Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel

Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel is a large convention-oriented hotel at 811 Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, occupying a prominent site between West 52nd and West 53rd Streets near Times Square, Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and Rockefeller Center. The 51-story, 501-foot building is among New York City’s tallest hotels and is an important example of the postwar expansion of large urban convention hotels. The property opened on September 24, 1962, as the Americana of New York. It was developed by brothers Laurence Tisch and Preston Tisch through Loews Corporation at a time when New York hotels were competing aggressively for business travelers, conventions, political gatherings, entertainment events, and international visitors. Designed by Morris Lapidus, Liebman & Associates, the hotel was planned with approximately 2,000 rooms and unusually extensive public facilities, including large ballrooms, restaurants, lounges, kitchens, and a nightclub. Its opening followed a period in which New York hotel occupancy had declined from the exceptionally high levels of the immediate postwar years, making convention business particularly valuable. The Americana quickly became a venue for major public and entertainment events. Its Imperial Ballroom hosted the 1963 Tony Awards, while the hotel was used for New York portions of the Emmy Awards in 1967 and 1968. The Royal Box nightclub presented performers including Harry Belafonte, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Peggy Lee, Nancy Ames, and Thelma Houston, as well as comedian Woody Allen. In 1968, John Lennon and Paul McCartney held a press conference at the hotel to announce the formation of Apple Corps. The property also hosted the 1974 National Football League draft and served as Democratic headquarters during the 1976 and 1980 Democratic National Conventions. In 1972, American Airlines leased the New York Americana and related properties, incorporating them into its Americana Hotels operation. In January 1979, the hotel was sold to a partnership of Sheraton Hotels and the Equitable Life Assurance Society and renamed Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers. Sheraton later acquired Equitable’s interest. A substantial renovation in 1991 accompanied the name Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers. Following the September 11 attacks, Lehman Brothers temporarily used the hotel’s first-floor lounges and restaurants, together with 665 guestrooms, as office space. Starwood Hotels, which had acquired Sheraton in 1998, sold the property in 2005 to Host Marriott, now Host Hotels & Resorts, for $738 million as part of a larger portfolio transaction. Sheraton continued to manage the hotel. A further renovation from 2011 to 2012 was followed by the shorter name Sheraton New York Hotel in 2012 and the current name, Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, in 2013. Host explored a sale in 2018 and again around 2020, but the property was ultimately sold in March 2022 to MCR Hotels and Island Capital Group. The hotel remains associated with Marriott’s Sheraton system and serves lodging, meetings, events, dining, and tourism demand in Midtown Manhattan.

The hotel site was formerly occupied by the Manhattan Storage and Warehouse Company, an Italianate warehouse erected in 1892. The warehouse was demolished in 1957. In August 1960, Loews Corporation acquired the block-front site and announced plans for the Americana of New York, a major hotel intended to capture New York’s expanding convention and business market. Morris Lapidus designed the building with Liebman & Associates. Diesel Construction served as general contractor and Farkas & Barron as structural engineer. Construction began in September 1960. The project encountered an eight-week strike by concrete workers in 1961, which halted work because the building was being constructed around a concrete frame. Work later accelerated, with the tower rising at roughly one floor every three days during part of the construction period and more rapidly above the twenty-ninth floor. The hotel cost approximately $45 million, below the initially publicized $50 million estimate, and was topped out in May 1962. It opened on September 24, 1962, after a press preview and a blessing by Cardinal Francis Spellman. The completed building was conceived as a self-contained convention and entertainment complex. Its public rooms included a very large Imperial Ballroom, additional ballrooms, restaurants, cocktail lounges, a nightclub, and extensive kitchens capable of serving thousands of diners. The original design used a three-story podium and a tall, slightly bent slab whose geometry responded partly to zoning constraints and partly to wind resistance. Yellow brick, marble, stainless-steel window frames, and precast concrete panels characterized the tower. The concrete structural system made the building cheaper than an equivalent steel-framed tower and helped make it, at completion, New York’s tallest concrete-framed building. During its Americana period, the hotel became a prominent venue for awards ceremonies, political activity, sports events, press conferences, and live entertainment. Its Royal Box nightclub was particularly associated with popular music and comedy. The property was leased to American Airlines in 1972 and operated within the airline’s Americana Hotels portfolio. It entered the Sheraton system in 1979, when Sheraton Hotels and the Equitable Life Assurance Society acquired it and renamed it Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers. Sheraton later became the sole owner and carried out a major renovation in 1991, after which the hotel was known as Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers. Starwood Hotels acquired Sheraton in 1998. In 2005, Starwood sold the hotel to Host Marriott for $738 million, although Sheraton remained the operating brand. A renovation conducted from 2011 through 2012 preceded two further naming changes: Sheraton New York Hotel in 2012 and Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel in 2013. Host Hotels & Resorts attempted to market the property for sale in 2018 and again at a lower indicated price around 2020. In March 2022, MCR Hotels and Island Capital Group acquired it for $373 million. The new ownership later refinanced the property after a loan maturity and period of forbearance. The hotel continues to operate as a Sheraton-branded Midtown Manhattan lodging and events property.

• 2022

  MCR Hotels and Island Capital acquire the hotel

  [1]Sheraton New York Times Square Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  The property was sold by Host Hotels & Resorts to MCR Hotels and Island Capital Group for $373 million.

• 2013

  Current name adopted

  [1]Sheraton New York Times Square Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  The property became Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel after a shorter interim name in 2012.

• 2011

  Renovation begins

  [1]Sheraton New York Times Square Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  The hotel underwent a further renovation that continued into 2012.

• 2005

  Host Marriott acquisition

  [1]Sheraton New York Times Square Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  Starwood sold the hotel to Host Marriott for $738 million in a wider transaction involving numerous hotel assets.

• 1991

  Major renovation and renaming

  [1]Sheraton New York Times Square Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  Sheraton undertook a major renovation reported at nearly $200 million and adopted the name Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers.

• 1979

  Property enters the Sheraton system

  [1]Sheraton New York Times Square Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  Sheraton Hotels and Equitable acquired the hotel and renamed it Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers.

• 1972

  American Airlines leases the property

  [1]Sheraton New York Times Square Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  American Airlines leased the hotel and incorporated it into its Americana Hotels operation.

• 1963

  First major awards and entertainment events

  [1]Sheraton New York Times Square Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  The Imperial Ballroom hosted the Tony Awards, and the Royal Box became a recurring venue for music and comedy performances.

• 1962

  Americana of New York opens

  [1]Sheraton New York Times Square Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  The hotel opened on September 24 as a 51-story, 501-foot property near Times Square.

• 1960

  Loews announces the Americana of New York

  [1]Sheraton New York Times Square Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  Loews Corporation announced plans for a roughly 2,000-room convention hotel on the former Manhattan Storage and Warehouse site in Midtown Manhattan.

A large, centrally located business, convention, entertainment, and leisure hotel serving visitors to Midtown Manhattan and Times Square.

• Accommodation · 1962

  Guest rooms and suites

  The hotel’s principal offering is full-service accommodation in a high-rise Midtown Manhattan property. Its location supports both business and leisure demand, with access to Times Square, Broadway theaters, corporate offices, retail districts, and convention activity.

• Events and meetings · 1962

  Imperial Ballroom

  The Imperial Ballroom was designed as the hotel’s principal large-scale event room. It could accommodate several thousand people depending on seating configuration and was equipped for banquets, business dinners, performances, presentations, and award ceremonies.

• Food and beverage · 1962

  Dining and lounge facilities

  The original property contained numerous restaurants, lounges, bars, and highly capacious kitchen facilities. Historic venues included the Wooden Indian bar, La Ronde cocktail lounge, Golden Spur restaurant, and Royal Box nightclub; the specific current outlet mix may differ after later renovations.

• Business hospitality · 1962

  Meeting and convention services

  The hotel was planned around New York’s convention and business market, with multiple ballrooms and meeting rooms that could be divided into smaller event spaces. Its offering includes room blocks, catering, conferences, receptions, and other group functions.

• 2022

  Sale to MCR Hotels and Island Capital GroupM&A

  Background

  Host Hotels & Resorts had explored a sale after the property was marketed at higher and then lower indicative prices.

  Action taken

  MCR Hotels and Island Capital Group purchased the hotel for $373 million and assumed the prior owner’s $250 million loan.

  Aftermath

  MCR became the operating ownership partner. The loan later entered forbearance after maturity and was refinanced in 2023.

  Acquisition price. 373 million USD (March 2022)

  Source

• 2005

  Sale from Starwood to Host MarriottM&A

  Background

  Starwood Hotels, which had acquired Sheraton, sold a portfolio of hotel properties to Host Marriott.

  Action taken

  Host Marriott acquired the property for $738 million as part of a larger transaction involving 37 other hotels; Sheraton continued to manage it.

  Aftermath

  The hotel remained Sheraton-branded while ownership shifted to Host Hotels & Resorts.

  Acquisition price. 738 million USD (2005)

  Source

• 1979

  Acquisition by Sheraton and EquitableM&A

  Background

  The Americana of New York was sold during a period when established hotel operators were consolidating prominent urban properties and seeking convention-oriented assets.

  Action taken

  Sheraton Hotels and the Equitable Life Assurance Society acquired the hotel and renamed it Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers.

  Aftermath

  Sheraton later bought Equitable’s interest, and the hotel became part of the Sheraton portfolio under successive names.

  Source

• 2023

  Ownership refinancing follows loan forbearance[1]Sheraton New York Times Square Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  After the owners’ $250 million loan matured and entered forbearance in October 2023, the property was refinanced the following month with a $260 million loan from firms associated with Fortress Investment Group.

• 2022

  Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel sold to MCR Hotels and Island Capital Group[1]Sheraton New York Times Square Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Host Hotels & Resorts sold the Midtown Manhattan hotel to MCR Hotels and Island Capital Group for $373 million. The buyers also assumed an existing $250 million loan.

• 2001

  Hotel temporarily used as Lehman Brothers office space after September 11[1]Sheraton New York Times Square Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Following the attacks, Lehman Brothers temporarily converted first-floor public areas and 665 guestrooms into office accommodation for its investment-banking operations.

1. 1Sheraton New York Times Square Hotelen.wikipedia.org