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Landmarks
1466 Broadway, Knickerbocker Hotel, on the southeast corner of 42nd Street and Broadway, with an Annex at 143 West 41st Street, an individual landmark - Application for extensive renovations to convert the building and annex into a new hotel
WHEREAS, The Knickerbocker Hotel, 1466 Broadway, is a Beaux Arts style building of red brick with terra cotta details, with a prominent mansard roof, designed by Marvin & Davis, with Bruce Price, as Consultant, and built in 1902-1906, designated as a NYC Landmark in 1988 and put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980; and
WHEREAS, Its Annex, 143 West 41st Street, connected internally to the hotel building, was designed by Phillip C. Brown, built in 1894, and is a part of the designated landmark as well; and
WHEREAS, Financed by John Jacob Astor, the Knickerbocker was a luxurious hotel and a popular dining and dancing spot in New York's new theatre district, and is the only survivor out of several grand hotels that were built in the Times Square area; and
WHERAS, Two of its most prominent long term residents were Enrico Caruso and George M. Cohan and it once contained a three story restaurant that could seat 2,000 people; and
WHEREAS, Its restaurant's bar once had the Maxfield Parrish "Old King Cole" mural which now hangs above the bar at the St. Regis Hotel; and
WHEREAS, The Knickerbocker closed in the 1920's, during the Depression, and was converted to office use and was later the home of Newsweek Magazine; and
WHEREAS, Most of the first two floors of the Knickerbocker are leased to a commercial tenant (The Gap - with approximately five years left on the lease) requiring a delay before this portion of the property can be integrated into the hotel; and
WHEREAS, The Application is to convert parts of the first floor and upper floors of the building for use as an as-of-right boutique hotel; and
WHEREAS, The scope of work will include:
- Knickerbocker Building - Restoration of the limestone and granite piers around the retail base of the building.
- Establishment of a Storefront Master Plan for the retail base of the building based on the historical street level design.
- Installation of two marquees - one at the main entrance to the hotel on West 42nd Street ,where the original main entrance was located, which will be expanded to three bays with a new glass and metal canopy- and another entrance with a similar, but smaller, canopy to be located on the Broadway side of the hotel.
- Reconstruction of the existing (and currently visible) rooftop penthouse, bulkheads, and mechanical equipment on the roof.
- Reconfiguration of the rear elevation (not visible from the surrounding streets and not described in the LPC Designation Report) involving some demolition in order to bring light and air to some of the hotel rooms at the rear of the building.
- Installation of small, minimally visible (and easily removable) exterior light fixtures on the Broadway and West 42nd Street facades to illuminate portions of the building.
- Knickerbocker Annex - Restoration of the cast iron and masonry facade elements and installation of new wood windows.
- Reconstruction of the rooftop stair bulkhead.
- Reconfiguration of the ground floor to accommodate a new loading dock to comply with NYC DOT requirements for a hotel of this size; and
WHEREAS, The proposed enlarged rooftop penthouse, new taller wooden water tank, bulkheads and mechanical equipment will be visible from several viewpoints but given the hotel's Times Square location and the surrounding buildings and signage this is not deemed to be a serious detriment to the project; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the Application is to convert parts of the first floor and upper floors of the Knickerbocker Building, 1466 Broadway, with an Annex at 143 West 41st Street, together an individual NYC Landmark, into a new hotel.
The above resolution passed by a vote of 31 in favor; 1 opposed; 1 abstaining.