“The Ideal Place to Dine and Dance.”
Hotel McAlpin Marine Grill
1912–c. 1949
Continental
Alternate Names:
Grill Room
Rathskeller (1912)
Ownership:
Jamlee Hotels (1938-c.1949)
Hotel McAlpin, Edwin A. McAlpin & Family (1912-1938)
Location:
Hotel McAlpin, Broadway and 34th Street, Basement [Now Herald Towers]
Publications:
Spencer, Luke J. “The Marine Grill Murals of the McAlpin Hotel.” Atlas Obscura, Accessed March 24, 2021.
Padwee, Michael. “A Possible Early Sketch for One of Dana Marsh’s Marine Grill Murals.” Architectural Tiles, Glass and Ornamentation in New York. Blog, September 1, 2018.
“The Marine Grill Murals.” Walk About New York. Blog, January 12, 2018.
“Happy 100th Birthday, Hotel McAlpin.” NYC Circa. Blog, January 2, 2013.
Monroe-Cassel, Chelsea. “Hotel McAlpin Cream Puffs.” Food Through the Pages. Blog, May 23, 2013. [Features recipe for Hotel McAlpin pastry chef Forrest Glen’s cream puffs, likely listed on the 1939 Marine Grill menu (below) as “Buche McAlpin, Chocolate Sauce,” for 45 cents.]
“Saving the Murals from the Hotel McAlpin.” Ephemeral New York. Blog, February 25, 2009.
Gray, Christopher. “Streetscapes: The McAlpin Marine Grill: The Fate of a Polychrome Grotto Hangs in Balance.” New York Times, July 23, 1989: 10.6.
Hagerman Graves, William. “The Use of Tile in the Interior Finish and Decoration of Hotels.” Architectural Review Vol. II, No. 1 (January 1913): 48 (illustrated).
Notes:
The Hotel McAlpin’s basement grill room was first called the Rathskeller, but it was renamed the Marine Grill within a few months due to the popularity of the restaurant’s nautical terra cotta murals.
Designed by Frederick Dana Marsh, the tiled murals, collectively entitled ‘Maritime History of the Hudson,’ depicted important events in the history of New York’s seaport. After the conversion of the McAlpin into the residential Herald Towers in 1989, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission salvaged the murals. Today they can be seen at the William Street entrance of the Fulton Street subway station, along with the Marine Grill’s original iron entrance gate (Photos, MTA Arts & Design).
Performers at the Marine Grill included Eddie Lane and his Hotel McAlpin Orchestra, Enoch Light, and Johnny Messner.
As one of New York’s “newest and grandest hotels,” the McAlpin notably featured a Chinese tea room, signalling a shift in the tastes of grand hotel guests. A selection of dishes from the tea room appeared on the Marine Grill menu (see below). (1)
Between the Marine Grill’s closure and the conversion of the building into residential units, a number of other restaurants filled the space including the German-themed Alpine Cellar in the 1970s. The restaurant was gutted in the 1990s and converted into a Gap store, which closed in 2018.
Menu:
Monday, February 27, 1939, Promoting the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair (eBay auction via WorthPoint)
(1) Haley, Andrew P. Turning the Tables: Restaurants and the Rise of the American Middle Class, 1880-1920. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011: 1-2.
Cover photo: “The Marine Grill at Hotel McAlpin, Broadway at 34th Street.” Postcard. (1949). CardCow.com. Accessed March 26, 2021.
The New York City Restaurant Archive 