Grand Union Hotel on Park Avenue

The old Grand Union Hotel on the east side of Park Avenue, between 41st Street and 42nd Street. Photograph, between 1910 and 1914, from the Detroit Publishing Company photograph collection / Library of Congress.

The old Grand Union Hotel opened its doors as Westchester Hotel in 1868, on the southeast corner of Park Avenue (then Fourth Avenue) and 42nd Street. It was built by Samuel P. Shaw and Simeon Ford. The Grand Central Depot, a terminal for the New York Central at 42nd Street, opened in 1871, near the hotel. Then Westchester Hotel was expanded, encompassing the entire block, and, later, renamed Grand Union Hotel.

The hotel was closed on May 2, 1914, and it was demolished in the following two years. The 24-story Pershing Square Building (125 Park Avenue) was erected on the site, completed in 1923.