New York ยท Midtown
The Knickerbocker
John Jacob Astor IV's 1906 Times Square hotel, offices from Prohibition until 2015; the hotel repeats the rumor that the dry martini began here.
- Built
- 1906Completed 1906 (LPC); designed 1901 by Marvin & Davis with Bruce Price consulting, Trowbridge & Livingston credited on completion. Opened October 23, 1906 (hotel). Converted to offices after Prohibition began; reopened as a hotel in 2015 (hotel timeline).
- Style
- Beaux-Arts
- Architect
- Marvin & Davis with Bruce Price; Trowbridge & Livingston
- Type
- Grand hotel
- Area
- Midtown
- Credentials
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Local landmark
The story
John Jacob Astor IV financed the Knickerbocker, one of several Astor-family hotels, on the corner of 42nd Street and Broadway, and it opened on October 23, 1906 on the newly renamed Times Square. The hotel says the dry martini is rumored to have been invented here. With Prohibition the building was converted to commercial and office use, which the LPC report still describes in 1988; it returned as a hotel in 2015.
Good to know
- Elevator
- Pets welcome
- Address: 6 Times Square, New York, NY 10036
Things to do
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Sources (3)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.