New-York tribune., 1908-03-29
LAST OF FAMOUS HOTEL
Fifth 4Uenue Home of Statesmen
Making Hay for Offices.

Tr.sa ara funaresl.dave for the old Fifth Avenue
Hotel. The owners. H. c. and II. l. Emo. have
served notice the guests that they must vacate
by the night Of Saturday. April 4. and the stores
must be vacated by August + large granite
Office building is take the place Of the famous
old hosiery.
Nothing is talked OF and about the hotel but
the closing People from far out of town have
visited the old hotel during the last week 10 shake
hands for the last tine and condole with some Of
the oldtinners about the winding Of the business
Perhaps the change hits the employees the hardest
Of all Some OF them have been there for almost
half century. Then. TOO. there - the AmensCor-
ner Association which always holds it's annual
dinner AZ the hotel Il viii be homeless after
April
Thomas GAY the head waiter has been in charge
Of the dining room for forty-six years. He owns
ranch in Colorado sold 70 him. or given to him. by
David n Nof1tt formerly of the Denver & Rio
Grande Railway. Tom has been trying for FIVE
years get his ranch. but he has not been able
10 break away from the hotel
Fred the oldest barber ins point Of service in
the hotel has been welding the razo- for twenty
six years General Charles r. Furlong. who spent
half his life at the hotel and who died last October.
left Fred legacy
Jim Gray. the head bartender. has been hand
ling liquids there tventy-sx years He is going
across efth street TO the Albemarle Monday fol-
lowing the closing. William Duhv. manager Of the
billiard room. has been there thirty years or more.
Nathaniel Whitman. of Lesner & Whitman. Broad
way merchants. Is said TO he the oldest guest in
point continuous tenancy. Mr.. Whitman is a
bachelor and for years has occupied A suite the
top floor at the corner OF 23d street and Fifth
nue. other hotels have come with improvements.
Mr Whitman has chung 10 his old room because
the lights IL up all day long.
The 1essees are Hitchcock Darling e. Co. Elmer
a Darling being the active spirit in the firm
Charles n Villas ia the general manager Ny
Villas. it is said. will take a well earned vacation
and spend year in Egypt. Mr.. Darling has fine
stock farm in Vermont to keep him busy.
Tho Fifth Avenue Hotel opened in 1852 and
has been famous since. A year after the open
ing tho Prince of Wales this country and
while he i'm New York a guest the
hotel Since then there has been n never ending
procession of famous men coming and going from
the place. During the Civil War period the hotel
was the meeting place of the Union generals naval
officers and Republican statesmen.
At the famous Peabody dinner there, in 1867. the
movement for the nomination of Grant was started
The Emperor Dom Pedro of Brazil held court there
Prince Marco Crown Prince of SIAM was enter
tanned in 1884, and in 1881 Prince Napoleon. OF
''Plon Pion." and heir apparent to the throne of
France President Arthur there received the
Corean Embassy in 1883 The Arcadan Club gave
great reception to Charlotte Cushrnan on the
occasion of the trasediennes retirement from the
stage.
In 1883 Prince Augustine de Iturblde OF Mexico
the Marquis of Lorne and the Malagasy envoys
from Madagascar were there. In the previous
year came the Chinese Embassy and In 1857
Prince Devowonsse, of the Samese royal fam
ily. and four sons OF the King were entertained
These but few names picked from hundreds
equally distinguished. At the time of the York
celebration the French and German derega-
tons to this country fraternized there. At the
centennial of 1876 the Brooklyn Bridge opening
the one hundrcdth anniversary of the institution OF
the United States Supreme Court. the Washington
Centennial of 1889. the funeral days of Grant Ar
thur and Sherman. the laying OF the cornerstone
OF tie Grant Monument-the story is always the
same of the concentration at the Fifth Avenue of
the most distinguished participants i'm the event
from the President and his Cabinet down
For years Senator Platt made the hotel his hom.
and the Republican State Committee had IFS bead
quarters there.
AS is known tn any at all familiar with the
city. the hotel fronts in Madison SQUARE at tho
function of ed street. Broadway and Fifth avenue
The management of the motel has not cbansed
since it opened TO the public in 1859 The first
passenger elevator Installed for regular service in
this country put the Fifth Avenue Hotel
and of the real old-fashioned people used To
call it the Fifth Avenue Hotel vertical railway"
The hotel occupies frontage of 1877 feet in
Broadway Besides numerous stores part of the
building years ago converted into the Madison
Square Theatre. and many of Hoyts PLAYS were
given there The theatre part OF the property was
the first TO fall by the hand OF the wreckers q
beginning the demolition last week In the
early part of the last century the was occu
pied by Madison Cottage and near by was a
circus ground