Astor House

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The Astor House was for a time the finest hotel in New York City. It was built by John Jacob Astor and opened in 1836 as the Park Hotel. It was located on Broadway between Vesey and Barclay Streets, across from New York City Hall and diagonally across from the New York Herald. The building was designed by Isaiah Rogers in a Greek Revival style, 309 rooms in its 6 stories with gaslights and bathing/toilet facilities on each floor.

Mathew Brady lived there in the 1840s and Abraham Lincoln stayed there in February 1860. It was a safe haven during the Great Blizzard of '88 and in 1916, Charles Evans Hughes stayed there while his presidential bid stood in the balance. William James was born there in 1842.

By the early 1870s it was considered old-fashioned and unappealing and principally used by businessmen. It was demolished in 1926.