West 44th Street between 5th and 6th avenues
Architect: Goldwyn Starrett
Date Constructed: 1902

The opulent Algonquin Hotel, opened in 1902, is a distinguished building with a facade of limestone and red brick; the interior is decorated with elegant 18th century furniture. It became famous in the 1920s as the meeting place for a group of well–known writers and editors from New York publications like Vanity Fair, the Times, and the New Yorker. The group, which met daily for lunch in the Rose Room, became known as the “Algonquin Round Table” and included such literary lights such as Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, New Yorker founder Harold Ross, Robert Sherwood, and Alexander Woollcott. As a group, their wit was biting and caustic; their style, inimitable; their poise, unflappable; and their sophistication, unmatched.