Grand Central Hotel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Grand Central Hotel |
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The hotel in the latter half of the 19th century
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| General information | |
| Location | Manhattan, New York City |
| Opened | 1870 |
| Demolished | 1973 (collapsed) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Henry Engelbert |
The Grand Central Hotel was a famous hotel in New York City. It was located at 673 Broadway in Manhattan. Later, it was renamed the Broadway Central Hotel. A well-known event happened there in 1872 involving a person named James Fisk. Sadly, the hotel collapsed in 1973, and some people were hurt.
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Building the Grand Central Hotel
The Grand Central Hotel opened its doors in 1870. A carpet maker named Elias S. Higgins asked Henry Engelbert to design it. Engelbert was a talented architect.
The hotel's front looked a lot like another hotel Engelbert designed. That one was called the Grand Hotel. Both hotels had fancy mansard roofs. These roofs had many windows and followed the French Second Empire style. The Grand Central Hotel was bigger and even more detailed than the Grand Hotel.
A Very Big Hotel
When it was being built, people thought the Grand Central Hotel would be one of the largest hotels in America. It was built where the old Lafarge Hotel used to be. Elias S. Higgins bought the land for a lot of money.
He wanted to build the biggest hotel in the country. The new hotel was planned to have 630 rooms. This was many more rooms than other big hotels at the time. It could host about 1,200 guests.
The hotel was eight stories tall. It had three gothic towers on the Broadway side. Guests could use three elevators to go up and down quickly. The hotel spent a huge amount of money on furniture and decorations. The carpets alone would cover an area of seven acres! All rooms had steam heating. There were also fire hoses on each floor for safety. The hotel had three large dining rooms. The biggest one could seat 500 guests.
Major League Baseball's Start
The Grand Central Hotel played a part in sports history. On February 2, 1876, eight baseball teams met there. They formed what became the National League of Major League Baseball. This was a very important moment for professional baseball. The league even celebrated its 50th and 75th anniversaries at the hotel.
The Hotel's Collapse
On August 3, 1973, a sad event happened. A part of the hotel's front wall fell onto Broadway. At this time, the hotel was known as the University Hotel. It had become a place for people needing welfare housing. Four people living in the hotel died, and at least twelve were injured.
The collapse happened just hours before many people were expected to be inside. The hotel also housed the Mercer Arts Center. This center had live theaters. After the collapse, the rest of the hotel was torn down. Today, New York University has a student dorm for law students on that spot.
