Hotel Carter, Manhattan
Encyclopedia
The Hotel Carter, Manhattan is a historic Manhattan (New York) establishment located a half block west of Times Square
. The hotel was financed by a $2,200,000 loan to Harris and Percy Uris
by the New York State Title and Mortgage Company in May 1929.
It was chartered for $10,000 by M.C. Levine, of 535 5th Avenue (Manhattan), on April 22, 1930. Until October 1976 it was called the Dixie Hotel. The building is 24 stories high, and at its opening, it had 1,000 rooms. According to the hotel's website, it now has 700 rooms. When initially built, it extended from 43rd Street to 42nd Street (Manhattan)
, although the wing abutting 42nd Street has since been demolished.
It has been ranked the dirtiest hotel in America four years running. Numerous reports on TripAdvisor
warn of bedbug
infestation and unsafe conditions.
, was another appointed receiver.
The hotel and bus terminal were sold in March 1932, during the Great Depression
, to pay a debt of $2,058,540. The property was valued at $2,300,000. In April 1932 the Southworth Management Corporation, headed by Roy S. Hubbell, assumed control of hotel operations. Hubbell formerly managed the Hotel Commodore
and the Hotel Belmont in New York City
. The Southworth Management Corporation was affiliated with William Ziegler Jr. The company had jurisdiction over the site of the demolished Hotel Belmont at 42nd Street and Park Avenue (Manhattan)
. Hubbell, whose primary residence was in Pelham, New York
, died in October 1932, in his bedroom at the
Dixie Hotel. He was 55.
The Carter Hotels Corporation took over management of the hotel in 1942. In 1976 the company allocated $250,000 for renovations and sign alteration in an effort to
clean up Times Square. H.B. Carter, president of the company, wanted to change the hotel's name to give one of the establishments in the chain a corporate identity. The firm controlled four other hotels in Buffalo, New York
and Boston, Massachusetts.
Vietnamese businessman and former ship owner, Tran Dinh Truong
, purchased the hotel in October 1977. The Carter was described as an establishment which caters to middle-class tourists which has suffered with the decline of the surrounding area.
350 buses daily during peak summer seasons.
The Central Union Bus Terminal had the largest enclosed loading space of any bus terminal in New York. It occupied the main floor of the hotel and
was managed separately. It had entrances on 42nd Street and 43rd Street. The loading platform and waiting room were situated five feet below street
level. Buses entered and departed utilizing separate ramps. A turntable with a diameter of thirty-five feet was employed to direct incoming buses to
exits. Bus movements were governed by a dispatcher using an electric signaling device. It was called the Short Line Bus Terminal by July 1931. The terminal closed due to an inability to compete with the Port Authority
bus terminal at 8th Avenue (Manhattan) and 40th Street (Manhattan).
Another business which was located in the hotel was Max Bachner's laundry. It was given a lease for operation in August 1929.
On Memorial Day
, May 30, 1930, the Dixie Hotel displayed the Confederate battle flag. It hung from the south side of 43rd Street near 8th Avenue. One pedestrian mistook the flag for the Union Jack.
Clarence Darrow
encouraged representatives of the Associated Motion Picture Advertisers to resist all types of censorship during an April 1931
luncheon at the hotel. The same month Charles H. Vanderhoof, manager of the syndicate
department of the New York Times, died at St. Luke's Hospital
. His residence was the Dixie Hotel.
George R. Sanders of Brooklyn, New York jumped from the 14th floor of the hotel on March 13, 1931. His body crashed through the roof of a single story restaurant adjacent to the Dixie. He landed at the feet of two customers of the diner and the night manager. He left a note in his room identifying himself and citing mental depression as the reason for killing himself.
Olga Kibrick, daughter of a wealthy Brockton, Massachusetts
insurance executive, committed suicide by leaping from the roof of the hotel to a third floor extension on the west side of the building, in October 1931. She had been staying on the 21st floor. Police found a Brockton Musical Chorus card in her room, along with fifteen cents in change, her gloves, and a pocketbook.
The body of James M. Fairbanks, a former office manager of the brokerage firm of Tucker, Anthony, & Co., was discovered by hotel employees on the roof of a three story extension, in April 1932. Fairbanks committed suicide to avoid being sentenced for embezzling $290,000 from his employers.
He was staying in Room 2002 the night before he would have been sentenced from five to ten years for the offense.
In September 1941 a young man from Wayne, Nebraska
burned to death after falling asleep smoking on the 12th floor of the hotel. The story made headlines when it was discovered that shortly
after his arrival he received a letter from his father. Fredereick S. Berry Jr. was warned by his dad of a premonition his mother had of something dire happening to him. Berry was discovered by hotel employees seated in a chair, with the clothing on his upper body burned completely. He died after being taken to Roosevelt Hospital.
In April 1942 the Dixie Hotel experienced an increase in the number of executives and business couples who selected its quarters as permanent residences. Management responded by redecorating and preparing one room units for accommodation as living rooms during the day and bedrooms at night.
Jacobowitz & Katz, investors, purchased the taxpayer which adjoined the hotel in July 1951. Located at 264 West 43rd Street, the building was formerly occupied by Loft's. The deal was brokered by Harry G. Silverstein. The property had a tax value of $35,000.
Sidney Miller, a store clerk at the Dixie Hotel, was arrested for violating a New York state antismut law during a raid on Square Books, at 584 7th Avenue
, in April 1966. His accomplice, Edward Mishkin, was previously convicted of publishing obscene material. His conviction was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in March 1966.
The 255 seat Bert Wheeler Theater opened in the hotel, ten steps above its entrance, in October 1966. Autumn's Here, a musical comedy, was its
first attraction. The theater was located in the hotel's Plantation Room. It measured 60 feet in length and 45 feet in width. It was formerly used as
a nightclub and later as a restaurant. A circular bar, 50 feet in circumference, adjoined the theater, and was located behind glass doors. It was closed during performances, except for during a twenty minute intermission. Food was served in the Terrace Room, the hotel's restaurant. In June 1967 Follies Burlesque
'67 reopened at the Bert Wheeler Theater, after opening at Players Theater in Greenwich Village
. The cast included Mickey Hargitay
and Toni Karrol.
The Carter Theater in the Carter Hotel presented Aesop's Fables
in fifteen theatrical styles in November 1979. The play was produced by the
Theater Workshop and the Broadway-Times Theater Company. The
off Broadway musical, Ka-Boom!, debuted at the Carter Theater in November 1980. The space is now occupied by Cheetah's
Gentleman's club.
Darrell Bossett, an unemployed laborer, was arrested after scuffling with police in a fourth floor room of the Carter Hotel, in December 1980. He
was charged with first degree murder and second degree murder and possession of a weapon, in the shooting of New York City Police
Officer Gabriel Vitale.
An infant, twenty-five days old, was beaten to death at the hotel in November 1983. Her father, Jack Joaquin Correa, a hotel resident, was charged with murder and child abuse
.
In December 1983 the Carter Hotel was home to 190 families. That month it was cited for its consistently low rate of compliance in correcting health and safety violations. The city sued the
hotel in 1983 and 1984 for its failure to correct numerous infractions. In March 1985 Truong was found in contempt of court and ordered to
pay a $10,000 fine,.
New York City was using the hotel as a homeless shelter
in June 1984. The hotel's 43rd Street entrance became a gathering place for teenagers and young children. By the end of 1985 the Carter had greatly reduced the number of homeless families staying in its rooms. The number of homeless families declined from 300 to 61. The city paid the Carter $62.62 to house a family in a small single room. In one instance the room was musty, with peeling wallpaper, and tattered carpet. The smell in the room was intense. The hotel began to make an effort to attract tourists once again. New York City removed all homeless families from the Carter
in 1988 due to difficulties with plumbing, electricity, security, and vermin.
As of July 1990 the Penthouse Hostel operated with a lease on the 23rd and 24th floors of the Hotel Carter. The hostel sign was barely visible beneath the Carter marquee. Lodgings there provided an alternative to the American Youth Hostels
organization.
In December 1998 the hotel was temporarily closed because an emergency fire exit was damaged.
On August 31, 2007, a housekeeper found the body of Kristine Yitref, 33, wrapped in plastic garbage bags and hidden under a bed in Room 608. Sex offender Clarence Dean, 35, was charged with homicide. Yitref, as Mistress Kris, was formerly a member of the goth rock group The Nuns
. She had turned to prostitution at the time of her death to support a drug addiction.
The Bed Bug Registry has listed numerous report over several years citing former visitors' experiences with the hotel: Everything from mice and cockroaches to bed bug attacks.
In 2011, TripAdvisor.com had Hotel Carter listed as no. 4 on their Top 10 of Americas dirtiest hotels, based on reviews and user ratings. The hotel was also mentioned in the USA Today in relation to "winning" the title as the dirtiest hotel in the US in 2009.
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
. The hotel was financed by a $2,200,000 loan to Harris and Percy Uris
Harold Uris
Harold D. Uris was an American builder, real estate investor and philanthropist. After earning a civil engineering degree from Cornell in 1925, Harold joined his brother, Percy, who had a 1920 business degree from Columbia University, and their father, Harris, founder of an ornamental ironwork...
by the New York State Title and Mortgage Company in May 1929.
It was chartered for $10,000 by M.C. Levine, of 535 5th Avenue (Manhattan), on April 22, 1930. Until October 1976 it was called the Dixie Hotel. The building is 24 stories high, and at its opening, it had 1,000 rooms. According to the hotel's website, it now has 700 rooms. When initially built, it extended from 43rd Street to 42nd Street (Manhattan)
42nd Street (Manhattan)
42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district near that intersection...
, although the wing abutting 42nd Street has since been demolished.
It has been ranked the dirtiest hotel in America four years running. Numerous reports on TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor.com is a travel website that assists customers in gathering travel information, posting reviews and opinions of travel-related content and engaging in interactive travel forums. It is part of the TripAdvisor Media Group, operated by Expedia, Inc. TripAdvisor is a pioneer of...
warn of bedbug
Bedbug
Cimicidae are small parasitic insects. The most common type is Cimex lectularius. The term usually refers to species that prefer to feed on human blood...
infestation and unsafe conditions.
Construction
Excavation for the new structure began with the removal of six old tenements from the site in May 1929. Tenements were razed between 250 - 263 West 43rd Street along with a two story taxpayer at 241 West 42nd Street. Several floors of steel work were added to the framework by mid-October.Ownership history
In October 1931 a Federal judge appointed the Irving Trust Company as receiver (legal) in the bankruptcy of the Harper Organization, Inc., and Harris H., and Percy Uris, its officers. The defendant corporation owned the Dixie Hotel. James B. Regan, formerly proprietor of the Knickerbocker HotelSix Times Square
6 Times Square, also known as the Newsweek Building or Knickerbocker Building, is a building located at 1466 Broadway at the southeast corner of 42nd Street in New York City. This historic building opened in 1906 as the Knickerbocker Hotel, "Knickerbocker" being an iconic name for New York...
, was another appointed receiver.
The hotel and bus terminal were sold in March 1932, during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, to pay a debt of $2,058,540. The property was valued at $2,300,000. In April 1932 the Southworth Management Corporation, headed by Roy S. Hubbell, assumed control of hotel operations. Hubbell formerly managed the Hotel Commodore
Grand Hyatt New York
The Grand Hyatt New York is a hotel located directly east of Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was originally built and opened on January 28, 1919 as The Commodore Hotel, but was completely rebuilt and modernized in 1980....
and the Hotel Belmont in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The Southworth Management Corporation was affiliated with William Ziegler Jr. The company had jurisdiction over the site of the demolished Hotel Belmont at 42nd Street and Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
. Hubbell, whose primary residence was in Pelham, New York
Pelham, New York
Pelham, New York is the name of two locations in Westchester County, New York:*Pelham , New York, the Town of Pelham*Pelham Manor , New York, the Village of Pelham Manor*Pelham , New York, the Village of Pelham...
, died in October 1932, in his bedroom at the
Dixie Hotel. He was 55.
The Carter Hotels Corporation took over management of the hotel in 1942. In 1976 the company allocated $250,000 for renovations and sign alteration in an effort to
clean up Times Square. H.B. Carter, president of the company, wanted to change the hotel's name to give one of the establishments in the chain a corporate identity. The firm controlled four other hotels in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
and Boston, Massachusetts.
Vietnamese businessman and former ship owner, Tran Dinh Truong
Tran Dinh Truong
-Biography:Truong was the principal owner of the Vishipco Line, the largest shipping company in South Vietnam in the 1970s. As a shipowner, he earned millions of dollars hauling cargo for the United States military. His actions during the Fall of Saigon have been the subject of debate...
, purchased the hotel in October 1977. The Carter was described as an establishment which caters to middle-class tourists which has suffered with the decline of the surrounding area.
Bus terminal
A bus depot in the Dixie Hotel was in use for twenty-seven years before it closed in early July 1957. Opening in February 1930 the terminal handled350 buses daily during peak summer seasons.
The Central Union Bus Terminal had the largest enclosed loading space of any bus terminal in New York. It occupied the main floor of the hotel and
was managed separately. It had entrances on 42nd Street and 43rd Street. The loading platform and waiting room were situated five feet below street
level. Buses entered and departed utilizing separate ramps. A turntable with a diameter of thirty-five feet was employed to direct incoming buses to
exits. Bus movements were governed by a dispatcher using an electric signaling device. It was called the Short Line Bus Terminal by July 1931. The terminal closed due to an inability to compete with the Port Authority
Port authority
In Canada and the United States a port authority is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body to operate ports and other transportation infrastructure.Port authorities are usually governed by boards or...
bus terminal at 8th Avenue (Manhattan) and 40th Street (Manhattan).
Another business which was located in the hotel was Max Bachner's laundry. It was given a lease for operation in August 1929.
Memorable events and dates
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
, May 30, 1930, the Dixie Hotel displayed the Confederate battle flag. It hung from the south side of 43rd Street near 8th Avenue. One pedestrian mistook the flag for the Union Jack.
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Seward Darrow was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenage thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks and defending John T...
encouraged representatives of the Associated Motion Picture Advertisers to resist all types of censorship during an April 1931
luncheon at the hotel. The same month Charles H. Vanderhoof, manager of the syndicate
Syndicate
A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies or entities formed to transact some specific business, or to promote a common interest or in the case of criminals, to engage in organized crime...
department of the New York Times, died at St. Luke's Hospital
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, an academic affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is a 1,076-bed, full-service community and tertiary care hospital serving New York City’s Midtown West, Upper West Side and parts of Harlem....
. His residence was the Dixie Hotel.
George R. Sanders of Brooklyn, New York jumped from the 14th floor of the hotel on March 13, 1931. His body crashed through the roof of a single story restaurant adjacent to the Dixie. He landed at the feet of two customers of the diner and the night manager. He left a note in his room identifying himself and citing mental depression as the reason for killing himself.
Olga Kibrick, daughter of a wealthy Brockton, Massachusetts
Brockton, Massachusetts
Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 93,810 in the 2010 Census. Brockton, along with Plymouth, are the county seats of Plymouth County...
insurance executive, committed suicide by leaping from the roof of the hotel to a third floor extension on the west side of the building, in October 1931. She had been staying on the 21st floor. Police found a Brockton Musical Chorus card in her room, along with fifteen cents in change, her gloves, and a pocketbook.
The body of James M. Fairbanks, a former office manager of the brokerage firm of Tucker, Anthony, & Co., was discovered by hotel employees on the roof of a three story extension, in April 1932. Fairbanks committed suicide to avoid being sentenced for embezzling $290,000 from his employers.
He was staying in Room 2002 the night before he would have been sentenced from five to ten years for the offense.
In September 1941 a young man from Wayne, Nebraska
Wayne, Nebraska
Wayne is a city in Wayne County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,660 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wayne County and the home of Wayne State College.-Geography:Wayne is located at ....
burned to death after falling asleep smoking on the 12th floor of the hotel. The story made headlines when it was discovered that shortly
after his arrival he received a letter from his father. Fredereick S. Berry Jr. was warned by his dad of a premonition his mother had of something dire happening to him. Berry was discovered by hotel employees seated in a chair, with the clothing on his upper body burned completely. He died after being taken to Roosevelt Hospital.
In April 1942 the Dixie Hotel experienced an increase in the number of executives and business couples who selected its quarters as permanent residences. Management responded by redecorating and preparing one room units for accommodation as living rooms during the day and bedrooms at night.
Jacobowitz & Katz, investors, purchased the taxpayer which adjoined the hotel in July 1951. Located at 264 West 43rd Street, the building was formerly occupied by Loft's. The deal was brokered by Harry G. Silverstein. The property had a tax value of $35,000.
Sidney Miller, a store clerk at the Dixie Hotel, was arrested for violating a New York state antismut law during a raid on Square Books, at 584 7th Avenue
Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)
Seventh Avenue, known as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard north of Central Park, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park....
, in April 1966. His accomplice, Edward Mishkin, was previously convicted of publishing obscene material. His conviction was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in March 1966.
The 255 seat Bert Wheeler Theater opened in the hotel, ten steps above its entrance, in October 1966. Autumn's Here, a musical comedy, was its
first attraction. The theater was located in the hotel's Plantation Room. It measured 60 feet in length and 45 feet in width. It was formerly used as
a nightclub and later as a restaurant. A circular bar, 50 feet in circumference, adjoined the theater, and was located behind glass doors. It was closed during performances, except for during a twenty minute intermission. Food was served in the Terrace Room, the hotel's restaurant. In June 1967 Follies Burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
'67 reopened at the Bert Wheeler Theater, after opening at Players Theater in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
. The cast included Mickey Hargitay
Mickey Hargitay
Miklós "Mickey" Hargitay was an actor and Mr. Universe 1955. Born in Budapest, Hungary, he was married to Jayne Mansfield, and the father of actress Mariska Hargitay...
and Toni Karrol.
The Carter Theater in the Carter Hotel presented Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
in fifteen theatrical styles in November 1979. The play was produced by the
Theater Workshop and the Broadway-Times Theater Company. The
off Broadway musical, Ka-Boom!, debuted at the Carter Theater in November 1980. The space is now occupied by Cheetah's
Cheetah's
Cheetah's Topless Club is a "gentleman's club" or topless bar located in San Diego, and Las Vegas, best known for being featured in the 1995 movie Showgirls, and also for having been owned by Mike Galardi, a nightclub owner who was investigated by the FBI with a controversial invocation of the...
Gentleman's club.
Darrell Bossett, an unemployed laborer, was arrested after scuffling with police in a fourth floor room of the Carter Hotel, in December 1980. He
was charged with first degree murder and second degree murder and possession of a weapon, in the shooting of New York City Police
Officer Gabriel Vitale.
An infant, twenty-five days old, was beaten to death at the hotel in November 1983. Her father, Jack Joaquin Correa, a hotel resident, was charged with murder and child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
.
In December 1983 the Carter Hotel was home to 190 families. That month it was cited for its consistently low rate of compliance in correcting health and safety violations. The city sued the
hotel in 1983 and 1984 for its failure to correct numerous infractions. In March 1985 Truong was found in contempt of court and ordered to
pay a $10,000 fine,.
New York City was using the hotel as a homeless shelter
Homeless shelter
Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people which seek to protect vulnerable populations from the often devastating effects of homelessness while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community...
in June 1984. The hotel's 43rd Street entrance became a gathering place for teenagers and young children. By the end of 1985 the Carter had greatly reduced the number of homeless families staying in its rooms. The number of homeless families declined from 300 to 61. The city paid the Carter $62.62 to house a family in a small single room. In one instance the room was musty, with peeling wallpaper, and tattered carpet. The smell in the room was intense. The hotel began to make an effort to attract tourists once again. New York City removed all homeless families from the Carter
in 1988 due to difficulties with plumbing, electricity, security, and vermin.
As of July 1990 the Penthouse Hostel operated with a lease on the 23rd and 24th floors of the Hotel Carter. The hostel sign was barely visible beneath the Carter marquee. Lodgings there provided an alternative to the American Youth Hostels
American Youth Hostels
American Youth Hostels, Inc. is a 501 nonprofit membership organization founded in 1934 by Monroe W. Smith, whose formal name is Hostelling International USA . It is the American member of Hostelling International. It is incorporated in New York.Youth hostels offer inexpensive temporary...
organization.
In December 1998 the hotel was temporarily closed because an emergency fire exit was damaged.
On August 31, 2007, a housekeeper found the body of Kristine Yitref, 33, wrapped in plastic garbage bags and hidden under a bed in Room 608. Sex offender Clarence Dean, 35, was charged with homicide. Yitref, as Mistress Kris, was formerly a member of the goth rock group The Nuns
The Nuns
The Nuns were a punk rock/new wave band in San Francisco in the late 1970s. The band has periodically reformed and played to the present day. The band formed in 1975, and were the among the first punk bands in California. In January 1978, together with The Avengers they opened for the Sex Pistols...
. She had turned to prostitution at the time of her death to support a drug addiction.
Sanitary Issues
On July 22, 2009, The Glenn Beck Radio Show, highlighted the reports of the filth and disrepair of the Carter Hotel. Beck covered the reviews that list over 500 extremely bad reviews.The Bed Bug Registry has listed numerous report over several years citing former visitors' experiences with the hotel: Everything from mice and cockroaches to bed bug attacks.
In 2011, TripAdvisor.com had Hotel Carter listed as no. 4 on their Top 10 of Americas dirtiest hotels, based on reviews and user ratings. The hotel was also mentioned in the USA Today in relation to "winning" the title as the dirtiest hotel in the US in 2009.
External links
- Hotel Carter Website
- Hotel Dixie at art.com
- Hotel Reviews at TripAdvisor.com