Proposed Hoffman House in 1904

The old Hoffman House, located on Broadway (Madison Square West) between West 24th and West 25th streets, opened in 1864, expanded several times, annexes were added, and closed in 1915.

The original Hoffman House building was a seven-story palatial establishment completed about October 1864. In 1894-1895, the main building was renovated expanded with three more floors and the annex, on the corner of 25th Street, was replaced by a Moorish building (partially represented in the illustration on the right).

On June 14, 1904, the New York Times announced that the Hoffman House, the old building, would be torn down and rebuilt. The decision was reached by the directors of the Hoffman House Company and John P. Caddagan, the manager of the hotel and president of the corporation, which was composed of representatives of the Gerry and Hoffman estates.

The Record and Builders Guide, of July 16, 1904, published the proposed building (on the right) with the title New Addition to the Hoffman House and the following text:

«The design of Messrs. Barney & Chapman, of 520 5th av, for the new Hoffman House, to replace the older portion of that structure on Broadway between 24th and 25th sts, calls for an ornamental building 14 stories high, with brick front, and decorative columnar architecture through the first and second stories and again through the eleventh and twelfth stories. The intermediate wall space is severely plain. There is no wide overhanging cornice, which usually accompanies this style of decoration, but a high receding roof, on the center line of which Is a tall, ornate dormer, which proves to be the chief feature of the design. Variety is given to the front, which of necessity must be a flat design—a facade—by the shadow of the projection at the eleventh story floor line and the great consols supporting it. The site Is an. Ideal one, facing Madison Square and the building will be visible blocks away.»

The same proposed new hotel was published in the Architectural Record, September 1904, But this projected building was not constructed. Francis S. Kinney of the adjoining Albemarle Hotel purchased the property of the old Hoffman House and erected a much simpler, but large L-shaped structure, reaching both Broadway and 24th Street.

. The old building was demolished in mid-1906. The new 12-story Hoffman House building was completed by October, 1907. It occupied a frontage of 50 feet on Broadway, with an "L" fronting 50 feet on 24th Street. This, with the 50-foot frontage of the annex, on the corner of 25th Street, gave the entire structure 100 feet on Broadway.

In December 1910, the Hoffman House went into bankruptcy. On April 4, 1911, the Albemarle manager, Alexander Macdonald, assumed control of the hotel. Hoffman House was sold on February 23, 1915, when A.A. Caddagan was the manager. The hotel closed on March 15, the same year and demolished by July. On its site and the site of the of the Albemarle Hotel a 16-story store and loft building (10 Madison Square West) was erected, later expanded to 24 stories.