Lovejoy's Hotel, Historical hotel building in Park Row, Manhattan, US
Lovejoy's Hotel was a six-story building at the intersection of Park Row and Beekman Street in Manhattan's Civic Center, offering lodging and commercial spaces. The location placed guests near the city's publishing district and government buildings, making it a convenient stop for travelers and business visitors.
Lovejoy's Hotel operated from the 1830s until 1870, when it closed and the six-story building was converted into offices. Park Row was by then dominated by newspapers, and later tenants included the New York Evening Mail and the Rural New Yorker. The building was damaged in the January 1882 fire that destroyed the former Potter Building and stood until about 1888 or 1889.
After the hotel closed in 1870, the building was converted into offices and housed the New York Evening Mail and the Rural New Yorker, publications that reflected Park Row's newspaper dominance. Horatio Alger, Jr. mentioned Lovejoy's in his 1868 novel Ragged Dick.
The hotel no longer exists: it stood at the corner of Park Row and Beekman Street, opposite the Astor House, and was demolished around 1888 or 1889. Nothing of the six-story building remains, so the corner can only be identified by its street intersection in the Civic Center. The site is reached on foot from the nearby City Hall and Brooklyn Bridge subway stations.
The hotel was a target of Confederate saboteurs in 1864 who planned operations against New York City from various locations. This rare Civil War incident connected the building to broader national events that most visitors would not immediately recognize.
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