The polar opposite of the isolated all-inclusive resort decorated in candy colors and lacking history or a sense of place, The Bowery Hotel was erected on the notorious Bowery in downtown New York City. It opened in 2007.
The hotel's brick exterior blends in with the neighborhood, and its 17-story set-back architecture keeps it from overwhelming tenement neighbors while acknowledging towering new ones.
For more than a century, the Bowery was synonymous with Skid Row, the last refuge for the drunk, the broke, and the despondent.
Then, 30-some years ago, the Bowery's streets of misery were interrupted by the arrival of CBGB, an underground rock club at 315 Bowery. Its pioneering stage featured The Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, and others who made their bones in the punk rock era.
Hilly Kristal, the club's owner, wrote on the official CBGB Web site, "The Bowery was a... drab ugly and unsavory place. But it was good enough for rock and rollers. The people who frequented CBGB didn't seem to mind staggering drunks and stepping over a few bodies."
CBGB closed in 2006, partially a victim of increasing rents in the gentrifying neighborhood.
Still, no one would mistake the Bowery for Park Avenue. Century-old tenements stand near giant cranes preparing other parts of the street for new residential towers that will hold million-dollar apartments. And the architecturally distinctive New Museum, opened in 2007 at 235 Bowery, has added to the street's appeal.
As the first new boutique hotel to open in the area, The Bowery Hotel is a good place to experience this legendary neighborhood in transition.
The Bowery Hotel
335 Bowery
New York City, NY 10003
Phone: 212-505-9100
