A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

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Entry from May 03, 2006
“A room and bath for two and one-half” (Commodore Hotel, now Grand Hyatt)
The Grand Hyatt at 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, next to Grand Central Terminal, used to be the Commodore Hotel. That hotel was named after "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, the trasnportation baron. The new hotel has a "Commodore Grill."

The Commodore opened in January 1919 with the slogan "a room and bath for two and one-half." Maybe $2.50 will now buy you a small soda at the place.

http://grandnewyork.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp
Grand Hyatt New York
Park Avenue at Grand Central Terminal,
New York, New York, USA
Tel: 212 883 1234 Fax: 212 697 3772

http://www.nyu.edu/classes/finearts/nyc/grand/hyatt.html
The original building on this site was built as the Commodore Hotel which was named for "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt. Designed to cater to passengers traveling through the new Grand Central Terminal, it was intended as one element of a larger, multi-building commercial development called "Terminal City" planned for the area directly around the terminal. A 1980 renovation by Hyatt Hotels was undertaken by Der Scutt in association with Gruzen & Partners. The architects stripped the building down to its steel structure and added a new reflective glass skin to the exterior. Although the basic shape of the building was retained, it contains no other remnant of its former appearance. Rather garish detailing and large retail stores at the ground level complete the transformation of this early 20th century building into a late modern glass monolith.

29 January 1949, New York Tmes, "Commodore Hotel Marks 30th Anniversary With Dinner for 92 Veteran Employees," pg. 11:
"We had a slogan in those days, 'a room and bath for two and one-half,'" he said. "Well, our minimum now is $4."

6 September 1958, New York Times, "Zeckendorf Takes Commodore Hotel," pg. 19:
The Commodore, next to Grand Central Terminal, will be forty years old in January. Its slogan when it opened was "a room and bath for two and one-half." The minimum now is $7.
Posted by Barry Popik
Hotels • Wednesday, May 03, 2006 • Permalink


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