My tour guide asked that I excuse the dust on the floor (the McKittrick is still undergoing significant cleaning): In fact, news of the war’s beginning was heard through its speaker. The beautiful handmade lobby rug, purchased by one of the McKittrick’s in Turkey in the early 1940’s for less than $8.Ī chandelier, which once held lit candles (electrified, one of the few “modern” changes):Īn old radio that once broadcast 1940’s programs for guests. The hotel’s original phone – again, still working after all these years. And yes, that’s a ROTARY payphone inside:Īnother awesome feature: the key rack behind the check-in desk.Įach room in the hotel is opened by a skeleton key (I’m told this tradition will continue when the hotel reopens): The lines are STILL working, and are believed to be among the oldest exchanges in the city. In the lobby: three original phone booths. And after a decades long wait, it appears that process is finally beginning again. The debt was slowly but surely paid off as the property was handed down through two McKittrick generations with the hope that it would someday find new life as a hotel. Parts of it were indeed leased as office space for a period in the 1960’s and 1970’s (you can find remnants of a taxidermist’s shop on an upper level), but it ultimately wasn’t worth the money. Despite significant debt, the hotel remained in the McKittrick family over the years. But how was any of this possible?Īpparently, the hotel was never sold. I’m even told the furniture and decorations, down to the pool balls in the billiard room, are original to the hotel. Other than minor alterations, like new lighting and exit signs, this is EXACTLY what guests would have seen when the McKittrick Hotel first opened in 1939, carefully preserved for over 70 years. I started to ask my guide if this was from the old McKittrick, but she told me to wait a minute…Īnd then we turned a corner, and I found myself in the original McKittrick lobby. …with dusty lamp lit paintings lining the walls. …wallpaper that appeared to be decades old… Inside the front door is an entrance hallway, and I was immediately surprised by the decor… The person is a big fan of my site, and told me, if I was interested, she could sneak me in to see something “incredible.” Then, out of the blue last Friday, I got a letter from someone who I can only describe as having access to the property. I figured the McKittrick Hotel, like Hart Island, was simply one of those insanely cool New York places I’d never get to explore. When I learned about its past as a hotel as a year or two ago, I tried to get inside to see if anything still remained of the old McKittrick – but I couldn’t even find a phone number. But pickings are slim, and after 1978 – nothing.įor as long as I’ve known it, 530 West 27th Street has been padlocked and under scaffolding. You can find the address via a Google Books search in a handful of print advertisements through the 1960’s and 1970’s, suggesting it might have been used as a commercial/office space (a taxidermy shop was once located in “Suite 3F”). There are a few minor NY Times articles about attempts to re-open the McKittrick as a hotel throughout the 1950’s, but nothing ever seems to have panned out. Barely able to pay staff wages, let alone the millions of dollars of debt, the McKittrick – along with countless other New York City hotels – closed its doors and was sold.įinding any history on 530 West 27th Street beyond this point is difficult. Mere days after its opening, World War II broke out, and the fortunes of the McKittrick quickly soured as reservations were canceled and prices dropped. However, despite its initial success, the McKittrick did not survive the year. Alfred Hitchcock, an early guest, would later name the hotel in Vertigo after the McKittrick, having so enjoyed his stay: Since I became a location scout, it’s been my dream to get into the old McKittrick Hotel at 530 West 27th Street.īuilt in 1939, the McKittrick Hotel is said to have been one of New York City’s finest, providing lavish accommodations on a far more intimate level than larger hotels like the Waldorf~Astoria or Plaza Hotel could manage.īefore long, the McKittrick became the place to be and be seen, and the upper crust found themselves fighting for reservations years in advance.
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