Algonquin (New York)

The hotel provides the public with some information about its history. Our team researches the hotel's past, from the very beginning, verifying its exact opening date and providing an overview of its history up to the present day.?If you have any useful information and would like to share it, please send it to archives@famoushotels.org.?Thank you This is what we know so far (attention: unverified history!): 1902: The Algonquin Hotel opened its doors in 1902, in one of New York's most fashionable areas. Nearby were the two most celebrated restaurants of the time ' Sherry's and Delmonico's ' and five of the city's most prestigious clubs. Soon the Hippodrome, home to the Ziegfeld Follies, opened across the street, followed by a group of theatres. Legendary Algonquin manager (1907) and owner (1927) Frank Case enjoyed the company of actors and writers, and he was instrumental in positioning the hotel at the center of New York's literary and theatrical life. Mr. Case attracted personalities like Booth Tarkington, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., John Barrymore and H.L. Mencken, who called the Algonquin 'the most comfortable hotel in America.' The hotel also welcomed female guests from the beginning, among them Gertrude Stein, Marian Anderson, Simone de Beauvoir, Eudora Welty and Helen Hayes. William Faulkner drafted his Nobel Prize acceptance speech at the Algonquin in 1950. The Algonquin Round Table set the standard for literary style and wit in its era. For one glorious decade beginning in 1919, the Round Table was the scene of scintillating daily lunch meetings by a group of literary legends, which included Dorothy Parker, George S. Kaufman and Robert Benchley. 1946: Upon Mr. Case's death in 1946, Ben Bodne acquired the hotel and proceeded with a careful and loving refurbishment, paying great attention to the preservation of the Edwardian lustre that guests cherished. Bodne did not compromise on comfort or convenience, and the Algonquin was the first New York hotel to introduce electronic key cards, smoke detectors and air conditioning in all rooms. 1998: A new multi-million dollar historical restoration, including hand-selected antique furniture and soothing soaking tubs, was completed in 1998. The Algonquin was named one of 'America's Ten Great Historic Hotels' by Historic Traveler magazine.

Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and Robert E. Sherwood, Alexander Woollcott, George S. Kaufman, Heywood Broun and Edna Ferber William Faulkner wrote his 1950 Nobel Prize speech in his Algonquin Suite. Charleston oilman Ben Bodne bought the hotel as a gift for his wife. Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe wrote My Fair Lady in Lerner's suite.

John Henry O'Hara, Gertrude Lawrence, Noel Coward (whose suite was dedicated in 2005) Laurence Olivier, Jeremy Irons, Graham Greene, Tom Stoppard, Charles Laughton, Diana Rigg and Anthony Hopkins. Among teenagers who made the hotel their first home were Alabama’s Tallulah Bankhead and England’s Angela Lansbury. Algonquin honeymooners include Douglas Fairbanks and Orson Welles. Famous female visitors to the hotel range from Salvation Army Commander Evangeline booth to Gertrude Stein to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

THE ROUND TABLE After World War I, Vanity Fair writers and Algonquin regulars Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and Robert E. Sherwood began lunching at the Algonquin. In 1919 they gathered in the Rose Room with some literary friends to welcome back acerbic critic Alexander Woollcott from his service as a war correspondent. The lunch was intended as a put-down of Woollcott's pretensions (he had the annoying habit of beginning stories with, 'From my seat in the theatre of war', but it proved so enjoyable that someone suggested it become a daily event. This led to the daily exchange of ideas, opinions and often-savage wit that has enriched the world's literary life and its anecdote collections as well. George S. Kaufman, Heywood Broun and Edna Ferber were also in this august assembly, which strongly influenced writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. Though society columns referred to them as the Algonquin Round Table, they called themselves the Vicious Circle. By force of character, observed drama critic Brooks Atkinson, they changed the nature of American comedy and established the tastes of a new period in the arts and theatre. MATILDA - THE ALGONQUIN CAT In the late 1930s a rather disheveled feline wandered into the hotel searching for food and shelter. Ever the quintessential host, owner Frank Case welcomed the furry traveler into the Algonquin and a tradition was born. Matilda, the current resident, is very popular with our guests. She has the run of the house but prefers to oversee the comings and goings of the many guests who cross her threshold. Matilda receives mail weekly from friends around the world and has been the subject of countless stories. On one occasion, when her collar was stolen, the 'Algonquin Cat-Burglary' was the talk of the town. Each year Matilda is given a birthday party, as befits a New York celebrity. A memorable one occurred in 2002 when, while celebrating her seventh birthday with 150 of her closest friends, she jumped on her cake and ran out of the room, leaving a trail of paw prints. Cat fanciers may contact Matilda directly at matildaalgonquincat@destinationhotels.com. The Algonquin was the first leading New York hotel to welcome ladies traveling alone.