Aladdin Homeless Shelter

 shelter housing, 1917_construction

8-story homeless shelter completed in 1917 as nurse's housing for Vincent Astor. Designed by Tracy & Swartwout, it is very similar in materials and design to the 6-story residential building next door that was done by the same architects. It is clad in red brick above a 2-story white-painted limestone base with quoins at the edges. An unpainted stone water table has four basement windows at the sidewalk level, two on either side of the central entrance. The doorway has a stone enframement surmounted by a shallow arched niche with an oval window; a scrolled keystone tops the niche. Flanking the upper part of the doorway are two small openings with decorative wrought-iron grilles. Further to the sides are two windows in black metal segmental-arched frames, with simple, flat keystones. The 2nd floor has six windows is stone surrounds with flat keystones.

The upper floors also have six bays of windows, with stone surrounds at the 3rd floor; the rest have stone sills. A string course sets off the top floor, which has round-arched windows with keystones. A blank roof parapet tops the facade.

The Longacre Hotel was converted to a youth hostel in 1997, before becoming a homeless shelter in 2002.

hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015006777018?urlappend=%3Bseq...
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www.wsj.com/articles/the-aladdin-once-a-hotel-now-a-hom...