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Landmarks
Knickerbocker Hotel, 1466 Broadway on the southeast corner of 42nd Street and Broadway, application for signage and lighting on the 1st and 2nd floors.
WHEREAS, The Knickerbocker Hotel is a Beaux Arts style building of red brick with terra cotta details, and with a prominent mansard roof, which was designed by Marvin & Davis, with Bruce Price and built in 1902-1906, designated in 1988 and put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980; and
WHEREAS, Its Annex was designed by Phillip C. Brown, built in 1894, and is a designated landmark as well; and
WHEREAS, Financed by John Jacob Astor, it 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
WHEREAS, The Knickerbocker closed in the 1920's during the Depression and was converted to office use and was later the home to Newsweek Magazine; and
WHEREAS, An application to alter the two-story commercial base, install canopies, construct a rooftop addition, remove a fire escape and install storefront infill at the Annex was approved in 2010; and
WHEREAS, The current proposal to modify signage and install LED Panels inside the glass facades above the first floor is in keeping with the kind of signage and lighting displays currently in operation in the Times Square area; and
WHEREAS, The LED signs in the transoms and behind the windows are all removable do not alter the historic fabric of the building and do not cover any significant architectural features; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the proposed signage and lighting changes on the 1st and 2nd floors of The Knickerbocker Hotel at 1466 Broadway and 42nd Street.