History of The Pennsylvania Hotel

In 1919, Pennsylvania Railroad built the stately neo–Renaissance–style Hotel Pennsylvania as the largest hotel building in the world's greatest hotel city – New York. This was the last addition to a chain of luxury hotels operated by the Statler Company. The hotel was designed by the prominent architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White, which also completed landmark properties such as the Waldorf Astoria, the original Pennsylvania Railroad Station, Pierpont Morgan Library, Columbia University and the United States Post Office Building on Eighth Ave. Considered New York's Grand Dame and place to stay by dignitaries and discriminating travelers, Hotel Pennsylvania hosted many presidential visits.

Bounded on the west by Seventh Avenue and on the north and south by 33rd and 32nd streets respectively, the hotel was erected on a building site measuring 200 x 400 feet. The hotel building has 22 floors from street level to the roof inclusive and three levels in the penthouse. The first four stories are faced with Indiana limestone and treated with Roman Ionic pilasters, with rusticated walls in between. The Seventh Avenue facade contains a magnificent portico of six Ionic columns marking the main entrance. These structures remain intact today, retaining the ambience of a bygone era.

Originally there were 2,200 bathrooms, 3,537 beds and the world's first high–rise elevator system. Underground passages connected the hotel to Pennsylvania Station so guests arriving in New York avoided any exposure to inclement weather. Upon opening, the rate for a single room was $3.50 per night. Today, Hotel Pennsylvania remains the fourth largest hotel in Manhattan, with renovations designed to enhance room size making the number of rooms 1,700.

Ellsworth Statler, the prominent hotelier was contracted as the first general manager of the property. Later named Hotel Man of the Century by the American Hotel Association, he is best known for his quote, "There are things that make a hotel famous location, location, location." Ellsworth Statler was referring to the Hotel Pennsylvania, which remained the largest in the world until 1927.

The hotel is famous for its grandeur and place in the world of musical entertainment. The renowned Cafe Rouge Ballroom (considered one of the most popular nightclubs in New York during the late 1930's and 1940's) hosted many of the Big Band Era's musicians. These included the Dorsey brothers, Fred Waring, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and the Glenn Miller Orchestra who regularly broadcast "live from the Cafe Rouge" around the country.

New York's Hotel Pennsylvania has kept the same telephone number since 1919, which was immortalized in the 1938 Glenn Miller hit "Pennsylvania 6–5000." This is New York's longest continually used telephone number.