Allerton House at 302 West 22nd Street in Chelsea

This hotel at 302 West Twenty-second Street in Chelsea was the first Allerton House built by James Stewart Cushman, head of the Allerton group.

Plans for the construction of this 5-story hotel were filed in 1912 with the New York City Department of Buildings. It was designed by Paul C. Hunter and the Allerton Realty Co. was the owner. It was completed in 1913 with 50 rooms.

The old Grand Opera House was just a block to the north, on the northwest corner of 8th Avenue and 23rd Street.

In the late 1960s this Allerton House was considered to be a decrepit fleabag for transients, junkies and hookers, according to Mike Katz and Crispin Kott (Rock and Roll Explorer Guide to New York City - 2018). In 1994, the building had a big sign "Hotel Allerton".

The Allerton House on the southwest corner of West 22nd St. and Eighth Avenue (left) in Chelsea. Photo in 1921 by Arthur Vitols, Byron Company (New York, N.Y.). Source: Museum of the City of New York.

A map of the area, published in 1913, showing the Allerton House on the southwest corner of West 22nd Street and Eighth Avenue (fragment of the Atlas of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan published by G.W. Bromley & Co. / source: NYPL). The St. Paul's German Lutheran Church at 315 W 22nd St. (opened in 1898) is on the left.

The Allerton House on the southwest corner of West 22nd St. and 8th Avenue (left) as the Gem Hotel from Street View of Google maps, July 2021.