The New York herald., 1868-04-29
loTELS AND HOTEL LIFE.

Closing of Hotels Down T0wn-Prospectve
Hotel Centres-The European Plan and Its
Enects-Pr0fts of First Cluss HOuse-New
Hotels ON Broadway nnd Elsewhere.
The closing up of several hotels down town and the
reduction OF others to the grade of restaurants SIM
ply suggestive facts in the history Of the business
in this city and Of its probable future centres The
year opens with practical abolition Of the hotel
business below City Hall square, especially in what
are termed its first class features-though Cortandt
street still maintains Its position as a sort of landing
place for travellers from the direction Of the great
avenues Of travel which bisect New Jersey and
which constitute the arteries of the New Jersey
Pennsylvania and Southern traffic. Even Cortlandt
street. however is less busy than formerly, partially
owing TO the fact that the Southern travel and traffic
are of less importance than formerly and partially
owing to the further fact that centres of trade are
gradually moving up town. Already one or
two of the formerly fourishing hotels on
this thoroughfare Of cross travel have been
reduced to the Importance of mere restaurants and
others, which were once first class have become en-
phatically OF second rank; while, meantime, the
high rents on Broadway have driven hotel keepers
out OF the market as far down as the Astor House.
which is now the most southerly situated first class
establishment in the city. Any person of years.
residence in New York will recollect when
there were several hotels on Broadway between Bar
clay and Canal streets, all OF which were doing ex.
ceent business; and also how, one by one as COM
merce demanded more room, these hotels were en-
PEELED from their Broadway haunts. Some OF them
took refuge in streets, and went down by slow
degeneration, while Others were blotted out alto.
gether, and are remembered only In the note books OF
the travelling public. Then sprung up gigantic build
ings further up town; and Broadway above Beecker
became sort of paradise of hotel Keepers and has
tons that the time is at hand when the lead.
ing hotels will be compelled 10 take refuge above
Union square, which is even now almost business
centre' having been broken into by business some
six years since and gradually overrun. Fifth ave.
nue. below Its junction with Broadway Is also yield.
ing Its formerly magnificent residences to business
purposes, and has already two first class hotels and
one or two eating houses, while the corresponding
portion Of Broadway is dotted with them on every
square, especially on the west side. The same nnu-
cncc and competition which have driven the small
hotels out of Broadway have seemed to be favorable
to their location along the Bowery, which has more
hotels than any other thoroughfare OF the whole city,
without q single mammoth establishment for its
whole length. The patronage extended TO these
hotels is mostly local. and with one or two exceptions
which SIN have moderate run OF custom, there ls
really not a single hotel from City Hall square
TO Union square, by way OF the Bowery. which
Is at all known TO the travelling public Farther M
on the east side aud along Fourth the Gordon
o. small hotels which Is broken at Union square by
the intervention OF couple OF first class houses is
taken up; and In the vicinity OF the New Haven and
iaren Ra ilroad dcpots there is cluster OF small
hotcis ana restaurants without the intervention OF
Slufle nst cass mouse, where first class house il
eWdnrneiosy W needed aud would supply desideratum
W Eastern travellers. True, Broadway, Union square
anu irving place AFFORD several first class houses
Mithn moderate distance but first class house on
& m ,n avenue IN this immediate vicinity could not
DuI nnd ITSELF IN good business, and even oyerrun
WIN transient trade. Instead OF this however
wmCh would he as il should be- six or seven second
ciass hOlcls nave effected monopoly OF the eltua.
sion' @ aa receive toerable patronage, for the rea.
son that any hotel OF any standing could hardly fail
TO pay respectable revenue 10 its pronriefor w.
VI the one hundred and sixty hotels In this CITY not
more than1Ourteen are first class though most that
vcen Jun, 9r the past four or Ave years are So
crcasinp The floating population of Tho cifv ava CO.
RACES tne year rounu not far from two hundred thou
SAM, whiie the incidental patronage of hotels Inv
Vmla @ 'oeSeessve f rents, is probably twenty
were about TWO hundred ana nfty and of unregis
tered or private boarding houses about nffeen him
dred would FORM very fair prOxirnate though n
but asnlall percentage Of the floating popuoton of
the city, and cannot be leQitmatey classed as on
sOrbents OF this class. OF second cl1sg hntnis NO
larger number are also on boarding house fon,ing
and receive more patronage from re-idnnta thaS
from cxtraneous sources while aside from Ie hoard
ing house proper must be classed Lodging bouses ~
whiCE the number approNmates 20 two thousnnd 90
that 1t may be estimated that not less tban nny
thousand persons I'm This city have really no hot,yc
resan,s--not Of the seazy sort offered NV the
boarding house rToper--and simply lodge out
eat and operate with no responsibility la anv'
BODY, and really without social relations cr
social control which sim as it = Ia thC best Ut cif.
e'e', is, beloILecss, suDctnl ior tie cultivation u