St. Nicholas Hotel (New York City)

The St. Nicholas Hotel was a 600-room, mid-nineteenth century luxury hotel in New York City. It opened on January 6, 1853, and by the end of the year had expanded to 1,000 rooms. The St. Nicholas raised the bar for a new standard of lavish appointments for a luxury hotel. It was the first New York City building to cost over $1 million. The hotel was said to have ended the Astor House's preeminence in New York hostelry.

The hotel was at 507–527 Broadway. The main central plan and design of the white marble-façade hotel was prepared by the owner D. H. Haight and a well-known hotelier, Mr. Treadwell. The architects involved were J. B. Snook and Griffith Thomas. The hotel building fronted 275 feet on Broadway, 200 feet on Spring Street, and 275 feet on Mercer Street. In progress at the time the hotel opened was an extension that was completed by the end of the year. The expanded hotel had 1,000 guest rooms. The hotel building then took up the full city block between Spring Street and Broome Street. The six-story hotel was of Italian architecture with modified Corinthian elements. The entrance was between four grooved white marble columns.

St Nicholas Hotel in 1853

Barbershop

Broadway looking north

Broadway looking south

The hotel cost $1,200,000 to build and accommodated one thousand guests weekly. Another $700,000 was spent to furnish the hotel completely. It had several dining rooms; on the second floor was the main dining room that could accommodate 400 guests. An elaborate men's hair-cutting salon illustrated by a gilded domed skylight catered to about a dozen guests at a time.

Dining Room

1866 menu

1858 register

The main lobby had a white oak staircase leading to the upper floors. The first landing was illuminated by a $1,100 chandelier, one of many expensive and elaborate lighting fixtures found throughout the hotel. On the wall above this landing was a painting of the Dutch mythical gift-giving figure Sinterklaas ( St. Nicholas) placing presents into .

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