Former Grolier Club, Former St. Louis Hotel, Former Aberdeen Hotel

29 East 32nd Street, Charles W. Romeyn, 1890
34 East 32nd Street, George F. Pelham, 1903
17 West 32nd Street, Harry B. Mulliken, 1902-04

This Romanesque Revival, 3-story clubhouse was the home of the Grolier Club, a society devoted to the book arts, from 1890 until it moved uptown in 1917. The club, named for the 16th century French bibliophile Jean Grolier, formed in 1884 and continues to operate today. The building’s bold arches, Roman brick and stone moldings form a strong overall symmetry and texture. Just east across the street is the former St. Louis Hotel, a grand, Beaux-Arts style structure of red brick with a rusticated limestone base and rich ornament, including limestone window surrounds, bracketed cornices, and balconettes, as well as projecting bay windows and a mansard roof with three dormers. This structure bears a strong resemblance to another magnificent hotel just one block west, the former Aberdeen Hotel. It also features red brick with a rusticated limestone base and projecting bay windows, as well as richly decorated balconettes and cornices. The Aberdeen had originally been built as an apartment hotel, but began accepting transient guests in 1912 and was one of the first hotels to accept unaccompanied women in the 1920s.

The Former Grolier Club was designated a New York City Individual Landmark in 1970. The Former Aberdeen Hotel was designated a New York City Individual Landmark in 2001.

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