{"nrhp_refnum":"86000450","name":"Westchester House","other_names":["Pioneer Hotel"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"541--551 Broome St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.71961340400003,"lon":-73.99993848699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-03-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story Greek Revival brick hotel with a commercial ground floor at 541-51 Broome Street, on the southwest corner of the Bowery and Broome Street in Manhattan's Lower East Side. The first three floors date from about 1835-40 and the fourth floor from about 1867; it is now known as the Pioneer Hotel.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a rare surviving Greek Revival hotel in Manhattan, believed to be the only one that keeps its original exterior and interior features, and the oldest hotel in continuous operation in New York City. It is also significant for politics and government, as the headquarters of Tammany Hall boss \"Big Tim\" Sullivan around the turn of the twentieth century, when it was a gathering place for prominent politicians.","narrative":"Standing on the southwest corner of the Bowery and Broome Street, this four-story brick building began as a hotel in the 1830s and still operates as one. The first three floors date from about 1835-40, and a fourth floor matching the original brickwork and windows was added around 1867. Inside, the upper floors keep their original corridor layout, wooden door frames, paneled doors, plaster moldings, and Greek Revival mantels, which the nomination describes as the only surviving Greek Revival hotel rooms in New York. Later additions include an Italianate cornice, Eastlake overmantels, a turn-of-the-century lobby desk and a large hall mirror. Renamed the Occidental Hotel after the Civil War, it became the headquarters of Tammany Hall leader Timothy \"Big Tim\" Sullivan, who lived there from 1905 until 1911. Its dining room drew leading city and state politicians. It is listed for both its architectural survival and its political history.","period_of_significance":"c. 1835-1911","architect_builder":"Builder/architect listed as unknown; the text says it was probably built by Joseph C. Yates, a former governor of New York","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and still operating as a hotel; part of the Broome Street facade collapsed in 1984-85 during ground-floor construction work and the walls have been shored up.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.089386-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/86000450.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000450/09318870f7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000450/09318870f7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"ajay_suresh","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Westchester_House_(Sohotel_New_York)_(51623071037).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">ajay_suresh</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Westchester_House_(Sohotel_New_York)_(51623071037).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320071","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westchester_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7987251"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/westchester-house-86000450/"}