7. The Hotel was Deliberately Restored not Redesigned
The hotel describes its mantra as “balancing the efficiency of a pod hotel with the lived-in character of a hostel.” This is a deliberate choice, reflecting a heady days of New York City in the 1980s. MacPherson says, “The Jane is the type of hotel I would have stayed when I first came to New York 25 years ago. In the ‘80s you would find both character and characters in these eccentric hotels like the Chelsea or the old Windsor Arms. So many young people have a romanticized notion of bohemia New York, but have trouble finding it these days. Virtually all new Manhattan hotels seem to be versions of each other, high-end design palaces. By restoring the landmark hotel, rather than renovating it, we hope to resurrect an authentic slice of idiosyncratic New York.” But this high-low mix can be tricky to maintain. When a light goes out in the vintage button panel in the elevator, the whole thing has to be rewired in the back — but boy does it have character!
As Robert Hammond, co-founder of the nearby High Line once told us, “I think what most people want the city to be like is what it was like in their twenties.” Since the Jane Hotel has been in operation for a decade now with little change to its decor or nightlife spots, there is a whole generation of New Yorkers that feel a sense of nostalgia when walking into the Jane Hotel (including this author!).