Thursday, May 12th, 2011

Here’s your random Upper West Side history lesson for the day, courtesy of AM New York.

Apparently the largest youth hostel in the Americas is in our backyard, sitting at 891 Amsterdam (at 104th). More interestingly, it’s housed in a building that was designed by one of the leading architects of the time (1880s), Richard Morris Hunt.

Originally constructed to be the home of  the “Association for the Relief of Respectable and Indigent Females” (wonder how that name would go over today), it fell into decline in the 1970s before being rescued by preservationists, who successfully fought to get it landmarked in 1983. Refurbished throughout the rest of the decade, it reopened as a hostel in 1990.

Click through to the AM New York post for more details and history. It’s a quick read and it’s actually pretty interesting.

Hosteling International New York official site.

Filed under: Art, Landmark, Manhattan, New York City, News, NYC, Real Estate, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog, UWS 3 Comments »
Tags: 891 Amsterdam, AM New York, Architecture, cheap hotel, cheap lodging, Hosteling International New York, NYC, Richard Morris Hunt, Upper West Side, UWS, youth hostel