It stands there. Silent. A massive, brick-and-limestone ghost taking up an entire city block at 45 East 45th Street. If you’ve walked past the Roosevelt New York NY recently, you know the vibe is... weird. For nearly a century, this was the "Grand Dame of Madison Avenue," a place where Guy Lombardo rang in the New Year and Governor Thomas Dewey mistakenly thought he’d won the presidency. Now, it’s something else entirely. It’s a symbol of a city in flux, a landmark caught between its jazz-age glory and the harsh realities of 21st-century urban management.
People still try to book rooms here. They see the old photos online—the gold leaf, the chandeliers, the cavernous lobby that felt like a cathedral to Manhattan commerce. But the Roosevelt isn't a hotel anymore. Not in the way we usually think of one.
The story of the Roosevelt New York NY is basically the story of New York itself: ambitious, slightly chaotic, and always, always expensive.
Why the Roosevelt New York NY Defined an Era
Opened in 1924, the Roosevelt was named after Teddy Roosevelt. It was the first hotel to incorporate storefronts instead of just having a lobby on the ground floor, which was a massive gamble at the time. It worked. The hotel became a hub for the "Suit and Tie" crowd, especially because it had an underground passage directly to Grand Central Terminal. You could hop off a train from Connecticut, walk through a tunnel, and be at the bar with a martini in hand without ever feeling a drop of rain.
That tunnel still exists, though it’s closed to the public now. It’s one of those "secret New York" things that makes people obsessed with this building.
For decades, the Roosevelt was the place. The Roosevelt Grill hosted Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians for 30 years. This is where "Auld Lang Syne" became the New Year’s anthem. It wasn't just a place to sleep; it was a cultural engine. But hotels are living things. They require constant, brutal amounts of cash to stay relevant. By the late 2010s, the Roosevelt was showing its age. The elevators were moody. The carpets smelled like history, and not always the good kind.
Then 2020 hit.
The pandemic was the final blow for the hotel's commercial life. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which had owned the building through various subsidiaries since the late 70s, found themselves staring at a balance sheet that made no sense. They shuttered the doors in October 2020. Everyone thought that was it. We expected luxury condos or another sterile office tower.
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The Pivot Nobody Saw Coming
Instead of becoming billionaire-row apartments, the Roosevelt New York NY reopened in 2023 with a completely different mission. It became the city's primary intake center for asylum seekers.
It’s a controversial chapter. Honestly, it depends on who you ask. To the city government, it’s a necessary relief valve for a humanitarian crisis. To some neighbors and preservationists, it’s a tragic end to a historic landmark. If you walk by today, you won’t see tourists with rolling suitcases and Broadway tickets. You’ll see lines of people waiting for processing, NYPD presence, and the bustling, gritty reality of a city trying to house thousands of new arrivals.
This isn't just a "hotel closure." It’s a massive logistical operation. The city pays millions in rent to the owners to keep those 1,000+ rooms occupied. It’s a far cry from the days when Lawrence Welk played the ballroom.
What’s Left of the Interior?
Rumors fly about the state of the lobby. People wonder if the Palm Court is trashed or if the murals are ruined. According to various city reports and occasional glimpses from journalists allowed inside, the main architectural bones are still there. The city's contract requires them to maintain the property, but let’s be real: when you put that many people in a building designed for short-term luxury stays, there is wear and tear.
The Roosevelt New York NY was never officially "landmarked" inside. The exterior has protections, but the interior? That’s a gray area. This is why preservationists are sweating. If the city ever stops using it as a shelter, the cost to restore it to a five-star hotel would be astronomical. We’re talking hundreds of millions.
The PIA Ownership Tangle
You can’t talk about the Roosevelt without talking about Pakistan International Airlines. It’s one of the strangest pieces of New York real estate trivia. Why does a foreign national airline own a massive block of midtown Manhattan?
It goes back to the 70s and 80s when PIA was expanding. Over the years, there were constant legal battles over the lease and the ownership. At one point, the Saudi Prince Faisal bin Khalid Al Saud was involved. It’s a tangled web of international finance that has often made it difficult to get anything done with the building.
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There have been talks for years about selling the "air rights." In New York, you don't just own the building; you own the empty space above it. The Roosevelt has a ton of it. If a developer bought those rights, they could build a skyscraper nearby that’s much taller than usually allowed. That’s where the real money is.
Misconceptions About Staying at the Roosevelt
Let’s clear some things up. I see people on travel forums asking if they should book a "cheap room" at the Roosevelt for their 2026 trip.
- You cannot stay there. It is not a commercial hotel. Any site claiming to sell you a room at the Roosevelt New York NY right now is a scam or has an outdated database.
- It is not abandoned. It is very much "active," just not for tourists.
- The rooftop bar is gone. Mad46, which was a huge after-work spot for the midtown crowd, is closed indefinitely.
It’s weird to think about a building this size just... exiting the economy of the city. But it happens. Look at the Waldorf Astoria—it’s been under renovation for what feels like a century. New York hotels are either thriving or they are massive liabilities. There is no middle ground.
The Architectural Soul of 45th Street
The firm behind the Roosevelt, George B. Post & Sons, knew what they were doing. They gave it a Neo-Renaissance look that was supposed to feel stable and eternal. The setbacks on the upper floors were designed to let light hit the street—a response to the 1916 Zoning Resolution that shaped the iconic "wedding cake" look of the Manhattan skyline.
If you stand on the corner of Vanderbilt and 45th, look up. The masonry is incredible. You can see the intricate carvings that most people ignore as they rush toward the subway. This building was meant to be a temple of the Jazz Age. It survived the Great Depression, World War II, and the fiscal crisis of the 70s.
Is the current use a "waste"? That’s a heavy question. Some argue that a building’s highest purpose is to serve the people who need it most. Others argue that destroying the commercial viability of a historic landmark hurts the city’s tax base and soul in the long run. There is no easy answer here.
What Happens Next?
The city’s lease won't last forever. Eventually, the migrant crisis will shift, or the funding will dry up, or the owners will finally get an offer they can’t refuse from a luxury developer.
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When that happens, the Roosevelt New York NY will face its reckoning. It will either be gutted and turned into "ultra-luxury" condos—which NYC has plenty of—or it will undergo a massive historic restoration to become a hotel again. The latter is what everyone wants, but the math is hard. The plumbing is ancient. The electrical systems are from a different world. To make it a modern luxury hotel, you basically have to rebuild the inside from scratch.
Until then, it remains a giant, silent spectator to the madness of Midtown.
How to experience the history of the Roosevelt New York NY today:
- Walk the Perimeter: You can still appreciate the Neo-Renaissance facade from the sidewalk. Start on Madison and walk around to Vanderbilt.
- Grand Central Connection: Go into Grand Central and look for the signs for the "Roosevelt Passage." You can't go through it, but you can see where the city used to be more interconnected.
- The Campbell: If you want the "vibe" of the old Roosevelt, go to The Campbell (formerly the Campbell Apartment) in Grand Central. It’s from the same era and has that same high-ceiling, heavy-drink energy.
- Research the Archives: The New York Public Library has incredible digital photos of the Roosevelt’s opening year. It’s worth a look just to see the lobby in its prime.
The Roosevelt New York NY isn't dead. It’s just sleeping, or maybe it’s just working a different job than the one it was hired for. Either way, it remains one of the most fascinating, complicated buildings in the entire state. If these walls could talk, they’d probably ask for a very stiff drink and a long vacation.
Practical Next Steps
If you are researching the Roosevelt for travel purposes, look toward the Yale Club or The Barclay nearby for a similar historical feel. If you are interested in the building's current status for policy or social reasons, keep an eye on the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) briefings, as they manage the current contract for the site. For those into architecture, the AIA Guide to New York City provides the best technical breakdown of the building's 1924 construction.