Hotel Olcott

27 West 72nd Street | also 24 West 73rd Street | Upper West Side | built 1925

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

1925
George F. Pelham designs the Hotel Olcott on the site of the Straus mansion
In 1924 the 27 West 72nd Street Corporation tore down the Nathan Straus family's mansion and three neighboring houses to build a residential hotel. Architect George F. Pelham gave it an Italian Renaissance look, finished in 1925, with a steel frame, gold-colored brick and a limestone base. It had 227 suites of one to four rooms, each with a serving pantry with mechanical refrigeration in place of a kitchen.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
1976
Martin Scorsese features the hotel in a scene of Taxi Driver
Martin Scorsese's 1976 film Taxi Driver features the Hotel Olcott in one of its scenes. At the time the building was a residential hotel, home to long-term tenants rather than overnight guests.
Source: Wikipedia
1980
October
Mark David Chapman stays at the Olcott before killing John Lennon
In October 1980 Mark David Chapman stayed at the Olcott, along with two other places in the city, before he killed John Lennon. The hotel stands about a block from the Dakota apartments, where Lennon lived.
Source: Wikipedia
2005
The hotel converts to condominiums after eight decades as a residential hotel
Brack Capital and Stellar Management converted the Hotel Olcott into condominiums in 2005, ending its run as a residential hotel. In 1992 about 240 people lived there, many of them for decades, including entertainer Tiny Tim and actor Martin Balsam.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Nearby