Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-21

BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
NEW YORK, May 20, 1905.
The more hotels the more patrons seems
to be the rule in New York, just as it is
with the transportation facilities. The
construction of new ones. like the subway,
does not lessen, but increases the patron
age of the elevated and surface cars.
It was never necessary to send
telegram ahead for rooms to any of
the old hotels in New York before
the new big ones were built-and that
was not very long ago There was al
ways plenty of room. But nowadays the
big hotels seem to be always crowded, and
if you arrive late in the evening you run
risk of having to hunt accommodations
somewhere else if you have not whitten or
telegraphed to announce your coming.
There are more and larger hotels in New
York than in any other city in the world,
even more than London or Paris, and they
are increas sing in a mos, marvellous man
ner, yet every one of them seems to be
crowded.
The Ansonia, on Broadway near I'D
street Is the largest hotel in the world. 1t
covers an entire block is seventeen stories
high, has 5000 rooms and more than 900
| souls live under its roof. 1t belongs to the
estate of the late Arson Phelps. and was
named for him and not for town in Con-
| necticut, as some people suppose.
Plans have been made for twenty-five
| story hotel to replace the venerable and
| famous Fifth Avenue, on Madison Square,
which belongs to the Emo estate But the
managers tell me they do not think the old
house will be torn down this year or next.
1t is so popular and SO well patronized and
is making much money that they hesi-
tate to take any risks. If the plans are
carried out the new house will be nearly as
large as the Ansonia.
Too Small to Be Profitable.
The Plaza Hotel, on 59th street near the
entrance to Central Park, which cost a mil
lion and half of dollars has never paid
expenses because it is not large enough. So
much space is devoted to Hobbies, drawing
rooms, dining rooms and other public pur-
poses, and the bedrooms are large that
it cannot accommodate enough people to
meet the cost of maintenance; so that it
will be torn down and give place to a ten
milon-dollar hotel, larger than anything
in Europe, and surprising even the Wal
dorf-Astoria in size.
The new Belmont, now approaching COM
pletion, on Park avenue at the corner of
42d street, across from the Grand Central
station will have more sleeping rooms than
the WaldorfAstoria, although it is not
large. The ceilings are not high; the
rooms are smaller, there are fewer sitting
rooms, parlors, bathrooms, banquet halls,
and other public apartments, and it has
twenty-SiX stories.
The Waldorf-A storia has 1885 living
and sleeping rooms, not including the bali
rooms banquet halls, dining rooms and
Others used for public purposes, and it has
$40 bathrooms. The largest number of
guests ever taken care of under its roof at
any one time 1,543. The average num-
Der of guests in winter in 1,200 a day and
In summer about 7G0. The number of en-
ployes varies between LOO and 1.50J. ac-
ccrding to the season. While the horse
show is on and the social gaieties of New
York are at their heighth, extra walters
and other servants are employed. but the
standing army is about 1893 strong.
$4,000 for Suite.
1t is not generally known that the Wal
dorf-Astoria has about 300 regular board
ers who, for their rooms alone pay from
900 year, which is the price of sin
gle inside room on the fourteenth floor, to
$50 GOO a year for suites of fifteen rooms.
John w. Gates pays that much for the
apartments which Mr.. Boldt originally fitted
up for his own use. He has private en-
trance at No. 13 33d street. and a private
stairway connecting with the brokerage Of
flee of his son, Charles G. Gates & Co., on
the ground floor of the hotel. Henry Clay
Pierce of ST. Louis also pays $4,000 a
year for the fifteen rooms composing what
is known the royal suite He is pres
ident of the Mexican Central Railway, is
at the head of one of the auXiliaries of the
Standard Oil Company and has other large
interests in ST. Louis and the southwest
There are ten families in the Waldorf
Astoria who pay $4,000 year for the cor
ner suites of from eight to twelve rooms;
fifteen who pay $4,000 year; twenty
five or more who pay between 5000 and
600 year, and thirty or more who
pay between $500 and $1,000 while about
200 pay from 81 900 to s., 800 per year. The
latter mostly bachelors, who are To-
Gated on the thirteenth and fourteenth
floors. These prices do not include meals
but simply the rooms, with light, heat and
attendance.
More Than the Rent of Any House.
The Savoy, the Netherlands, the Man.
haitian, the Imperial, the Buckingham. the
Murray Hill, the Holland. the Majestic, the
Empire, the Hoffman and other great ho-
tells have a similar number of permanent
boarders who pay corresponding prices
many of them more than the rental charged
for any unfinished house in the United