Soho Grand Hotel
310 West Broadway | also 306 West Broadway | SoHo | built 1996
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1914
Frank Tannenbaum leads the Army of the Unemployed into St. Alphonsus Church to demand a place to sleep
On the evening of March 4, 1914, IWW leader Frank Tannenbaum marched hundreds of jobless men from Rutgers Park to St. Alphonsus Church, the building later replaced by the Soho Grand Hotel, during Lenten services. The New York Times estimated that about 600 men headed up Canal Street. Tannenbaum asked the pastor, Rev. John G. Schneider, to let the men sleep in the church and was refused, after which, the Tribune reported, the men stormed inside anyway. Police reserves then arrested the men in the sanctuary.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1914
A bomb thrown from the elevated train wrecks the steps of the St. Alphonsus rectory
Just before midnight on October 13, 1914, someone hurled a bomb at the rectory beside St. Alphonsus Church, which stood where the Soho Grand Hotel is now, from the elevated train a few feet away. The blast knocked the iron railing of the stone steps out of place, threw the priests from their beds and cut Brother Patrick with flying glass. Two days later investigators linked the attack to anarchists, the unemployed and the IWW, months after the church sit-in.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1979
St. Alphonsus Church is closed because the building is sinking above a buried stream
The Romanesque-style church of the 1870s sat on a concrete slab rather than pilings, above the stream that had formed the filled-in Canal Street canal. Its marble floor sagged and cracks ran up the walls near the altar, and measurements showed it sinking more than half an inch a year, with heavy subway and street vibrations an unforeseen strain. The archdiocese closed the church in October 1979 for fear of falling plaster, and put the property on the market in 1980.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1995
Hartz Mountain agrees in court to drive piles gently at the Soho Grand site
Preliminary construction began in March 1995 on the 370-room hotel, billed as the first built in SoHo in a century. In State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Hartz Mountain Industries agreed to drive piles gently so nearby artworks would not be rattled. The deal replaced a temporary restraining order won by the daughter of the late sculptor Chaim Gross, who feared his works could be shaken. Neighbors were already planning lawsuits and protests.
Source: Internet Archive
- 1996
The Soho Grand opens as downtown Manhattan's first luxury boutique hotel, over neighbors' objections
The Soho Grand opened on August 4, 1996, on the former site of St. Alphonsus Church. Local residents opposed it, and eight earlier attempts to build a hotel on the spot in the previous decade had failed. David Helpern designed the building and William Sofield the interiors, with bottle glass and cast-iron moldings borrowed from the neighborhood's industrial buildings.
“The Soho Grand Hotel opened on August 4, 1996…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1996
The 15-story Soho Grand rises just outside the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District
David Helpern designed the red-brick hotel, which one New York Times writer likened to a university dormitory, and William Sofield did the interiors. Sofield nodded to the neighborhood's cast-iron past with an entrance stair set with bottle glass, the kind once used to light basement workshops. Because the site lies just beyond the historic district, the developer could build a tall 367-room hotel among five- and six-story neighbors.
Source: Internet Archive
- 1996
Soho Grand puts a stone water basin at its door for passing dogs
Hartz Mountain, a pet-products and real estate company, opened the hotel as the first it managed itself and kept its name off the marquee. A stone basin at the entrance, where passing dogs could drink, was the clue to the owner. Opening rates started at $199 for a single and $219 for a double, with penthouse suites at $429 or $550 a night.
Source: Internet Archive
- 2010
Soho Grand turns its gallery space into the Club Room lounge
In March 2010 Eater reported that the hotel was building a wall to turn the area left of its staircase, Gallery space included, into a new lounge to be called the Club Room. Patrons would reach it through a door once used as a closet, and a tipster said the old gallery would hold the DJ booth and a "swaying floor" with access for the public and guests limited. The Grand Bar was to stay open to the public.
Source: ny.eater.com
- 2010
Soho Grand unveils ten suites papered with Saul Steinberg designs
In 2010 the hotel introduced ten suites designed by William Sofield. Their wall coverings used designs by Saul Steinberg, the illustrator known for his work in The New Yorker. The suites took their design direction from the hotel's public spaces.
“In 2010, the hotel unveiled ten suites designed by William Sofield that feature wall coverings designed by New Yorker illustrator, Saul Steinberg.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2013
A Soho Grand employee allegedly sets several fires to make the hotel less popular and lighten his workload
In the fall of 2013 several fires broke out at the Soho Grand, which has 353 guest rooms. Wikipedia reports that a hotel employee allegedly started them, hoping to make the hotel less popular so that his workload would shrink. The hotel opened in 1996 on the site of the former St. Alphonsus Church.
“In fall 2013, a hotel employee started several fires because he allegedly wanted to lighten his workload by making the hotel less popular.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2019
The Soho Diner opens inside the Soho Grand
A 24-hour American diner called the Soho Diner opened at the hotel in late 2019. Chef Ken Addington led the kitchen. It joined the Grand Bar, which had opened with the hotel in 1996, and Gilligan's, a seasonal outdoor venue styled as an homage to Gilligan's Island.
“The Soho Diner opened in late 2019. The American 24-hour diner is led by chef Ken Addington.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2021
Soho Grand's owner says it is staying put after a report of handing the keys to its lender
After The Real Deal reported that the company behind the Soho Grand and the Roxy was handing both hotels to the lender, GrandLife Hotels told Tribeca Citizen in March 2021 that it remained committed to running both. It said it had stayed current on its obligations through the pandemic, and that the Soho Grand had renovated its 347 guest rooms and added six terrace suites. The Grand Bar had reopened on February 12.
Source: tribecacitizen.com
Further reading
- Soho Grand HotelWikipedia
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