Roger Smith Hotel

 hotel, 1927_construction

177-foot, 16-story hotel completed in 1927. Designed by Frank S. Nute (of Denby & Nute), it is clad in buff-colored brick above a 3-story limestone base. The main entrance is at the center of the west facade on the avenue, brass-framed glass doors under a white metal canopy, with metal-and-glass storefronts on either side. Flanking the canopy is an abstract stainless-steel frieze with square panels featuring a montage of projecting, angular shapes of all kinds. The frieze wraps around to the south facade, where the ground floor has a continuation of the storefront display windows, and a metal service door at the east end.

The 2nd floor has seven bays of windows (tripartite windows at the middle and end bays, and paired windows in the other bays) on the west facade, and three widely-spaced bays of double-windows with transoms on the south facade. The 2nd floor is capped by a dentiled stone band course on both facades. The 3rd floor has three matching bays of double-window on the south side (but without transoms), and seven such bays on the west facade, where there are four projecting flagpoles; the 4th floor is capped by a stone cornice.

The upper floors have similar windows with stone sills, and air-conditioning vents cut into the brick facade. A vertical sign with "HOTEL ROGER SMITH" in green neon is attached to the south edge of the west facade, from the 5th-9th floors. The 13th floor is capped by a modillioned and dentiled cornice, and the 14th-15th floors have a pattern of protruding brick headers around the window bays. A smaller cornice sets off the lower roof line at the 15th floor, which has blind balustrades at each bay topped by stone coping. The 16th floor is set back, and topped by a sloped metal roof with a small 2-story tower rising up from the center, also topped by a sloped metal hipped roof.

A narrow wing extends from the north side of the building out to the east, with small setbacks at the east end above the 9th & 13th floors. The east elevation of the wing has two bays of double-windows, and the south-facing elevation has two bays of double-windows to the west and two bays of single-windows at the east, changing to one bay at the 10th floor. The east elevation of the main wing has two bays of single-windows flanking a bay of smaller bathroom windows, and a fire escape in a recessed bay running down the north end.

The family-operated boutique hotel has 130 guest rooms. The ground floor is occupied by Lily's restaurant, and RS Pop Shop (a pop-up store of temporary, rotating, featured designers, changing each month).

www.rogersmith.com/