6. Hotel Astor Times Square

The lost Hotel Astor in Times Square
Hotel Astor c. 1915-1920. Photo from Library of Congress.

The Hotel Astor was the first of the grand hotels to arrive to Times Square, conceived of by William Waldorf as the next iteration of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The French-inspired building had a green copper mansard roof, a Louis XV style Rococo ballroom and a rooftop garden for entertainment, drinking and dining. The hotel was designed by New York architect Charles W. Clinton and Connecticut architect William H. Russell and built atop former farmland.

After changing ownership several times, the Hotel Astor was demolished in 1967. It lives on as an illustration on Dr. Brown’s Soda cans. Today, the site is home to 1 Astor Plaza, which contains MTV Studios, Viacom, and the Minskoff Theatre. Next door to the Hotel Astor was the Astor Theatre, which was demolished in 1982 and replaced by the Marriott Marquis hotel.