Hotel Wolcott
4 West 31st Street | Midtown South | built 1906
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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.
- 1904
John H. Duncan's Hotel Wolcott opens on 31st Street
Developer William C. Dewey built the 12-story Hotel Wolcott in the Beaux-Arts style, designed by John H. Duncan, the architect of Grant's Tomb. Labor strikes and trouble with steel delivery delayed the $500,000 project, and it opened on March 1, 1904. By that September Dewey had lost the hotel to foreclosure.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1904
A Gilded Age lobby survives inside a budget hotel
The Hotel Wolcott's ground-floor lobby keeps an ornate Louis XVI-style ceiling, mirrored panels, stained glass, marble pillars and chandeliers from its early years as an upscale residence. Writer Edith Wharton was among its notable guests. The lobby survives largely intact even though the hotel became known as a budget property.
Source: Ephemeral New York
- 1905
Developer William Dewey loses the Wolcott to foreclosure after a slow, steel-short construction
William C. Dewey had trouble getting the structural steel for the hotel and looked to Europe for supplies, which may explain its unusually long construction. The delay left him unable to pay his creditors, and in 1905 a foreclosure action resulted in the sale of the Wolcott. James Breslin's lease to operate the hotel survived the sale, and a series of hotel operators followed.
“In 1905, foreclosure action against William Dewey resulted in the sale of the hotel, although Breslin's lease to operate the hotel was maintained.”
- 1906
Hotelier James Breslin dies in his apartment at the Wolcott
James Breslin, a well-known hotelier who ran the Gilsey House for many years, leased the Wolcott while it was still going up on a 21-year lease worth over $2 million. He took an apartment in the newly opened hotel and died there in 1906. His obituary called him the ideal hotel man.
“Breslin took an apartment in the newly opened Hotel Wolcott, where he died in 1906. In his obituary he was celebrated as "the ideal hotel man.”
- 1908
Corning tests its new glass ovenware in the Wolcott's kitchens
In 1908 Corning tried out its new glass ovenware in the hotel's kitchens. Corning had an opening because one of its salesmen was married to the daughter of the hotel's manager then. The Landmarks Preservation Commission lists the test among the hotel's historical episodes, alongside its famous guests.
“The kitchens of the hotel were used by the Corning Glassware Company in 1908 to test its new glass ovenware since a Corning salesman was the son-in-law of the hotel's manager…”
- 1914
The Yankees are sold during American League meetings at the Wolcott
The Hotel Wolcott hosted American League baseball meetings, and at one in 1914 the New York Yankees were sold to Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast Huston. The hotel also held Fiorello La Guardia's inauguration ball in 1938. Later, Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers stayed there while recording at Beltone Studios.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1938
Fiorello La Guardia holds his inaugural ball in the Wolcott's ballroom
The Wolcott's ballroom hosted Fiorello La Guardia's inaugural ball in 1938. The Landmarks Preservation Commission cites the ball among the important political events held at the hotel, alongside the long-term stays of well-known residents.
“The ballroom of the hotel was the scene of Fiorello La Guardia's inaugural ball in 1938.”
- 1958
Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers stay at the Wolcott while recording downstairs
In 1958 Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers took rooms at the Hotel Wolcott while they recorded at Beltone Studios, a studio housed in the same building. The Landmarks Preservation Commission's report singles out the stay among the hotel's famous episodes.
“Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers stayed at the Hotel Wolcott in 1958 while recording their music at the Beltone Studios, which was located in the building.”
- 1993
The Five Spot jazz club opens in the Wolcott's old ballroom
In February 1993 a jazz club, the Five Spot, opened inside the hotel's ballroom. Players including David Sanborn and McCoy Tyner performed there until the club shut in 1996. The ballroom, a Louis XVI space about 100 by 50 feet, was largely abandoned in the 2000s.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2011
The Landmarks Commission designates the Hotel Wolcott
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Hotel Wolcott a city landmark on December 20, 2011, after a public hearing on October 26, 2010. Three speakers backed designation, including a representative of Assemblyman Gottfried and the Historic Districts Council, and no one opposed it. The report praised the hotel's over-scaled keystones, brackets and cartouches.
“December 20, 2011 ... There were three speakers in favor of designation ... There were no speakers in opposition.”
- 2020
The Wolcott becomes a shelter for homeless former prisoners during the pandemic
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, the Wolcott began housing homeless people released from prison, under a contract with the nonprofit Exodus Transitional Communities. Nearly all of its staff were themselves formerly incarcerated. Exodus closed the shelter in October 2022, and the city then announced it would open a 175-room site for asylum seekers there.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Hotel WolcottWikipedia
- The wildly ornate lobby inside a budget hotelEphemeral New York
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