Gilsey House facts for kids
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Gilsey House Hotel
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a view from down Broadway (2010)
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| Location | 1200 Broadway, Manhattan, New York City |
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| Built | 1869-1871 |
| Architect | Stephen Decatur Hatch |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| NRHP reference No. | 78001872 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | December 14, 1978 |
The Gilsey House is a historic eight-story building in New York City. It used to be a fancy hotel with 300 rooms. You can find it at 1200 Broadway at West 29th Street in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan. Today, it is recognized as a New York City landmark. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's an important historical site in the United States.
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History of Gilsey House
The Gilsey House was designed by an architect named Stephen Decatur Hatch. It was built for Peter Gilsey, who was a merchant and a city leader from Denmark. He rented the land for $10,000 a year. The building was constructed between 1869 and 1871. It cost $350,000 to build, which was a lot of money back then! The hotel officially opened its doors in 1872.
Building Design and Features
The Gilsey House was built in the Second Empire style. This style often includes a special type of roof called a mansard roof. The outside of the building was made using cast-iron. This material was very popular for buildings at the time. A famous person in cast-iron architecture, Daniel D. Badger, helped make the cast-iron parts for the building's front.
The hotel was very luxurious inside. The rooms had beautiful wood finishes made of rosewood and walnut. They also featured marble fireplaces and fancy bronze chandeliers. Gilsey House was one of the first hotels in New York to offer telephones to its guests. This was a very modern feature for the 1870s!
Changes Over Time
The Gilsey House Hotel closed in 1911. This happened after some disagreements about the building's lease. After it closed, parts of the building's outside, like some cast-iron columns, were removed. The building also started to show signs of wear and tear, like rust and water damage.
In 1925, there were plans to rebuild the Gilsey House. The idea was to turn it into a simple brick and stone building. However, these plans were never carried out. The ground-floor shops were updated in 1946.
Restoration and Landmark Status
The future of the Gilsey House changed in 1980. It was bought by Richard Berry and F. Anthony Zunino. They turned the old hotel into co-operative apartments. This means people could buy and own individual apartments in the building. The outside of the building was cleaned up, which earned praise from a group called the Friends of Cast Iron Architecture.
The building's front was almost fully restored in 1992. This work was done by a company called Building Conservation Associates. The Gilsey House is known for its "extraordinary" three-story mansard roof. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It was also named a New York City landmark in 1979.
See also
In Spanish: Gilsey House para niños
