Wood
engraving on paper from the front page of the Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room
Companion (Boston - March 12, 1853), signed by Wade. Original title: A Fine
View of the New Mammoth St. Nicholas Hotel, Broadway, New York.
The six-story St. Nicholas Hotel was situated on west side Broadway, between Broome and Spring streets. Its central portion (100 feet on Broadway) opened in January 1853 as a luxury hotel and it was fully completed on March 1, 1854. At the time, it was considered to be the largest hotel in the world.
The southern wing of the hotel (75 feet by 200 feet) was finished and furnished in September, 1853. It was already under construction in March 1853 and it seems it was represented here as part of the operational hotel. The Corinthian pillars represented in the portico, on the left, did not existed, but the portico of the main entrance, to the right, was supported by four Corinthian pillars. There were six columns of windows between the two entrances, not seven as represented here. The five-story northern wing (100 feet by 200 feet), reaching the corner of Spring Street, was completed in the spring of 1854. The St. Nicholas Hotel closed in 1884.
Below, the text from the Gleason's Pictorial that accompanied this drawing:
«We present below [above] a fine picture of this magnificent hotel, superior in its general appointments to anything of the sort in Europe or America. The view is taken looking down Broadway. New York is getting a name celebrated all over the world for its excellent hotels. We give a few items relative to this magnificent structure. Of the Bridal Chamber, so glowingly described by the press, we have little to say, save that it is lavishly elegant in its features. The Ladies' Parlor is covered with a rich medallion Axminster carpet, with window curtains and furniture covering or gold-colored brocade satin damask, interwoven with bouquets of flowers. The curtains upon each window of this room are valued at from $700 to $800. The room is furnished with a grand piano, made for the World's Fair Exhibition [New York City 1853/1854, see the Crystal Palace carriage in the drawing], and valued at $1500. This is enveloped with a very rare and rich India damask embroidered cover. In the Reception Rooms, the windows are hung with green brocade damask embroidered with gold, and the drapery of each cost $1000. The Grand Dining-Room is lighted with three magnificent chandeliers, and twenty-four brilliant side lights (each with two lamps), projecting from the graceful pillars. The frescoed ceiling is twenty-two feet high. The extension dining-tables are of polished black walnut, and the rosewood spring chairs are covered with crimson velvet. The Tea Room is covered with a velvet carpet, of the richest description. The chair covers and window curtains are of brocade satin, with a blue ground, upon which designs in various colors are interwoven. The room contains two very elegant rosewood etegeres, and eight very large pier glasses and mantel mirrors. The tea service is of silver. The St. Nicholas Club Room is in exact conformity with the remainder of the house, for style and elegance. The hotel communication is conducted by the "electro magnetic" enunciator, put in by Mr. Norton, of No. 177, Broadway, New York. With this apparatus the work is done by electricity, the wire remaining stationary, thus removing the great delays and difficulties which arise from stretching and breaking in the old system. On the whole, all the belongings of this superb hotel are of the most costly style.»
