Gilsey Hotel
Also known as: Gilsey House
Why it's listed
Rising eight stories at Broadway and West 29th Street, the Gilsey Hotel was designed by Stephen D. Hatch in 1871 for the merchant Peter Gilsey. Its five-story cast-iron front, topped by a three-story slate mansard roof, uses classical motifs such as pilasters, pediments, segmental arches and swags, and the iron imitates stone. The ironwork came from Daniel Badger's Architectural Iron Works, whose name remains on the West 29th Street facade. The hotel was among the most popular in the city during the 1870s and 1880s, but fashionable lodging moved uptown and Broadway turned commercial. In 1911 the interior was gutted and converted to loft use, and the ground floor was later altered heavily. The upper facade and roof remain largely intact. The building is the oldest in New York City readily recognizable as a hotel, Hatch's finest work, and the most important cast-iron structure built north of Twenty-third Street in the nineteenth century. It stood vacant at the time of listing.
Significance in brief: It is a late, elaborate example of commercial Renaissance and Second Empire design and an important work in the history of cast-iron architecture, using iron to imitate stone. It brought together patron Peter Gilsey and ironworks founder Daniel Badger. It is the oldest surviving building in New York City readily identifiable as a hotel and Hatch's finest work.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 78001872, listed December 14, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1200 Broadway, New York |
|---|---|
| County | Manhattan |
| Listed | December 14, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78001872 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | Stephen D. Hatch |
| Architectural style | Second Empire / commercial Renaissance |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Vacant after the last tenant left; the interior was gutted and converted to lofts in 1911, and the ground floor has been extensively altered. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.74600, -73.98829 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 78001872.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5562592
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.