2. Someone Purchased The Algonquin For His Wife
Frank Case took over the lease of the hotel in 1907, and purchased it and the land it stands on in 1927 for $1 million. The hotel remained under his ownership until his death in 1946. Shortly after Case’s death, Ben Bodne purchased the hotel in 1946, fulfilling the promise he made to his wife on their honeymoon at The Algonquin in 1924, that one day he would buy it for her.
Ben Bodne was the president and owner of the hotel until 1987 when a subsidiary of the Aoki Corporation of Tokyo purchased the hotel for $29 million. Before Bodne purchased the hotel, it wasn’t just his wife that was a fan of the place, but he was quite smitten as well. So when he did acquire it, according to the New York Times, the hotel maintained its reputation as a popular gathering place for celebrities, but quietly modernized it as the years went by.