Daily What?! This NYU Study Hall Was Once A Sky-High Speakeasy

This 17-story building on the corner of East 10th Street and Broadway is home to nearly 575 New York University freshmen. Constructed in 1929, Brittany Hall at 55 East 10th Street served as a luxury hotel long before its status as a dormitory.

Now, these NYU students have the benefit of high pre-war ceilings and a terrific proximity to the renowned Grace Church. This residence hall also features a penthouse suite, now a 24 hour study lounge, with bewitching views and a Prohibition-era history.

While the building has been sufficiently renovated, not all of its history has been abandoned. During Prohibition, the penthouse doubled as a speakeasy! You can still spot the false walls behind the empty bookshelves.

It may be a quiet place of study now, but the room was not always so tame.

The building is also rumored to be haunted and is often included on local ghost tours of the neighborhood. Supposedly, a four-year-old girl named Molly fell down an elevator shaft during the hotel’s construction; since then, Molly has stuck around to continue scaring the students and staff of this NYU dorm.

Notable residents of the building (as both a hotel and residence hall) have included Walter Winchell, Jerry Garcia, Al Pacino, Debbie Harry, and Adam Sandler.

Access to the balcony is not granted to students. However, you can still catch sight of picturesque sunsets over the surrounding Greenwich Village.

Get in touch with the author @josyjablons.