New-York tribune., 1921-09-04
WHEN A DOLLAR IN THIS TOWN WAS NONE

which ranked in the first class The old ".
chants' Hotel, at al and 43 Wall Street -
: selected In 1877 for the ENTERTAINERS.
President Monroe on his official visit - ~ y
York. The fame of Holt's Hotel has lono - s,s'
been forgotten, although it was q n,ar,,s, s
It's day, and failed on account of antic;,..:'"
the Injuries of the future and connv ~
its time 1t was built III 1888 in Fulton st.s4'
between Pearl and Webster, and was tho Y.ss
est and most pretentious building of ;ts -.
1t was the first hotel to use steam r. - :.
labor. Passenger elevators had MT se
dreamed of, but the steam was used to 80. go
baggage to the upper floors and to turn q.
spits and grind knives. Il was also usea
dig an artesian well 500 feet deep, which ~.
one Of the wonders of the city. The bs.s
rate, including room and meals, was 81
day. which was considered exorbitant.
One Of the most exclusive hotels ~ :,
period was the old Bunker Mansion Hou.e :.
80 Broadway, which was opened in 1921 !.
comprised three old mansions, the centra, ~.
having been occupied by Washington uh.s
President Of the United States. The roors-
as might be supposed, were large with hjos
ceilings and many windows. The house v..
filled with people largely from the South an,
it prided itself on having the quiet refpens,.
of a private residence Further up Broadw,r
at 142, stood Webb's Congress Hall which
was announced, "was fitted up in verv .,
perior style, combining the useful and u.
ornamental"
The hours for meals in the old hotels cor.
was little business before 9 or 10 in ths
morning. The better class of merchants
dined at 2 and others at p m The fash
ionable hour for dining was in the afte,.
noon. The formal public dinners to De-
catur, Lafayette, Dickens and others wers
commenced at p. m. As early as 1906 ths
hotels catered to the theater crowd. In thn
year the London House, which adjoined te
Park Theater, on Park Row, advertised
special supper after the show at 80 in the
evening. When macbeth" was PLAYED in
that year it was followed by comedy called
"The Farm House," and special supper was
served between the two plays. The curtain
rose at 6 80 p. m. The advertisement an
nounced can excellent supper at the London
Hotel between the play and the farce at 80
cents" The London House was except in
true old English fashion, the principles Of
which are cleanliness civility, comfort and
good cheer"
1t speaks we'll for the old hotels that Bril-
liant Savarin lived for two years in New
York and enthusiastically praised them He
stopped at the Porter House, in Pine Street,
little below William, and supported himself
by giving lessons in French and leading the
orchestra in the theater On leaving New
York he wrote to a friend that all he "asked
of heaven was to know as little sorrow in the
Old World as in the New
The early period of New York's hotel Me
may be said to have come to an end with The
building of the Astor House. in 1876 It was
described at its opening as san enormous
granite pile with a basement filled with su-
perb shops" Another advertisement reads
''The apartments devoted to families exclu-
sively are spacious and elegant" The ladies
ordinary and gentlemen's ordinary were 50
a day, but the hotel begged leave to state tina:
'the charges are no higher than at other first
class hotels" The hours for meals in the
early days reflected the customs of the city
Breakfast in ladies' and gentlemen's ordi
nary was at in the morning Dinner iu
the ladies' ordinary was served at in the
afternoon and in the gentlemen's ordinary
at 80 Tea was served from to and
supper from to IL o'clock. "These are the
regular hours" the hotel management an
nounced, and added: "But if it suits the inter
est or convenience of our patrons we provide
breakfast at any moment between daylight
and dinner time. Dinners for one or more
at any time. In short. we take pleasure in
providing for the wants of our patrons, re
gardless of the hour or our own convenience
without extra charge"