The Portland daily press., 1899-03-20
HISTORY OF BURNED HOTEL.
II sheltered Royalty and Princes of FL
nance

New York. March ls.--The Windsor
Hotel was one of the best known Of ali
the great hostelries of New York. Few
hotels In the city were better known in
the country ct large. Until few years
ago 1t was the favorlte resort Of the most
prominent bankers and brokers In New
York. The construction of the hotel
was begun In 1871 by John 4. DAILY, who
came to New York from California late
in the sixties with fortune of about
100000. MIR. DAILY came here for the
purpose of investing and increasing his
fortune. He looked over the city and de-
cIded that he could make no more profit
able investment than to build fine hotel
in Fifth avenue, near Central Park, seys
the Sun.
After looking over many pieces of prop
erty MIR. DAILY decided that the site for
his hotel should be that where the
Windsor stood yesterday morning. The
property was owned by Peter Goelet.
From him DAILY leased the entire block
between Forty -sixth and Forty-seventh
streets and Fifth and Madison avenues.
Subsequently he allowed the lease of all
the real estate except that covered by
{ he hotel TO lapse MIR. DAILY planned to
build the finest hotel In New York, and
in three years the structure was COM
pieted at IA cost of $500 900. In Septem-
Der, 1873, II was opened for business I'M
der the management of Messrs. Hawk &
Meatherbee, now of the Hotel Manhat-
tan. The senior member of the firm,
Samuel Hawk, was then the proprietor
of tire St. Nicholas hotel here. The jul
Nor mem Der of the firm, Gardner Wealth.
eTbee. WAS connected with the Revere
house, Boston.
Hawk & Weatherbeo continued to con
duct the hotel until 1876 when the late
c. &. Waite. then of the Brevorot house,
was taken into the partnership, TIE new
style Of the firm being Hawk, Waite *
Weather bee Mi. Waite died in $50. and
the other members of the firm bought his
interest In the lease. Mr.. Hawk died
in 1882. and his estate retained his in.
tcrest until the Manhattan was complet-
ed. when the firm gave up the hotel. the
Hawk interest was looked after by Mil
liam ). Hawk, an adopted son Of Samuel
Hawk.
The hotel had frontage on Fifth ave.
nue. e ECO feet and frontage on Forty
sixth street and Forty-seveuth streets of
100 feet Fifty feet of the building
| forming the centre of the front was eight
stories In height The rest of the front
was seven stories high ana that was the
htigAt OF the forty-sixth and Forty sew
en- ii street wings and of the rear Of the
| ctel When the hotel was first erected
ttere wa left in its rear great open
garden nlled with the choicest flowers
and shrubs and extending east to Madi-
son avenue. This open space at the rear
gave plenty of light and air TO the din
ing rooms and other parts Of the build
Ing.
While the Windsor hotel made its first
managers rich, 1t proved IA disastrous
venture for the man who built it, and
he committed suicide 10 May. 1877. In
order to build and furnish the house he
was forced to borrow large sums of
money. Later, in order 10 better his
financial condition, he organized the
Windsor stock company. This arrange
ment Afforded only temporary relief, and
the hotel, in February, 1879, was sold un.
der foreclosure proceedings brought by
Peter Goelet against Mr.. Days estate
to satisfy judgment of slou,OO0 AT
the sale 1t was bought by James j. Bel
den of Syracuse, who was one of the exc
cutors of the estate. The purchase was
the subject OF long litigation, as the
result of which Mir. Belden two or three
years ago returned the property to the
estate. Moro recently it was again sold.
I his time it was acquired by Elbridge
4 Gerry, who owned the hotel at the
time it was burned.
When Hawk * WeaIherbee retired from
the management of the hotel Warren Il.
Leland, member of the well known
LELAND family, became the proprietor. 1t
50 ms Is if fire has pursued Mr.. Leland
in his hotel ventures He began his ca
teer as "a hotel man with his uncles,
Simeon Warren and Charles Leland, when
they kept the old Clinton hotel in
Feeknan street In 1852 the brothers
became the pruprietors of the Metropoli-
tan hotel. They made great stir Uy
advertising that their dining room would
be equipped with napkins for the use OF
their patrons at meals In both these
hotels young Warren Leland was the
steward,
In 1865 he opened the Leland house in
Springfield, ILL.,. and in 1867 he became
one of the pIoprietors OF the Delavan
house in Albany. The Delavan house
was destroyed by lire and MIR. Leland
later Lecame Interested in the Clarendon
hotel at Saratoga. That was partially
destroyed by fire Later he opened the
Lelnnu hotel in Syracuse and was max
ing money fast when that was destroyed.
MIR Leland was also the proprietor OF
the famous Ocean house at Newport
when it was destroyed by fire on Sep
tcm5er 2; 1898.
The 8indsor hotel, although intended,
when it was built, to be as nearly fire.
proof as possible, was really most ex-
cell, ut hretrap. On each floor i've broad
corridors intersected and in the middle
Of the building were two wife shafts,
cons iructed for the purpose of admitting
additional light and air. Broad staircases
led Fl ON the office floor to the paslor floor
and other broad staircases connected the
succeeding floors. his scheme OF archi-
lecture, it will DO seen, could hardly have
been improved upon in Fastening the de-
struction of the hotel by fire should any
sort of wind be blowing from any d.
rection. This was shown yesterday when,
with west wind blowing, the entire
structure was in ruins in little over
an hour.
When the hotel was opened it was as
much admired for Its fittings ana furnish
ings as the Waldorf Astoria is today.
For the woodwork of some of the finest
rooms large amount of money was
spent in securing rare woods. One of
the rooms was finished in hungarian
ash. another in Brazilian rosewood, an
other in satinwood, another in white
holly, another in Mexican mahogany,
another in Russian ash, one in French,
and still arnthpr in Turkish ash Mr.