GOING through my backlog of thousands of photos (and I’d have a bigger backlog if my photos from 2008-2015 hadn’t been lost in a botched hard drive backup somewhere along the line) I found this gem from a midtown skulk in September 2016, with the painted ad “Hotel 1-2-3” at 123 West 44th, between 6th Avenue and Times Square. Named for the address, it was one of the names the Hotel Gerard used among the decades.
The handsome residential tower, next door to the Belasco Theatre, AKA Times Square, a luxury extended-stay residence. According to the Google AI robot, it was designed by architect George Keister in the Romanesque Revival and German Gothic styles, it originally opened in 1894 as a 362-room hotel catering to the upper class and theater celebrities. It currently operates as a pricy hotel, AKA Times Square.
French restaurant and celebrity mecca Cafe Un Deux Trois (likely also named for the address, but I’d like to think it’s a memento of the hotel’s old name) operated here from 1977 to early 2026, a span of 48-plus years.
Not only is the restaurant gone, but so is the painted Hotel 1-2-3 ad, as another ad for AKA Times Square was painted over it.
Sic transit, Gloria!
Of interest: Hotel Longacre painted ad, West 47th, 2015
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8/19/26
2 comments
I worked as an engine room helper for the Durst Corporation across the street at 1133 6th Ave. (I never called it Avenue of the Americas) in the late ’70s. This place was a welfare hotel back then. The residents were good customers of the liquor store which was located next door hear 6th Ave.
If I had a brothel in Nevada I would call it the 1-2-3 Ranch