Ace Hotel New York (New York City, New York)

USA / New Jersey / West New York / New York City, New York / West 29th Street, 20

170-foot, 12-story Beaux-Arts hotel completed in 1904. Designed by Clinton & Russell, it was opened as the Hotel Breslin, named after prominent New York hotelier Colonel James Breslin.

The Broadway facade is nine bays wide, with ten bays on 29th Street, and a curved northwest corner, rising above the 2-story limestone base to a conical roof. The base is banded and lined with storefronts on the ground floor, with leaded glass transoms. The southernmost bay has the main entrance on Broadway, featuring paneled pilasters, elaborate brackets supporting the molded hood, surmounting carved fascia, and paneled plinths. A similar entrance with a suspended metal marquee is at the easternmost bay on 29th Street, before the eastern half of the facade recesses. The ground floor at this recessed section has black metal storefronts projecting out to the building line, with a sloped metal roof and leaded glass transoms. The 2nd floor has alternating regular-sized and smaller, narrow windows - except for the recessed eastern section on 29th Street, which has paired windows in its five bays. The base is capped by a stone band course, and has a wrought-iron railing at the corner.

The rest of the shaft is clad in dark red brick, ornamented with painted terra-cotta lining the main window bays, which are paired at the recessed section, and alternated with bays of small windows on the rest of the facades. The spandrels between the 3rd & 4th floors have carved stone ornament, and there are cartouches flanked by brackets above the 4th-floor windows. The brick piers between the bays at the 3rd-4th floors are outlined in stone. The rest of the upper floors have similar carved spandrels, except for on the recessed section, were they have smaller carved decorations in the center of each spandrel.

There are bracketed window hoods with cartouches, molded bands, and balustrades above the 11th floor. The 12th-floor fenestration is crowned by bracketed pediments and a mansard roof. The rounded 3-window corner bay is fully clad in stone, with similar carved spandrel panels to those on the main facade. It has cartouches and rosettes at the top of the 10th floor, and paired scrolled brackets at the 11th floor, supporting the curved balustrade. Three bracketed pediments cap the 12th floor, topped by a pointed copper dome.

The building was later converted to residential, known as the Breslin Apartments. In 2002, the building was renovated and re-opened as the Ace Hotel, a trendy hotel with rooms ranging from shared bunks to high-end "loft suites" with interiors by Roman and Williams. The ground floor is occupied by The Breslin restaurant & Liberty Hall ballroom, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, D&S Fragrances, and Black Seed bagels.
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Coordinates:   40°44'44"N   73°59'17"W
This article was last modified 3 years ago