The Roosevelt Hotel on Madison Avenue in NYC just announced they would close at the end of this year. The hotel has operated for more than 100 years; it’s a fantastic location and an excellent hotel with great facilities, including a lovely lobby bar that welcomed generations of travelers and local business people.
The hotel is located directly across Madison Avenue from the building that housed the office of my first-ever job in New York City. For a suburban commuter like me, it was the perfect location.
The hotel has a tunnel underneath that leads directly to Grand Central Terminal and the train platforms. In bad weather, all I had to do was head across the street, and in minutes I was in the station.
Coincidentally, this path also put me right in front of a semi-hidden entrance to the Grand Central Oyster Bar, located downstairs. This landmark restaurant is also closing as the result of COVID-19 financial issues. This was, and is a remarkable restaurant, serving the best seafood around.
The small door in the terminal opened into the restaurant’s smaller saloon section; from late afternoon to the late evening, this bar was packed. We’ll all miss the hotel and the restaurant; there won’t be anything else like them anytime soon.
Are we there yet? 