Ace Hotel New York lives in a building formerly known as the Breslin Hotel, built in 1904. The building and the neighborhood have always been full of life. When the Breslin was built, Midtown was the Times Square of its time. The first district in Manhattan to be electrified, it was commonly called “The Great White Way” for its profusion of lights and lighted signs.
‘Diamond Jim’ Brady (the inspiration for Marlon Brando’s Guys & Dolls character) was a regular at the Breslin. Visionary filmmaker, musicologist and painter Harry Smith lived here too. There’s a mural about him in the lobby — come see it sometime. Gene Tunney — the bookish boxer — maintained a headquarters here as he prepared for his second victorious fight with Jack Dempsey.
Jose Maria Mora, photographer of the stars of early 20th century Broadway transformed his room here into a mausoleum to a bygone era. Alfred Stieglitz ran his seminal 291 Gallery around the corner on Fifth Avenue and Tin Pan Alley was one block down on 28th Street.
There are more stories in these walls and in the streets outside than we can even count – and it’s this rich and varied history that informs everything we do.History
Ace Hotel New York lives in a building formerly known as the Breslin Hotel, built in 1904. The building and the neighborhood have always been full of life. When the Breslin was built, Midtown was the Times Square of its time. The first district in Manhattan to be electrified, it was commonly called “The Great White Way” for its profusion of lights and lighted signs.
‘Diamond Jim’ Brady (the inspiration for Marlon Brando’s Guys & Dolls character) was a regular at the Breslin. Visionary filmmaker, musicologist and painter Harry Smith lived here too. There’s a mural about him in the lobby — come see it sometime. Gene Tunney — the bookish boxer — maintained a headquarters here as he prepared for his second victorious fight with Jack Dempsey.
Jose Maria Mora, photographer of the stars of early 20th century Broadway transformed his room here into a mausoleum to a bygone era. Alfred Stieglitz ran his seminal 291 Gallery around the corner on Fifth Avenue and Tin Pan Alley was one block down on 28th Street.
There are more stories in these walls and in the streets outside than we can even count – and it’s this rich and varied history that informs everything we do.