Roosevelt Hotel Roller Rink 45 East 45th Street, Manhattan, NY. Location on the rooftop? It looked so different than the way it was. New half walls. But the east side sounds more like it but has everything else on it now. Not clear. Source: Google.
Roosevelt Hotel Roller Rink 45 East 45th Street, Manhattan, NY. See the rails? Likely that was where it was however, it is on the wrong side where the photograph was taken. Brings more mystery than it is.
Source: Google.
Source: Google.
Roosevelt Hotel Roller Rink 45 East 45th Street, Manhattan, NY. This is the famous and very popular photo. In-depth description regarding this photo is shown in below. Source: Bettmann Collection/Roosevelt Hotel.
Roosevelt Hotel Roller Rink 45 East 45th Street, Manhattan, NY. The end. Source: The Roosevelt Hotel website.
Roosevelt Hotel Roller Rink 45 East 45th Street, Manhattan, NY
In matter of fact for this hotel in New York City, the Roosevelt Hotel which was famous for nearly a hundred years, they had Roosevelt Hotel Roller Rink located at 45 East 45th Street, Manhattan, New York.
The hotel was named after President Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. At the time, the hotel was grand hotel. First opened on 22 September 1924 and survived numerous of negative events that occurred around the world and affected the hotel. However, only it was the Great Virus Lockdown forced it to close. The hotel survived the Great Depression, competing hotels in New York City, World War II, Energy Crisis of 1973 and 79, Polio Outbreak, and several recessions from 1970s to 2008 as well as 9/11. Only that it was COVID ended the hotel.
The hotel was well known and the roller rink too because of this photo of two lovely women, Miss. Theresa Townsend (on left) and Miss Joan Hamilton wearing the jersey "Sylo-Jamas" in American Patriotic colors of Red, White, and Navy Blue skating on the roof top roller rink at the hotel. Those two ladies wore Elephant pants, hats, and tops. All 1930s style. Those were trendy clothes they wore. I am sure they were modeling for an advertisement or for a catalog like Sears and Penney's had.
The photo made well known and found on many sites including Facebook, Pinterest, Getty Images, Reddit, and more. I strongly believe it was for advertising purpose although advertisements at the time were typically illustrations, not photographs. Quite rare. This perhaps was for framing purpose on the hotel wall. Since the hotel is closed, I have no way to know if there is a large photograph hanging on the wall somewhere at the hotel although ti is copyrighted by the hotel. I may be correct because this is the open caption title for the photograph:
A Roller Skater? Here's Your Costume. Are you a devotee of the new roller skating fad now popular among members of the smart set? Then here are the costumes you should wear according to the dictates of Dame Fashion. Miss Theresa Townsend (left) and Miss Joan Hamilton are wearing the jersey "Sylo-Jamas" in red, white and blue during a period of skating on the roof of Roosevelt Hotel in New York. The Empire State [B]uilding is in the background.
From my observation, the person who said it first online is wrong. The way the rail looked in the photo, I compared to the Roosevelt Hotel roofline on Madison side that would be in line toward Empire State Building Southwest of the hotel 2 blocks over, roughly 10 blocks down, it was NOT the right side. The rails you seen in the photo are found on the other side of Roosevelt Hotel and this would mean the photographer took pictures of the ladies skating while the photographer was facing Northeast which is quite opposite of where Empire State Building. The photos showed proof.
Also the date is correct that it was taken in 1933, the height of the Great Depression. Their clothing actually represented depressive style Art Deco streamlined. Elephant "Sylo-Jamas" Pants, the hats the ladies wore. Both were streamlined. Theresa was wearing French Beret Wool Hat as Joan wore Gatsby Cloche Hat which both were very common at the time. Theresa wore Plain T-shirt with a design on it as Jean wore a wide Tall Collar Golf Shirt. Of course, in American colors.
About the Hotel:
The hotel was opened on 22 September 1924 which was designed by George B. Post & Son and
closed permanently on December 18, 2020.
1,025 rooms in the hotel, including 52 suites. The 3,900-square-foot (360 m2) Presidential Suite had four bedrooms, a kitchen, formal living and dining areas, and a wrap-around terrace. The rooms were traditionally decorated, with mahogany wood furniture and light-colored bed coverings.
It was built by a businessman from Niagara Falls, New York, Frank A. Dudley and the hotel was operated by the United Hotels Company. This hotel was a pioneering hotel and here are why:
The first hotel to incorporate store fronts instead of bars in its sidewalk facades, as the latter had to be shuttered due to Prohibition. The Roosevelt Hotel was in fact at one time linked with Grand Central Terminal via an underground passage that connected the hotel to the train terminal. The passageway now terminates just across the street from the hotel's East 45th Street entrance.
Hotel magnate Conrad Hilton purchased the Roosevelt in 1943, calling it "a fine hotel with grand spaces" and making the Roosevelt's Presidential Suite his home. In 1947, this hotel was the first to have a television set in every room.
Soon after, the federal government filed an antitrust action against Hilton. To resolve the suit, Hilton agreed to sell a number of their hotels, including the Roosevelt Hotel,[7] which was sold to the Hotel Corporation of America on 29 February 1956 for 2,130,000 USD
By 1978, the hotels including the Roosevelt, the Biltmore, and The Barclay were then owned by the struggling Penn Central, had to put them up for sale. Later, the three hotels were sold to the Loews Corporation for 55 Million USD. Loews immediately resold the Roosevelt to developer Paul Milstein for 30 Million USD to recover some purchasing expenses.
Later, in 1979, Paul Milstein leased the hotel to the Pakistan International Airlines through its investment arm PIA Investments Ltd.
In October 2020, it was announced the hotel would permanently close due to continued financial losses associated with the pandemic. The final day of operation was 18 December 2020.
By early 2022, Tethyan Copper, an Australian mining company, was seeking to purchase the hotel after the Pakistani government reneged from a mineral-rights agreement with Tethyan Copper. In addition, local politicians were advocating for the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the hotel building as a landmark. The Qatar Investment Authority also showed interest in purchasing the hotel in August 2022. At this time of writing, the purchaser has not been reveal yet. (This profile was written in September 2022).
The Bands:
Guy Lombardo led the house band of the Roosevelt Grill in 1929. Also Guy Lombardo began hosting the annual New Year's Eve radio broadcast with his band The Royal Canadians. This might have been the direct predecessor to Dick Clarke's Annual New Year's Eve TV broadcast broadcasting from Time Square. Or the main competitor.
Lawrence Welk began his career at the Roosevelt Hotel during summers while Lombardo took his music tours to Long Island. Music was piped live into each room via radio. Hugo Gernsback (of Hugo Award fame) started WRNY from a room on the 18th floor of The Roosevelt broadcasting live via a 125-foot tower on the roof. Likely those music were played for the rink during the rink's operating times especially in the summers listening to those two well known music conductors.
From 1943 to 1955 the Roosevelt Hotel served as the New York City office and residence of then New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey. Dewey's primary residence was his farm in Pawling, in near Hodson Valley, but he used Suite 1527 in the Roosevelt to conduct most of his official business in the city.
The Interior (Rink):
None since the rink was a roof-top outdoors.
The hotel had an E shaped building with even hotel rooms facing each other through windows. They had 1,025 rooms including 52 suites as well as the Presidential Suite which is large enough to be a house. It has 3,900 Square Feet (362.3219 m2) with four bedrooms, a kitchen, formal living and dining areas, and a wrap-around terrace. The rooms were traditionally decorated, with mahogany wood furniture and light-colored bed coverings. Each hotel room had a radio for the in-house bands to play.
The Exterior.
The roller rink perhaps was occupied the entire third of the hotel which has three towers. One of the three was indeed had roller rink on rooftop. It had apparently Brick tiles (Entire one section of three towers) layout. The rink walls around the perimeter of the building was not that tall rails. Perhaps by the hip of those two females skating in the photo which can and likely tip over to their death if not carefully. Skaters may have sat on those rails. It is a Free-Span Steel Trusses Concrete and Stone blocks - Walled Hotel Skyscraper.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Apparently Bricks! Floor Layout: Street style layout (Entire one section of three towers).
Building Size: N/A. Built: Hotel: 22 September 1924. Rink: Likely 1924.
Renovations: Many times (See Wikipedia) Demolished: Still standing.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Concrete and Stone blocks - Walled Hotel Skyscraper.
Roof: Flatted (of course! the Rink was on the roof!)
Acres: N/A.
Organ: Brand unknown. It was played for in-house radio station to each room.
Architect: George B. Post & Son
10 Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Duck Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Candlestick Bowling Lanes: None.
Pocket Billiard Tables: None.
Amusement Rides: None.
Driving Range Slots: None.
Miniature Golf Course: None.
Arcade: None.
Skee-Ball: None.
Fascination: None.
Restaurant: 2.
Cocktail lounge: None.
Laser Tag: None.
Bounce Houses: None.
Bumper Cars: None.
Go-Kart: None.
Hotel: 1,025 rooms in the hotel, including 52 suites. The 3,900 SF(362.3219 m2) Presidential Suite had four bedrooms, a kitchen, formal living and dining areas, and a wrap-around terrace. The rooms were traditionally decorated, with mahogany wood furniture and light-colored bed coverings.
Swimming Pool: Maybe.
Jungle Gym Playground: None.
Skate Park: None.
Operated: (Overall)-- N/A.
Reason for Closure: N/A.
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, why closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also, photos/articles. Also send me any updates such as reopening, sold, name changes, or whatsoever occurred with this rink or any rinks. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at Dead-Rinks. Before you email, please state this rink name AND THE CITY AND STATE (or COUNTRY) so I can know where or what rink you are talking about. Thank you.
Sources:
Facebook - Do You Remember?
Pinterest.
Historical Hotel Then and Now - Roosevelt Hotel.
Wikipedia - Roosevelt Hotel.
For the photo information.
Credit: Bettmann / Contributor
Editorial #: 515129472
Collection: Bettmann
Date created: 19 April 1933
Date of issue: 04 September 2022.
For office use only: 4.
Worth to visit:
None. The hotel is closed for good. It is being posted for sale and therefore, no one can enter at the moment. You can take pictures on the outside but not the inside.
DISCLAIMER:
Dead-Rinks and Mark Falso are not responsible for your physical and legal injuries you may have caused. We do not endorse such illegal activities including breaking and entry of former rinks, malls, abandoned buildings, etc. Please always obey laws and regulations and property owner's signs. Some states allow purple paint on fence which means they even have guns on their property and have rights to shoot you. Please DO NOT attempt to enter property without permission!
For abandoned rinks, after you receive permission, do WEAR safety OSHA equipment including a safety glasses, pair of safety gloves, an orange vest or a jacket, and a construction helmet.
Thank you for understanding.
Second of all: The contents including words and photos above on this page and/or on any pages are purely educational entertainment purposes only. I provide what information from other websites, skaters, and operators and it may end up with different results between two (or more) sources. It is not our responsible for errors we caused. All sources are shown on each page. All opinions and statements of mine are also stated and are for purely educational entertainment only.
Rinks that are closed are considered dead. Rinks that are/were sold and with new management names new name(s), the former are considered dead. Previous operating rink that closed but came back years later, are considered dead because the reopening is considered rebooted, nothing to do with the former.
As for “For Office Only” is for my reasoning and private legal reason for that.
Any music associated with any YouTube or any other videos provided on Dead-Rinks are not the property of Dead-Rinks therefore we do not own the rights to the music.
All photos you submitted or we retrieved become property of Dead-Rinks and are watermarked but they are credited to you (or where the source is from). Thank you for understanding. To understand more about this, please go to this page: Disclaimer.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks, an International Commercial Archeology Preservation© Group. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 to 16. Deut. 32:7.
The hotel was named after President Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. At the time, the hotel was grand hotel. First opened on 22 September 1924 and survived numerous of negative events that occurred around the world and affected the hotel. However, only it was the Great Virus Lockdown forced it to close. The hotel survived the Great Depression, competing hotels in New York City, World War II, Energy Crisis of 1973 and 79, Polio Outbreak, and several recessions from 1970s to 2008 as well as 9/11. Only that it was COVID ended the hotel.
The hotel was well known and the roller rink too because of this photo of two lovely women, Miss. Theresa Townsend (on left) and Miss Joan Hamilton wearing the jersey "Sylo-Jamas" in American Patriotic colors of Red, White, and Navy Blue skating on the roof top roller rink at the hotel. Those two ladies wore Elephant pants, hats, and tops. All 1930s style. Those were trendy clothes they wore. I am sure they were modeling for an advertisement or for a catalog like Sears and Penney's had.
The photo made well known and found on many sites including Facebook, Pinterest, Getty Images, Reddit, and more. I strongly believe it was for advertising purpose although advertisements at the time were typically illustrations, not photographs. Quite rare. This perhaps was for framing purpose on the hotel wall. Since the hotel is closed, I have no way to know if there is a large photograph hanging on the wall somewhere at the hotel although ti is copyrighted by the hotel. I may be correct because this is the open caption title for the photograph:
A Roller Skater? Here's Your Costume. Are you a devotee of the new roller skating fad now popular among members of the smart set? Then here are the costumes you should wear according to the dictates of Dame Fashion. Miss Theresa Townsend (left) and Miss Joan Hamilton are wearing the jersey "Sylo-Jamas" in red, white and blue during a period of skating on the roof of Roosevelt Hotel in New York. The Empire State [B]uilding is in the background.
From my observation, the person who said it first online is wrong. The way the rail looked in the photo, I compared to the Roosevelt Hotel roofline on Madison side that would be in line toward Empire State Building Southwest of the hotel 2 blocks over, roughly 10 blocks down, it was NOT the right side. The rails you seen in the photo are found on the other side of Roosevelt Hotel and this would mean the photographer took pictures of the ladies skating while the photographer was facing Northeast which is quite opposite of where Empire State Building. The photos showed proof.
Also the date is correct that it was taken in 1933, the height of the Great Depression. Their clothing actually represented depressive style Art Deco streamlined. Elephant "Sylo-Jamas" Pants, the hats the ladies wore. Both were streamlined. Theresa was wearing French Beret Wool Hat as Joan wore Gatsby Cloche Hat which both were very common at the time. Theresa wore Plain T-shirt with a design on it as Jean wore a wide Tall Collar Golf Shirt. Of course, in American colors.
About the Hotel:
The hotel was opened on 22 September 1924 which was designed by George B. Post & Son and
closed permanently on December 18, 2020.
1,025 rooms in the hotel, including 52 suites. The 3,900-square-foot (360 m2) Presidential Suite had four bedrooms, a kitchen, formal living and dining areas, and a wrap-around terrace. The rooms were traditionally decorated, with mahogany wood furniture and light-colored bed coverings.
It was built by a businessman from Niagara Falls, New York, Frank A. Dudley and the hotel was operated by the United Hotels Company. This hotel was a pioneering hotel and here are why:
The first hotel to incorporate store fronts instead of bars in its sidewalk facades, as the latter had to be shuttered due to Prohibition. The Roosevelt Hotel was in fact at one time linked with Grand Central Terminal via an underground passage that connected the hotel to the train terminal. The passageway now terminates just across the street from the hotel's East 45th Street entrance.
Hotel magnate Conrad Hilton purchased the Roosevelt in 1943, calling it "a fine hotel with grand spaces" and making the Roosevelt's Presidential Suite his home. In 1947, this hotel was the first to have a television set in every room.
Soon after, the federal government filed an antitrust action against Hilton. To resolve the suit, Hilton agreed to sell a number of their hotels, including the Roosevelt Hotel,[7] which was sold to the Hotel Corporation of America on 29 February 1956 for 2,130,000 USD
By 1978, the hotels including the Roosevelt, the Biltmore, and The Barclay were then owned by the struggling Penn Central, had to put them up for sale. Later, the three hotels were sold to the Loews Corporation for 55 Million USD. Loews immediately resold the Roosevelt to developer Paul Milstein for 30 Million USD to recover some purchasing expenses.
Later, in 1979, Paul Milstein leased the hotel to the Pakistan International Airlines through its investment arm PIA Investments Ltd.
In October 2020, it was announced the hotel would permanently close due to continued financial losses associated with the pandemic. The final day of operation was 18 December 2020.
By early 2022, Tethyan Copper, an Australian mining company, was seeking to purchase the hotel after the Pakistani government reneged from a mineral-rights agreement with Tethyan Copper. In addition, local politicians were advocating for the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the hotel building as a landmark. The Qatar Investment Authority also showed interest in purchasing the hotel in August 2022. At this time of writing, the purchaser has not been reveal yet. (This profile was written in September 2022).
The Bands:
Guy Lombardo led the house band of the Roosevelt Grill in 1929. Also Guy Lombardo began hosting the annual New Year's Eve radio broadcast with his band The Royal Canadians. This might have been the direct predecessor to Dick Clarke's Annual New Year's Eve TV broadcast broadcasting from Time Square. Or the main competitor.
Lawrence Welk began his career at the Roosevelt Hotel during summers while Lombardo took his music tours to Long Island. Music was piped live into each room via radio. Hugo Gernsback (of Hugo Award fame) started WRNY from a room on the 18th floor of The Roosevelt broadcasting live via a 125-foot tower on the roof. Likely those music were played for the rink during the rink's operating times especially in the summers listening to those two well known music conductors.
From 1943 to 1955 the Roosevelt Hotel served as the New York City office and residence of then New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey. Dewey's primary residence was his farm in Pawling, in near Hodson Valley, but he used Suite 1527 in the Roosevelt to conduct most of his official business in the city.
The Interior (Rink):
None since the rink was a roof-top outdoors.
The hotel had an E shaped building with even hotel rooms facing each other through windows. They had 1,025 rooms including 52 suites as well as the Presidential Suite which is large enough to be a house. It has 3,900 Square Feet (362.3219 m2) with four bedrooms, a kitchen, formal living and dining areas, and a wrap-around terrace. The rooms were traditionally decorated, with mahogany wood furniture and light-colored bed coverings. Each hotel room had a radio for the in-house bands to play.
The Exterior.
The roller rink perhaps was occupied the entire third of the hotel which has three towers. One of the three was indeed had roller rink on rooftop. It had apparently Brick tiles (Entire one section of three towers) layout. The rink walls around the perimeter of the building was not that tall rails. Perhaps by the hip of those two females skating in the photo which can and likely tip over to their death if not carefully. Skaters may have sat on those rails. It is a Free-Span Steel Trusses Concrete and Stone blocks - Walled Hotel Skyscraper.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: Apparently Bricks! Floor Layout: Street style layout (Entire one section of three towers).
Building Size: N/A. Built: Hotel: 22 September 1924. Rink: Likely 1924.
Renovations: Many times (See Wikipedia) Demolished: Still standing.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Trusses Concrete and Stone blocks - Walled Hotel Skyscraper.
Roof: Flatted (of course! the Rink was on the roof!)
Acres: N/A.
Organ: Brand unknown. It was played for in-house radio station to each room.
Architect: George B. Post & Son
10 Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Duck Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Candlestick Bowling Lanes: None.
Pocket Billiard Tables: None.
Amusement Rides: None.
Driving Range Slots: None.
Miniature Golf Course: None.
Arcade: None.
Skee-Ball: None.
Fascination: None.
Restaurant: 2.
Cocktail lounge: None.
Laser Tag: None.
Bounce Houses: None.
Bumper Cars: None.
Go-Kart: None.
Hotel: 1,025 rooms in the hotel, including 52 suites. The 3,900 SF(362.3219 m2) Presidential Suite had four bedrooms, a kitchen, formal living and dining areas, and a wrap-around terrace. The rooms were traditionally decorated, with mahogany wood furniture and light-colored bed coverings.
Swimming Pool: Maybe.
Jungle Gym Playground: None.
Skate Park: None.
Operated: (Overall)-- N/A.
Reason for Closure: N/A.
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, why closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also, photos/articles. Also send me any updates such as reopening, sold, name changes, or whatsoever occurred with this rink or any rinks. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at Dead-Rinks. Before you email, please state this rink name AND THE CITY AND STATE (or COUNTRY) so I can know where or what rink you are talking about. Thank you.
Sources:
Facebook - Do You Remember?
Pinterest.
Historical Hotel Then and Now - Roosevelt Hotel.
Wikipedia - Roosevelt Hotel.
For the photo information.
Credit: Bettmann / Contributor
Editorial #: 515129472
Collection: Bettmann
Date created: 19 April 1933
Date of issue: 04 September 2022.
For office use only: 4.
Worth to visit:
None. The hotel is closed for good. It is being posted for sale and therefore, no one can enter at the moment. You can take pictures on the outside but not the inside.
DISCLAIMER:
Dead-Rinks and Mark Falso are not responsible for your physical and legal injuries you may have caused. We do not endorse such illegal activities including breaking and entry of former rinks, malls, abandoned buildings, etc. Please always obey laws and regulations and property owner's signs. Some states allow purple paint on fence which means they even have guns on their property and have rights to shoot you. Please DO NOT attempt to enter property without permission!
For abandoned rinks, after you receive permission, do WEAR safety OSHA equipment including a safety glasses, pair of safety gloves, an orange vest or a jacket, and a construction helmet.
Thank you for understanding.
Second of all: The contents including words and photos above on this page and/or on any pages are purely educational entertainment purposes only. I provide what information from other websites, skaters, and operators and it may end up with different results between two (or more) sources. It is not our responsible for errors we caused. All sources are shown on each page. All opinions and statements of mine are also stated and are for purely educational entertainment only.
Rinks that are closed are considered dead. Rinks that are/were sold and with new management names new name(s), the former are considered dead. Previous operating rink that closed but came back years later, are considered dead because the reopening is considered rebooted, nothing to do with the former.
As for “For Office Only” is for my reasoning and private legal reason for that.
Any music associated with any YouTube or any other videos provided on Dead-Rinks are not the property of Dead-Rinks therefore we do not own the rights to the music.
All photos you submitted or we retrieved become property of Dead-Rinks and are watermarked but they are credited to you (or where the source is from). Thank you for understanding. To understand more about this, please go to this page: Disclaimer.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks, an International Commercial Archeology Preservation© Group. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 to 16. Deut. 32:7.