The oriel windows that cost a fortune

If you look at the front of the Hotel Wolcott, you will see oriel windows with curved glass. Back in 1904, those curves were an expensive luxury that were generally rare in New York City. The architect, John H. Duncan, who also designed Grant's Tomb in Upper Manhattan, designed the hotel in French Beaux-Arts and neoclassical styles.

Developer William C. Dewey acquired the site in 1902. The hotel opened on March 1, 1904, several months behind schedule, and Dewey lost the property to foreclosure by September of that same year. The Wolcott was operated by various owners over the decades, including William and Julius Manger of Manger Hotels during the 1920s. It housed permanent residents such as Mark Twain, Edith Wharton, and Henry Miller. The hotel declined into a single-room occupancy hotel by 1975, when the Erlich family bought it and made numerous renovations. The building served as a temporary shelter in the 2020s.

Today, the New York City designated landmark still shows off its limestone and brick facade with elaborate decorations. The building is 12 stories tall and features an "H" shape to provide light courts facing east and west. You can see modern additions like a metal sign with security cameras and an air-conditioner on the ground floor, while the pink-brick midsection and those rare, expensive curved glass oriel windows remain intact.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons