The Last Days of Gramercy Park Hotel

Where: 2 Lexington Avenue [map], New York, ny, United States, 10010

7/06/2006 at 4:15 PM
Tags: Hotel Openings, Ian Schrager, Gramercy Park Hotel

We are eagerly awaiting the August 8 opening of Ian Schragers's Gramercy Park Hotel.

But we happened upon a Flickr photo of one of the hotel's rooms prior to Schrager's construction crews moving in. This was probably about the same time all the old hotel stuff went up for sale like the clunky black TVs. Either way, we got nostalgic.

Back in the day, the historic Gramercy Park Hotel housed Babe Ruth and an 11-year-old John F. Kennedy, plus Humphrey Bogart was married there back in 1926. The hotel also saw its share of rockers in the 1960s/70s, as one frequent guest says:

The Gramercy Park Hotel played its role by playing host to the British music crowd. The lobby was the scene of skeletal chain smokers with stringy hair and bad teeth carrying guitars and sound equipment.

Indeed, Edwin McCain wrote a song called Gramercy Park Hotel. Here's a sample of the lyrics:

Ol' Babe Ruth, he was a drunkard just like me
He lived it high, and he lived it low
Staggered down the New York streets
They throw him out the pub, when he raised a little too much hell
And then he lay his big fat head down at the
Gramercy park hotel
The Gramercy park hotel

Now Schrager is turning the joint into a classy condo-tel. And New York magazine reports neighbors are warming up to the idea of the residences at 50 Gramercy Park adjacent to the hotel. 19 of 23 apartment units have been sold (for about $3,000 per square foot) and his $100,000 donation to the park seemed to make all construction woes disappear. (Jason Pomeranc, take note.)

We just wonder if Schrager will keep any of the history's hotel around. Perhaps play the song every once in a while?

Photo of a 50 Gramercy Park residence after the jump.