Hotel Vendome, Broadway and 41st Street

The 9-story Hotel Vendome was located at 1448 Broadway, southeast corner of West 41st Street. The hotel opened in December 1882. The proprietor was Louis L. Todd (1842–1922) and the first manager was E.J. Kilbourne. It was named after the Hôtel de Vendôme, located at 1 Place Vendôme in Paris, founded in 1858.

On November 18, 1882, E.J. Kilbourne, manager of the Hotel Vendome, advertised in the New York Times: "Unfurnished apartments of two, three, four and five rooms, with bath and toilet connected with suite, to lease at a rental of from $500 to $1,300 a year, including gas, steam heat, and care of rooms. The restaurant is located on the ninth story, and is for the exclusive use of those renting apartments. The hotel will be ready for occupancy Dec. 1 and is now open for inspection".

Louis L. Todd was also proprietor of the Hotel Marlborough, on Broadway, between 36th Street and 37th Street, since 1886. Both hotels were advertised as being built with fire proof structures. It accepted both permanent and transient guests.

The original building did not have a frontage on Broadway. In fact, the Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide, issue of June 7, 1884, reported that: "The Vendome Hotel, on the southeast corner of Broadway and Forty-first street, is about to receive an addition in the shape of a seven-story building, the front to be of Philadelphia brick, with terra cotta and brown stone trimmings, and the dimension 25x103. The first floor will be arranged as a cafe, and contain the offices of the hotel. The extension will be located at No. 1448 Broadway, and the main entrance will be transferred to the new structure, which will communicate with the present hotel. The plans are being prepared by architect Augustus Hatfield".

It seems, the addition was not ready before 1888. In April, that year, the hotel advertised Turkish, Russian, Roman and electric baths in the Seventh Regiment Gazette. The address given was "130 W. 41st Street, near Broadway, New York". By the late 19th century (before 1897), the façade of the original building at 130 West 41st Street was raised, considering a pictorial analysis.

By 1895, J.H. Fife was the manager of the Vendome, which contained 300 rooms, 200 with bath and toilet attached

On July 25, 1902, Todd mortgaged the Vendome to Florence L. Mabee (or Marble ) and in September the same year he gave a second mortgage to the Knickerbocker Trust Company to secure an issue of bonds.

By 1905, the hotel advertised there were 350 rooms, 200 bathrooms and, within two block, were located 15 of the most prominent theaters. Associated in management with L.L. Todd: M.J. Crawford, E. Sanford Crowell and F.C. Gruen.

On December 17, 1904, Todd disposed of the Hotel Marlborough to the Sweeney-Tierney Hotel Company.

In April 1905, a petition in bankruptcy was filed against Louis L. Todd, proprietor of the hotel, by his creditors. On June 22, 1905, foreclosure proceedings was filled against the proprietor of the Hotel Vendome, Louis L. Todd, who could not pay the mortgage and the hotel was to be sold. As a result, the Broadway Vendome Company was formed to carry on the business of the hotel. However, the hotel was unable to pay its debt and, on June 20, 1906, Todd severed all ties with the hotel. J.H. Meyer et al. were the creditors and John Armstrong became the manager, replacing Samuel Crowe. Before April 1907, the hotel was renamed Hotel Albany.

Before March 1913, it became Hotel Continental. Before April 1914, the Forty-first Street Realty Company was the owner of the building in which the hotel was a lessee. On November 19, 1914, Florence L. Marble bought the property in auction. The Marble estate was the former owner a few years before. The purchase did not interfere with the lease on the hotel.

In 1914, the hotel housed the Cafe Boulevard with a la carte service at all times. In 1917, an advertise announced the hotel had 300 rooms (all outside), 300 baths and it was surrounded by forty theaters.

In the early 1930, the Hotel Continental and the three-story building adjoining the hotel on Broadway were demolished to make way for the 42-story Continental Building, built in 1930-1931.

Today, the site is occupied by the 42-story commercial building at 1450 Broadway.