Description: NEW YORK CITY - Prince George Hotel - New England Room: East 28th Street between 5th and Madison Avenues in 1904 was the perfect location for a posh tourist hotel. Just two blocks north of the Madison Square Garden and close to public transportation it was, as it would be advertised, “convenient but quiet.” The Prince George Hotel was designed by Howard Greenley who trained under Carrere and Hastings then went on to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Drawing from a variety of styles and periods, he produced lush public rooms and hallways. The Ladies’ Tea Room, or Palm-Room, featured pastel trellised piers, illuminated glass clusters dripping from faux vines on the arched ceiling, a Rookwood fountain and murals by George Inness, Jr. The quaint English Tap Room was rustic and oak-paneled with a beamed ceiling, Windsor chairs and wrought iron light fixtures hanging from chains; while the piece de resistance was the Ballroom. Renaissance-style murals, elaborate plasterwork, herringbone oak floors and 18-foot coffered ceilings exploded in brilliant primary colors touched with gilding. The Architectural Record of 1905 was impressed. The hotel enjoyed remarkable success throughout most of the 20th Century. By the 1970s, however, the hotel had fallen on hard times and the aging building became a welfare hotel in the 1980s -- before long one of the most notorious and dangerous in the city. Prostitution, drug dealings, muggings and other crimes rooted at the hotel forced every business in the area, with the exception of one bank branch, to close. Finally, in 1990, the savaged hotel was emptied of its residents, closed down and abandoned. After it sat empty for seven years, the Prince George was purchased in 1996 by Common Ground Community, a ground-breaking not-for-profit organization bent on restoring dignity and livelihoods to the homeless, mentally ill, and people with AIDS. At a cost of $39 million in State, Federal, City and private money, and with help from organizations like the Preservation League of New York State and New York Landmarks Conservancy, the Prince George became home to 416 efficiency apartments for low-income workers, earning between $13 and $30 thousand a year, as well as special needs residents. When opened in 2000, it included a computer room, art studio, offices for social workers, a clinic, and common lounges. Job training counselors, health services, psychologists and therapists were provided to “make it easy for people to succeed.” In 2004 restoration of the nearly 5000-square foot Main Lounge -- now called the Ballroom -- began. Staff from the Alpha Workshops employed and trained people with HIV/AIDS to help in the restoration of the severely water-damaged plaster and paint. Students from the Brooklyn High School for the Arts also assisted in return for training. Meanwhile, students from the Parsons School tackled the former Hunt Room. Here the devastation to Greenley’s robust English-style interior was so complete that restoration was impossible. They group designed and constructed an entry foyer and gallery space, now the World Monuments Fund Gallery for special exhibitions. Howard Greenley’s beautifully restored public spaces are leased for private and corporate functions, generating revenue for the Common Ground Community’s efforts -- $800,000 in annual rents from the Ballroom, alone. Completed in 2005, the renovation is one of the most remarkable examples of recycling historic properties in the city. This White Border Era (1915-30) shows the hotel's New England room. The card is in good condition but there appears to be some edge wear. E. C. Kroff. Milwaukee. No. 26456.
Price: 8.5 USD
Location: Brooklyn, New York
End Time: 2025-01-23T02:38:44.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Unit of Sale: Single Unit
City/Region: New York City
Size: Standard (5.5 x 3.5 in)
Common Ground Community: Rehabilitation
Features: Architecture
Postage Condition: Unposted
Room: New England
Featured Person: Howard Greenley
Material: Paper
City: New York City
Housing: Homeless
Original/Licensed Reprint: Original
Brand/Publisher: EC Kropp
Modified Item: No
Mentally Ill: AIDS
Subject: Prince George Hotel
Architect: Howard Greenley
Type: Printed (Lithograph)
Continent: North America
Era: White Border (c. 1915-1930)
Region: New York
Country: United States
Theme: Advertising, Cities & Towns, Hotel & Restaurant, New England Room, Common Ground Community, Not For Profit, Homeless Housing, AIDS, Mentally Ill
Time Period Manufactured: 1920-1929
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Hotel: Prince George
