MCR Development and The Brodsky Organization have announced plans for The High Line Hotel, an “urban sanctuary” scheduled for a soft-open in May 2013. The hotel intends to offer guests a respite from the city in a historic setting. Originally built in 1895 as student housing for the General Theological Seminary, the intimate, 60-room property is located in a cloistered community overlooking the High Line park and an enclosed private garden.
While the iconic building’s red brick facade remains, the initial phase of interior design was handled by Roman and Williams Buildings and Interiors, with exterior landscaping handled by Beyer Blender Bell Architects. The property blends eclectic Americana with European style, playing tribute to its English collegiate Gothic roots along the way.
Furnishings include vintage pieces, unexpected artwork, and antique rugs from around the world and the building’s Gothic architecture and dormitory’s original stained glass windows, moldings, pine floors, fireplace mantels and stairwells have been preserved to enhance the guest experience.
The land on which The High Line Hotel sits was once an 18th century apple orchard owned by Clement Clarke Moore, famous for authoring ‘Twas the Night before Christmas on the premises. The land was bestowed to the Episcopal Church in 1817 for the construction of its first theological seminary, which continues to operate to this day.