Before the Lullaby Of Broadway came to be... (Milford, Lincoln: hotels, theatres)

[rlrl]

On the Milford Plaza hotel's (700 8th Ave between 44-45th) front there is a date etched in stone telling all that the hotel was opened or completed on 7/31/80.

Does anyone remember what the hotel was called prior to the MP? There is a big M on the roof standing for at one time a Hotel Royal Manhattan. I've read a man named Howard Millstein "rescued" the site in 1978 so what was there before must have been either abandoned or something else. Considering that address back in those days I'm guessing if there was a hotel on that site it probably was not a desirable place. Any memories of that site or details? I'm curious to know what was there since it was a big block and a bad place as well

[bmwguydc]

That was the Lincoln Hotel before it was the Milford Plaza, if memory serves, designed when the area was not the wasteland that it sadly became. It was designed by Herbert Krapp, who was an instrumental architect in many theatres in the area. The original building dates to the late 1920s, and I want to say it was 1929 when it opened to guests.

[rlrl]

prior to '80?--well i guess the architect's last name could describe it all, I suppose?!

[bmwguydc]

LOL...Actually, that would be the reverse, as he was well respected in his time. He worked with the Schuberts and was responsible for many of the iconic theatres and innovations in space, like stadium seating. The Majestic, Imperial, Ambassador, and redesigns including the Winter Garden are a few of his legacies. He also designed Sardi's and a couple of hotels, including The Lincoln.

I don't remember it as anything other than The Milford Plaza, and I remember that from when I was a kid, but at one point it was the Hotel Royal Manhattan. The Milsteins helped to resurrect the hotel as the Milford Plaza, actually, so that would be their connection to the property.