Murray Hill Hotel

Defunct

Address

Park Avenue & 40th Street

GPS

40.751090535595, -73.978241362651

BOOK

I took dinner usually at the Yale Club—for some reason it was the gloomiest event of my day—and then I went upstairs to the library and studied investments and securities for a conscientious hour. There were generally a few rioters around, but they never came into the library, so it was a good place to work. After that, if the night was mellow, I strolled down Madison Avenue past the old Murray Hill Hotel, and over 33rd Street to the Pennsylvania Station.
I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night, and the satisfaction that the constant flicker of men and women and machines gives to the restless eye.

The Great Gatsby

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Built in 1884 by Hugh Smith and designed by Stephen Decatur Hatch, it was a hotel run by Hunting & Hammond, a well-known firm in the city. The seven-storey building was erected in granite, stone, and brick and was advertised as practically fireproof, both for its iron-and-cement construction and for a powerful water system with rooftop tanks and hose equipment on every floor. It had around 600 rooms and two interior courtyards, and it stood out for its public spaces: a marble lobby, a large high-ceilinged salon, a monumental fireplace and electric lighting, as well as the main dining room and tea rooms. It was demolished in 1947.

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