During his visit to New York for the chess congress in 1857, Morphy stayed at the famous St. Nicholas Hotel

St. Nicholas Hotel, 1860

The Gentleman's Magazine, 1856
A New York Hotel.-- The proprietors of the St. Nicholas Hotel have published a description of their immense establishment, form which we quote a few statistics: --
The St. Nicholas has a front of 270 feet on Broadway, and a depth of 200 feet, thus covering an area of one acre and three-quarters in the most valuable part of the city. The building cost 1,200,000 dollars, and the entire cost of the building, furniture, &c., was 1,900,090 dollars. The area of the front wall, which is of marble, is 18,060 feet. The building will accommodate 900 guests, and has frequently contained over 1,000. It was completely finished on the 1st of March, 1844. The number of rooms is 600, all well lighted, and provided with hot and cold water. These include 100 complete suites of rooms, with baths, water-closets, &c., attached. The three largest dining rooms in the house aggregate 9,000 superficial feet, and can accommodate 600 guests. The costs of the mirrors distributed about the house was 40,000 dollars, and of the silver ware and plate 50,000 dollars. The proprietors are Messrs. J. P. Tredwell, J. P. Acker, and Virgil Whitcomb. The number of servants averages during the year about 320. The hours for meals range through nearly the whole twenty-four, excepting from midnight to five o'clock a.m. There is a regularly organized fire department in the building, with steam power for forcing water to any portion of it. Eighteen plugs, with 200 feet of hose each, enable the engineers to flood the building in six minutes from the time the alarm is sounded. The house consumes 18,000 to 30,300 feet of gas nightly, from 2,500 burners; -- it is made on the premises. The laundry employs 75 laundresses, and can wash and iron 6,000 pieces per day. Steam is the great agent in this process, and is extensively used in the St. Nicholas for boiling, washing, mangling, drying, turning spits, heating water, &c. We are happy to learn that the talent and enterprise, as well as the capital invested in this magnificent hotel, are being liberally rewarded. The proprietors are both making money and reputation.
--New York Mirror.

The St. Nicholas Hotel closed it's doors in 1880. Today, where it stood on 521-523 Broadway, between Broome and Spring streets, still stands the remnants of it's marble facade.

The Hotel St. Denis, located on Broadway at 11th Street is the building on the left with the word "Hotel" near the top. In modern times, the decorative facade of the Hotel St. Denis was stripped away during a renovation, converting it into a plain business-type building.
The Hotel St. Denis was designed by James Renwick in 1853 and, except for the Trinity Building  (erected in 1851 and demolished in 1853) was the first building in New York to employ terra cotta for exterior architectural ornament. (terra cotta was found to be fire-resistant).

 

A 1910 advertisement

Broadway and 11th St., N. Y. City

One of New York's best conducted Hotels,
 made popular by its refinement, Home
comfort and   good   living. 

 Rooms, $1 00 per day and upward

EUROPEAN PLAN 

Table d'Hote Breakfast, .50; Dinner, $1.25

WM. TAYLOR & SON, Inc., Also Proprietors

HOTEL MARTINIQUE, Broadway and 33rd St.
To reach St. Denis Hotel from Day Line Boats,
take Houston Street Car at Pier and transfer North
at Broadway direct to Hotel.

Return