Hotel McAlpin was constructed in 1912. It is now called the Herald Towers, found at the Historical Herald Square in Manhattan on Broadway and 34th Street, and Olde Good Glass has exclusive rights to make its salvaged glass windows available to the public.
When it opened the hotel was the largest in the world, boasting 25 stories and more than 1, 500 rooms. The hotel was designed by well-known architect Frank Mills Andrews and was certainly a major point of interest.
With a staff of 1,500 and the capability to accommodate 2,500 guests, the McAlpin Hotel was designed with many unusual structures and interior designs, even by New York City standards.
The building had one floor reserved for single women so that they were not harassed. That floor had a separate check-in desk and salon, and all workers were female. Even night workers had the 16th floor to themselves, where the night silence was preserved.
There was a tapestry gallery, a banquet room with a vaulted ceiling, a giant marble lobby and a Louis XVI-style dining room to add to the sheer indulgence of the building.
A Turkish bath and swimming “plunge” were built on the 24th floor, which were both unusual in that baths were located in basements with no circulation of fresh air at the time.
The basement room, at first called the Rathskeller and within a few months the Marine Grill, remains one of the most unusual basements in New York City.
Salvaged Glass Windows from Hotel McAlpin
Throughout this building were impressive double-hung copper clad windows, which Olde Good Glass carefully removed and salvaged prior to demolition.
There are various sizes and each window is prepared to your specifications. It can be stripped, cleaned, and the glass is hand-silvered to create a unique mirror, or the windows can be bought in their salvaged state.
These windows are a great addition to a salon, hotel, office, or home. Prices vary based on the size and condition of the salvaged glass.
Besides its vintage copper clad windows, Hotel McAlpin had a basement restaurant called Marine grill which featured amazing tile murals that tell New York City’s maritime history; artwork created by Fredrick Dana Marsh.
The hotel was also built using copper window frames, which were a major design feature. Today unique mirrors made from copper window frame salvaged from the hotel are available from Olde Good Glass. The copper has been polished to a slight shine.
The developer converting the hotel to condos was about to throw them away, when the preservation groups stepped in and asked the developer to save the tile murals and the workers managed to remove most of them without breaking.
In 2000, the murals were installed at Fulton Street subway station (Broadway-Nassau) in New York.
Feeling nostalgic? Check out the Olde Good Things architectural salvage blog for more on the historical buildings and materials salvaged.
