#369 Last Dance at the Hotel Pennsylvania

The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Tom Meyers

Society & Culture, History, Documentary, Places & Travel

4.8 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 August 2021

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When it opened in 1919, the Hotel Pennsylvania was the largest hotel in the world. Over a hundred years later, its fate remains uncertain. Is it too big to save? After the Pennsylvania Railroad completed its colossal Pennsylvania Station in 1910, the railroad quickly realized it would need a companion hotel equal to the station's exquisite grandeur. And it would need an uncommonly ambitious hotelier to operate it. Enter E.M. Statler, the hotel king who made his name at American World's Fairs and brought sophisticated new ideas to this exceptional hotel geared towards middle-class and business travelers. But the Hotel Pennsylvania would have another claim to fame during the Swing Era. Its restaurants and ballrooms -- particularly the Café Rouge -- would feature some of the greatest names of the Big Band Era. Glenn Miller played the Cafe Rouge many times at the height of his orchestra's fame. He was so associated with the hotel that one of his biggest hits is a tribute -- "Pennsylvania 6-5000." The hotel outlived the demolition of the original Penn Station, but it currently sits empty and faces imminent demolition thanks to an ambitious new plan to rehabilitate the neighborhood. What will be the fate of this landmark to music history? Is this truly the last dance for the Hotel Pennsylvania? boweryboyshistory.com Listen to the official Bowery Boys playlist inspired by this episode on Spotify. If you like the show, please subscribe and leave a rating on iTunes and other podcast services. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Transcript

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0:00.0	The following show was recorded before the resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
0:06.0	The Barry Boy's episode 369, last dance at the hotel, Pennsylvania.
0:13.0	Hey, it's the Barry Boy's.
0:14.0	Hey!
0:15.0	Hi there. Welcome to the Barry Boy's. This is Greg Young.
0:22.0	And this is Tom Myers with a little question for you. Greg, what do you think is the most famous phone number in American history?
0:30.0	Let's see. 8675309.
0:36.0	I mean, obviously I love that song, but I was thinking about something a little bit older and think more big band.
0:54.0	Could you mean...
0:59.0	Calling that number in the 1930s would have gotten you connected to one of the largest hotels in New York.
1:05.0	The hotel, Pennsylvania, located on 7th Avenue across the street from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden.
1:14.0	That's right. When it was opened in 1919, the hotel was sitting across the street from the original Penn Station.
1:22.0	In fact, it was specifically designed to match that original McKinney and White Station across the street.
1:29.0	But the hotels claimed to fame was as a music venue, one of the greatest dance floors of the big band scene, hosting many of the greatest stars of the swing era, the most popular artists on the radio.
1:44.0	And even the hotel's operator was pretty famous too, shaping the world of hospitality in the 20th century.
1:53.0	We will be telling the story of this famous hotelier who even lends his name to a muppet.
2:00.0	So with all this story that we are about to tell, it must certainly be an official New York landmark, right?
2:07.0	Oh no, it's actually not. Today, the accommodation, known as the hotel Pennsylvania, including the restaurants, the ballrooms, all of it, sits empty.
2:20.0	And talks have been underway for its demolition for nearly 15 years now.
2:26.0	So can the hotel be saved? Should it be saved? Will it be saved? Well, before settling down on a particular side here, we think it's important to learn the full story of this singular space in Midtown Manhattan.
2:41.0	So shall we head out for a spin on the dance floor? Greg, join us as we get in the mood to tell the story of the historic hotel Pennsylvania.
3:12.0	I love kicking off a show with some Glen Miller. Greg, this is a big band show.
	...

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