I should have gotten a better photo of the Hotel Keller, West and Barrow Streets, back in 2021, but the rushing West Street traffic prevented me from positioning myself better. Now a luxury residence called simply The Keller, it served for years as an SOR and flophouse along the waterfront while the West Side Elevated Highway rumbled past. Heartening to see it revived but I’ll never afford it.
The property’s crown jewel is the penthouse (one of two in the building), a $17.5 million four-bedroom, four-bathroom home, spanning 4,287 square feet, with a 2,073 square feet outdoor space. The penthouse, like each residence in the building, features European white-oak flooring, quarter-cut walnut-clad entry doors, kitchens with custom walnut cabinetry, honed white Macaubas stone slab countertops and backsplashes, high-efficiency central heating and cooling, and vented washers and dryers. Both penthouses are in contract, months before they will be ready for occupancy. The exteriors are about 80 percent completed and the interiors are about 40 percent finished. Village View
The Keller was built in 1898 by Irish born coal merchant William Farrell in a Renaissance Revival by German architect Julius F. Munckwitz. It has been known by many names, originally the Knickerbocker Hotel, then the New Keller, the Keller Abingdon and later the Hotel Keller. The location was propitious, as the Hoboken Ferry was then located directly across West Street.
The vertical sign originally had a “Keller” panel at the bottom, but that fell off sometime between the 1980s and now. According to Jim Naureckas in NY Songlines, this was perhaps New York’s first leather bar, dating to the 1950s. It’s also been credited as the birthplace of disco; the Village People were photographed here for an album cover.
Check out the ForgottenBook, take a look at the gift shop. As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site.
7/10/25
3 comments
I have a copy of that Village People album–it belonged to my uncle.
Related to the Village People, The Rialto Report just had a thing about the guy who was almost the lead singer for the Village People, and had his own gay disco career. The song, “Like an Eagle,” is not that good, but the video shows many Times Square locations in 1979, including a big ad in Times Square for Luchows. Particularly of interest to this site is near the end, where Parker is in a parking lot at 9th Ave and 43rd (?). That’s my guess as to the location. It features a great mural.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ujbSkWKTuHo&pp=ygUbbGlrZSBhbiBlYWdsZSBkZW5uaXMgcGFya2Vy
I can see the plaque on the side of the building now:
“Dedicated to all those who gave their lives in the cause of Disco”