The Lost Howard's Hotel - 176 Broadway

 

Print around 1845 by Charles Parsons, from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

In 1839, a year after John Jacob Astor I opened his luxurious Astor House hotel, brothers Daniel D. Howard and John P. Howard broke ground for another upscale hotel, just three blocks to the south at Broadway and Maiden Lane.  Detractors quickly anticipated doom.  The New-York Tribune noted six years later:

When that spacious hotel was in progress of erection, a general doubt was expressed of its being adequately supported, as no hotel on that side of Broadway had ever succeeded.  And the immense outlay to build up the establishment, (it costing, we believe, more than a quarter of a million of dollars), also had its weight in casting doubt of its success.

Now, on October 1, 1844, the editors of the New-York Tribune smugly reported, "But knowing the men, their origin, education, &c., we never doubted."

Known as Howard's Hotel (it would be more commonly referred to as Howard Hotel), it opened in March 1840.  The construction costs (exclusive of the furnishings, carpeting, and such) reported by the New-York Tribune would translate to a staggering $8.7 million in 2025.  The Howards' architect drew greatly from the Greek Revival designs of the commercial buildings in the district, with heavy granite piers along the ground floor.  The upper stories were faced in red brick.  The squat sixth (or attic) floor, typical of the Greek Revival style, would have been reserved for servants.

Among the first guests was the Reverend Dr. Henry Scadding of Canada.  He wrote in his diary on May 28, 1840, "The city very imposing.  Broadway thronged and full of omnibuses.  One might easily fancy himself in the heart of London.  Walked to the Post Office.  Put up at Howard's Hotel, Broadway--a clean, new, elegant house."

Reminisces of a Hotel Man, 1912 (copyright expired)

The Evening Post agreed with Rev. Scadding's appraisal.  On July 15, 1840, it described Howard's Hotel as being, "amply provided with every means for accommodating a large number of guests.  The house is well arranged, well furnished, and well kept--the proprietor having had long experience in the business, with a strong disposition to contribute to the comfort of all who have put themselves under his care."

In his 1912 Reminiscences of a Hotel Man, Henry S. Mower wrote, "The hotel was a success from the start and divided the honors with The Astor."

Like all hotels, Howard's included commercial spaces for the convenience of both the guests and the public.  On August 5, 1840, William M. Decamp announced that he had opened his men's hat store.  Speaking of himself in the third person, Decamp boasted, "Gentlemen can be furnished with a most splendid article of either Beaver, Silk, Moleskin, or Leghorn...he hesitates not to compare with any to be had in the city.  Also on hand, fine Panama Hats."  Nine months later, on June 22, 1841, George Welsell announced his "new and splendid hair dressing saloon."  His "American, English and French assistants" were on hand to "make it a superior resort for gentlemen of all nations, as well as citizens, who may require their hair cut or dressed."

The Howard's Hotel vied with the Astor House for esteemed guests.  On March 18, 1841, for instance, The Evening Post reported, "John J. Crittenden, Attorney General of the United States, has arrived in this city, and stops at the Howard Hotel."

Crittenden would be among the last of the eminent guests under the Howard brothers' care.  On October 1, 1841, the New York Express reported, "This house, it is said, will change hands after the 1st of January next, Messrs. D. & J. Howard having disposed of their interest in the establishment and all the furniture to Capt. Stephen Roe, of the steamboat Empire, and Mr. Thomas, formerly of the firm of Thomas & Marvin, United States Hotel, Saratoga."  The article said, "The price we have heard named is somewhere in the neighborhood of $50,600." 

As a term of the sale, the Howards were not allowed to open a new hotel in New York City for three years.  The editors of the New-York Tribune "were surprised" to hear of the news, saying, "They have been most popular and successful hosts, and will carry into their retirement the respect and good wishes of thousands."

Thomas and Roe hosted U.S. President John Tyler in June 1843.  On June 15, the Troy Daily Whig reported, "A crowd of people assembled this morning in front of Howard's Hotel to get sight of the President and his Cabinet on their route to the ships of war in the harbor."  

The President's visit a year later would be cloaked in secrecy.  John Tyler had been widowed for two years and he and his staff had taken every precaution to keep this visit confidential.  The hotel staff had been ordered not to talk and "all the servants locked up" to keep them quiet.  On the morning of June 26, 1844, Tyler left the hotel for his wedding to Julia Gardiner in the Church of the Ascension on Fifth Avenue.   

The secrecy had nothing to do with security.  The fact that Julia was 30 years younger than the 54-year-old President had already caused a minor scandal in Washington social circles.

Although they had purchased the furnishings, Thomas and Roe redecorated, advertising in March 4, 1845, "It has been put in the most thorough and complete repair, painted and refitted."  The 1846 Great Metropolis said the furniture cost $35,000 (about $1.48 million today) and described Howard's Hotel as having 140 rooms with a dining room "35 by 65 feet."  

Henry S. Mower was hired "to have charge of the office" here in June 1857.  He recalled in 1912:

No doubt the table in its abundant and perfect school of cooking, the best material the country offered, was a kindly solace to its patrons, and in the long after years when its doors were closed, in meeting anyone of them the same exclamation followed, "we have never found such a home as the old Howard.

No doubt, the co-ownership of the steamboat captain Stephen Roe influenced many naval and private sailing figures to stay here.  On December 10, 1860, for instance, The New York Times reported, "Capt. Lewis Parish and lady, and Purser J. N. Smith, of the steamship Yorktown, also Purser J. H. Woodcock, of the steamship Jamestown, are at the Howard Hotel."  And 12 days later, the newspaper reported, "Capt. E. A. Hussy, of the ship Escort, and C. W. Abbott, of the United States Navy, are at the Howard Hotel."

Henry S. Mower recalled, "At the breaking out of the Civil War in 1861, all the hotels experienced a change in the character of their business."  Several Union officers stayed at Howard's Hotel as they passed through the city.  On July 25, 1862, for instance, The New York Times reported, "Brig. Gen. D. E. Sickles arrived in town last evening from the seat of war.  The General was met at the ferry by a few friends.  He is stopping at the Howard Hotel."

Because of the war, said Mower, the price rose from $2 to $3 per day.  He added, "All provisions rose rapidly in price, as well as the wages of hotel employes [sic], colored waiters that had been receiving $12 per month now got $20, and later $25."

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, December 17, 1864 (copyright expired)

Among those Black employees was waiter Charles Jackson.  On July 12, 1863, he left the hotel heading to Pier No. 3 on the Hudson River.  It was a dangerous time for Black citizens to be on the streets.  The previous day, the nation's first attempt at a military draft was held as a lottery.  But the wealthy had purchased exemptions to circumvent the draft.  The result was the Draft Riots—a three-day reign of terror and carnage unlike anything seen in the country before.  Innocent people--mostly Black--were murdered.  Draft offices, newspaper buildings, and the homes of Blacks were burned. 

The New York Times reported that Jackson "was attacked in one of the streets leading from Broadway to the North River [i.e., the Hudson], by a crowd of roughs."  Jackson was "knocked senseless by some one, he knew not whom, and he recollected nothing further until he found himself crawling out of the water under Pier No. 4."  Jackson, although injured, was fortunate.  After being beaten and robbed, he had been thrown off the pier "where he was supposed to be drowned," said the newspaper.

On November 22, 1864, S. M. Harner checked into Howard's Hotel.  He was given a room on the fourth floor.  Three days later, at 3:30 a.m., according to The New York Times, "the night watchman discovered that an attempt had been made to set fire to the room occupied by Harner.  The bed-clothing had been saturated with inflammable material, phosphorus had been used, and the furniture was all piled upon the bed."  The ruse had been foiled here, but that was not the case in some hotels throughout the city.  

Harner was a member of the Confederate Army of Manhattan, a group of eight Southerners intent to burn New York City.  They started fires in 19 hotels, a theater and P. T. Barnum's American Museum.  Happily, most of the fires were quickly extinguished by hotel employees and guests, or, like the Howard's Hotel attempt, failed.

By the end of the war, Howard's Hotel was being replaced with more modern and fashionable hotels further uptown.  A two-day auction, on April 24 and 25, 1868, liquidated everything from the "furniture, wines, liquors," to the "steam boiler and pipes."  Among the items listed by auctioneer Henry H. Leeds were "Brussels and Axminister carpets" and "pier and mantel French plate mirrors."

The hotel was converted to an office building, home mostly to real estate agents like W. A. Corbiere & Co., J. A. Kenyon & Son, and E. A. Cruikshank & Co.  The building survived until 1898. It was replaced by the Howells & Stokes-designed Title Guarantee & Trust Building at 176 and 178, and the ten-story Cushman Building next door at 174 Broadway.

The Cushman Building sits to the right of the Title Guarantee & Trust Building.  image by Irving Underhill from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.