Metropolitan Hotel (New York City)
Encyclopedia
The Metropolitan Hotel in New York City
was a Manhattan
hotel opened September 1, 1852 and demolished in 1895.
It occupied a three-hundred-foot brownstone
-faced frontage
of four floors above fashionable shopfronts occupying a full city block on Broadway
and two hundred feet on Prince Street. The site, formerly that of Niblo's Garden
,
was owned by Stephen Van Rensselaer
, and the architects were Joseph Trench and John Butler Snook
, who designed the hotel in the "grand commercialized style reminiscent of Roman
palazzo
s," with many of its furnishings imported from Europe, including the largest plate-glass mirrors in the United States: the interior decorations and furnishings were claimed in 1866 to have cost $200,000. It could shelter six hundred guests, in steam-heated rooms and in "family apartments" with private drawing rooms.
The Metropolitan, operated on the "American plan" that included three meals a day, was owned by the Leland brothers, organizers of the first American hotel chain. After 1871, the hotel was for a time managed by Richard Tweed, son of the infamous William M. Tweed ("Boss Tweed"), who became the hotel's proprietor.
The Metropolitan Hotel closed and was demolished in 1895.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
was a Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
hotel opened September 1, 1852 and demolished in 1895.
It occupied a three-hundred-foot brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
-faced frontage
Frontage
Frontage is the full length of a plot of land or a building measured alongside the road on to which the plot or building fronts. This is considered especially important for certain types of commercial and retail real estate, in applying zoning bylaws and property tax...
of four floors above fashionable shopfronts occupying a full city block on Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
and two hundred feet on Prince Street. The site, formerly that of Niblo's Garden
Niblo's Garden
Niblo's Garden was a New York theatre on Broadway, near Prince Street. It was established in 1823 as "Columbia Garden" which in 1828 gained the name of the Sans Souci and was later the property of the coffeehouse proprietor and caterer William Niblo. The large theatre that evolved in several...
,
was owned by Stephen Van Rensselaer
Stephen Van Rensselaer III
Stephen Van Rensselaer III was Lieutenant Governor of New York as well as a statesman, soldier, and land-owner, the heir to one of the largest estates in the New York region at the time, which made him the tenth richest American of all time, based on the ratio of his fortune to contemporary GDP...
, and the architects were Joseph Trench and John Butler Snook
John B. Snook
John B[utler] Snook was an American architect who practiced in New York City.Born in England, Snook emigrated to the United States with his family as a child. He was trained as a carpenter in his father's carpentry business, and was largely self-taught as an architect...
, who designed the hotel in the "grand commercialized style reminiscent of Roman
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
palazzo
Palazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
s," with many of its furnishings imported from Europe, including the largest plate-glass mirrors in the United States: the interior decorations and furnishings were claimed in 1866 to have cost $200,000. It could shelter six hundred guests, in steam-heated rooms and in "family apartments" with private drawing rooms.
The Metropolitan, operated on the "American plan" that included three meals a day, was owned by the Leland brothers, organizers of the first American hotel chain. After 1871, the hotel was for a time managed by Richard Tweed, son of the infamous William M. Tweed ("Boss Tweed"), who became the hotel's proprietor.
The Metropolitan Hotel closed and was demolished in 1895.