The Howard Hotel, also referred to as Howard's Hotel or the Howard House, was a well-known New York City hotel in the mid-19th century, located in Lower Manhattan at the corner of Broadway and Maiden Lane (176 Broadway).[1][2][3]
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.[4] Hoteliers Daniel D. Howard and John P. Howard were its early proprietors.[5] They were sons of John Howard, who long operated a hotel in Burlington, Vermont.[6] By the late 1850s, J.E. Kingsley and Ainslee had taken over as proprietors.[7]
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.[8] The hotel owners locked up the servants to prevent press leaks, so the wedding took the world by surprise.[9]
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.[10]
The hotel was among those which the "Confederate Army of Manhattan" attempted to burn down in November 1864.[11]
Demise
The building was converted into offices in 1868.[12][13]
The location of the hotel is now occupied by the Cushman Building (1898) designed by C. P. H. Gilbert on the corner,[14][15] 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)