Radisson Hotel Martinique

The Radisson Martinique on Broadway, formerly the New York Radisson Martinique Hotel, is a historic hotel at 53 West 32nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. Built by William R. H. Martin in a French Renaissance style. The hotel belongs to the Historic Hotels of America. It was the setting for Jonathan Kozol's study, Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America .GeographyThe hotel was built on lots situated at West 33rd Street and West 32nd Street, and also the northeast corner of Broadway. The 12-story 165-room Hotel Alcazar at one time adjoined the Hotel Martinique on the north side of 34th Street, east of Broadway. To the east is the Empire State Building. Also nearby are the Fifth Avenue shops, New York Penn Station, and Grand Central Terminal.HistoryThe hotel was built in 1897-98 by William R. H. Martin, who headed the Rogers Peet business. The French Renaissance style was by a design of Henry Janeway Hardenbergh. Martin had purchased the plot in 1892, and in 1893 and 1895, he bought additional land to build the hotel that he desired. The uptown store of Rogers Peet was in the same building. After the Martinique opened, Martin began running a series of short ads to introduce his house, the ads appearing several times a week in the Sun and Times.