark status based on assessment documents created by the pennsylvania hotel preservation society (formerly the save hotel pennsylvania foundation ). On October 22, 2010, the cafeteria was rejected as a landmark candidate, likely because the 15 Penn Plaza project and moderate, but non-destructive, interior modifications since its construction were approved. the 15 penn plaza project would have included demolition of the cafe.

Most of the original interior decoration remains intact. the foundations and beamed ceiling and other architectural details remain, although the entire room, as well as the ceiling, has been painted white. numerous events of new york fashion week 2013 were held at cafe rouge.

in 2014, the café rouge was converted into an indoor basketball court known as terminal 23, to commemorate the launch of the melo m10 by the jordan brand division of nike. provides a facility for junior and high school players.

featured events at hotel pennsylvania

• On May 6 and 8, 1924, Harry Houdini discredited Joaquín María Argamasilla, a 19-year-old Spaniard who claimed to have x-ray vision.

• in december 1925, william faulkner stayed at the pennsylvania hotel while writing one of his many novels. He would later go on to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

• In the 1920s, Galveston crime boss Johnny Jack Nounes threw a $40,000 party at the Pennsylvania Hotel. Guests included silent movie stars Clara Bow and Nancy Carroll, who are said to have bathed in champagne tubs.

• on november 17, 1935, herbert hoover spoke before the ohio society of new york at the pennsylvania hotel

• the famous benny goodman orchestra, including harry james, ziggy elman and gene krupa, broadcast from the hotel’s madhattan room in 1937.

• In 1946, the Russian American Institute presented its first annual award to the late President Franklin D. roosevelt at hotel pennsylvania.

• November 28, 1953, usa. uu. Army bacteriologist Frank Olson crashed through a 13th-floor window and fell more than 150 feet to the sidewalk below. his family was told that he “jumped or fell” to his death. However, days before his death, the CIA had injected him with LSD without his knowledge or consent.

• on april 22, 1959, the new revolutionary prime minister of cuba, fidel castro, stayed at the then statler hilton.

• the muppet character statler from statler and waldorf was named after the hotel, when it was the statler hilton.

in cinema

• hotel pennsylvania appeared in the 1986 film “the manhattan project”, as the setting for a science fair. Rather than build a set and fill it with actors, the filmmakers staged an actual science fair at the hotel and simply filmed as it unfolded.

• episodes of uwf fury hour were filmed in the venue’s grand ballroom in 1991.

• in 1997, the nep group rented the large ballroom and converted it into a television studio. The facility is known as NEP Penn Studio and is where television shows including Maury, Sally Jessy Raphael, 2 Minute Drill, The People’s Court, and The Opposition with Jordan Klepper were taped.

• In 2009, the hotel’s old studios were rebuilt and consolidated into a new 10,000 square foot studio for the comedy Sherri.

“We used to have the best train station in the world across the street, literally across the street, and sadly for me, I was too young; When I got to New York, it was gone. The language that was used to destroy that station is the exact same language that Steve Roth is using today to argue for destroying this; it’s tired, it’s old, it’s dirty, it can’t be reused. we need something new. everyone admits that what happened across the street was one of the worst crimes in terms of architectural legacy that has ever happened in this country. we’re about to commit the exact same crime right here with the pennsylvania hotel.”

architect richard cameron, as reported by amny.com

my most recent book, “great american hotel architects volume 2“, was published in 2020.

All of my following books can be ordered from the author house by visiting www.stanleyturkel.com and clicking on the book title.

Great American Hoteliers: Pioneers of the Hospitality Industry (2009)
built to last: hotels over 100 years old in new york (2011)
Built to Last: 100+ Year Old Hotels in Eastern Mississippi (2013)
hotel mavens: lucius m. boomer, george c. Boldt, Oscar Waldorf (2014)
Great American Hoteliers Volume 2: Pioneers of the Hospitality Industry (2016)
Built to Last: 100+ Year Old Hotels in Western Mississippi (2017)
hotel mavens volume 2: henry morrison flagler, henry bradley plant, carl graham fisher (2018)
great american hotel architects volume i (2019)
Hotel Mavens: Volume 3: Bob and Larry Tisch, Ralph Hitz, Cesar Ritz, Curt Strand (2020)

if you need an expert witness:

Over the past twenty-seven years, I have been an expert witness in over 42 hotel-related cases. My extensive experience in hotel operations is beneficial in cases involving: