New York City’s Hotel Pennsylvania – Once the World’s Largest – Now Under Demolition; Fate of Famous Phone Number Remains Unknown

Big band fans take note! The Hotel Pennsylvania – which, when it opened in 1919, was the largest hotel in the world with 2,200 rooms and continued to be the fourth largest hotel in New York City until it closed temporarily amidst the coronavirus-pandemic induced decline in visitors to the Big Apple – has been largely reduced to rubble.
Indeed, as of the start of March, the Pennsylvania has been deconstructed to the 12th floor
A call by a reporter on Friday revealed that callers are no longer greeted by an excerpt of the song.  Instead, a recorded message gets straight to the point:  “You have reached Hotel Pennsylvania.  We are permanently closed.”

Over the course of decades, many big band names, including the Glenn Miller Orchestra, performed in the Hotel Pennsylvania’s massive Café Rouge.  The hotel’s telephone number, PEnnsylvania 6-5000, inspired the Glenn Miller 1940 hit song of the same name, which had a 12-week run at the top of the charts. The hotel’s owner maintains that PEnnsylvania 6-5000 to be the oldest continuing telephone number in the city.
Although New York City hasn’t listed the hotel as landmark-eligible, a recent New York State environmental impact report states that for state and national registry purposes, “[T]he Hotel Pennsylvania is significant under Criterion A for its association with commercial development around Penn Station. In addition, the building also meets Criterion C for its architectural design.”
The hotel was designed by McKim, Mead and White, the same firm that designed the original Pennsylvania Station, which was located across the street from the hotel. The property has a storied past in the travel and hospitality industry, as it changed owners many times and underwent a variety of name changes.
Statler Hotels purchased the property in 1948 and renamed it the Hotel Statler. In 1954, Conrad Hilton acquired the property, and changed the hotel’s name to the Statler Hilton in 1958. In 1979, Hilton sold the hotel, and it was renamed the New York Statler.
The hotel was again sold in 1983, to Abelco, an investment firm, and Penta Hotels, with the parties each acquiring a 50% stake in the property. The name was then changed to the New York Penta, before assuming its original name, the Hotel Pennsylvania, in 1991.
Since the mid-2000s, the hotel has been the constant subject of rumored, confirmed, and delayed demolition plans. After the property was closed indefinitely in 2020, the decision was apparently made to proceed with the development of a 68-story tower to be known as 15 Penn Plaza.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)