One of the last remnants of seedy old Times Square, the Elk Hotel.(Image via: Forgotten New York)
We're always on the lookout for stories and photos from the days when Times Square in New York City was not so touristy. Stories from a time when it was dangerous for out-of-towners, or anyone really, to walk there late at night...or even during the middle of the day for that matter! Not much is physically left from that era, but there is one holdout...The Elk Hotel, located at 360 West 42nd Street. You might want to read up on the place a bit before choosing to spend the night, should you find yourself in NYC.
A brief description from a 1999 issue of The Observer: (and you need to read the whole article to really get the full picture.)
The Elk, the last "no-tell hotel" in the area, represents one of the few surviving remnants of 42nd Street's seamy and seedy side, a barely living connection to the gray days when Times Square was the reigning kingdom of sex and sin.
A twin-size bed dominates Room 109-precisely what one would expect from a place charging $25 for a two-hour stay. The ratty, bumpy, mattress features a concave crater directly beneath the semen stains on the once white sheets. With only a little imagination, one can discern the subtle outline of the human form on its surface, where countless numbers of women must have lain, usually paid for the inconvenience of staring at the mold-covered ceiling. Pressed in one corner stands a chipped faux-wood table and underneath it a plastic container with one crumpled napkin, one crusty tissue and one used condom inside.
Sounds positively lovely.
Click on over to Scouting New York (where I recently discovered the story of the Elk Hotel in the first place) and read "A Forgotten Sign In Times Square," for more history and stomach-churning descriptions and photos of the place. Make sure you read the comments there too.
Then go rinse your eyes out with some Vizene when you're done reading...
