401 Seventh Ave
1919, McKim, Mead & White

The 22-story, Classical Revival, 2,200-room Hotel Pennsylvania was the world's largest hotel until 1927. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad and had a tunnel connection to Penn Station. Since it was planned to aesthetically and urbanistically complement both the station and the nearby General Post Office, William Symmes Richardson, a member of McKim, Mead & White, was in charge of the design. It featured a 62- foot limestone base, which matched the height of the station's street façade, and a portico colonnade. The hotel opened in 1919, and was designed to meet the newly emerging need for businessmen's hotels, which included function rooms. During the 1930s and 40s the hotel's ballroom, Café Rouge, was a major venue for performers and big-bands like Count Basie, Duke Ellington, The Dorsey Brothers, Woody Herman, the Andrews Sisters, and the Glen Miller Orchestra. Despite repeated efforts made by community groups and preservation organizations to have the hotel designated a New York City Landmark, the building was demolished in 2023. Photo by David Holowka.