The Algonquin Hotel (officially The Algonquin Hotel Times Square, Autograph Collection) is a hotel at 59 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The 181-room hotel, opened in 1902, was designed by architect Goldwin Starrett for the Puritan Realty Company. The hotel has hosted numerous literary and theatrical notables throughout its history, including members of the Algonquin Round Table club during the early 20th century. Its first owner-manager, Frank Case, established many of the hotel's traditions, including an official hotel cat as well as discounts for struggling authors. The hotel is a New York City designated landmark and a member of Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The hotel building is mostly twelve stories high, except for the extreme western end, which is three stories high. The first two stories of the facade are made of rusticated limestone blocks, while the upper stories have a Renaissance Revival brick facade, with limestone, metal, and terracotta details inspired by the Beaux-Arts style. When the hotel opened, it contained a large restaurant and a smaller cafe, which later became the Oak Room cabaret. The annex contains the Blue Bar on its ground story, while the upper stories were formerly used as a clubhouse.
Although the Algonquin was originally intended as an apartment hotel, it had few long-term tenants. Frank Case leased the hotel in 1907 and converted it into a traditional lodging establishment, attracting many theatrical and literary guests. Case bought the hotel in 1927 and continued to operate it until his death in 1946. Afterward, onetime patrons Ben and Mary Bodne bought the hotel from Case's estate and operated it for another four decades. The Algonquin then passed to the Aoki Corporation in 1987, the Camberley Hotel Company in 1997, Miller Global Properties in 2002, and HEI Hospitality in 2005, undergoing a renovation every time it was sold. The Algonquin became part of the Marriott International chain's Autograph Collection brand in 2010, and it was sold to MassMutual subsidiary Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors in 2011.
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thumb|upright|left|The hotel's annex at 65 West 44th Street, formerly a stable
The Algonquin Hotel is on 59 West 44th Street, on the north sidewalk between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The rectangular land lot covers , with a frontage of on 44th Street and a depth of . Other nearby buildings include the Belasco Theatre to the west; Americas Tower to the northwest; 1166 Avenue of the Americas to the north; the New York City Bar Association Building and the Royalton Hotel to the south; and the Penn Club of New York building at 30 West 44th Street, the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen building, and the Hotel Mansfield to the southeast. When the hotel was developed in 1902, the area was filled with clubhouses, including those of the Harvard Club, Yale Club, New York Yacht Club, New York City Bar Association, and Century Association. Prior to the development of the Algonquin Hotel, the neighborhood contained a slaughterhouse, stables for stagecoach horses, and a train yard for the elevated Sixth Avenue Line. One of the stables became the Algonquin's three-story annex in 1904. There had been many stagecoach stables on 43rd and 44th Streets between Fifth and Sixth Avenues,