It occupies a bank building restored down to the marble, with a vaulted hall behind the entrance.
When the weather turns
Damp winter days on this part of the Lower East Side push the neighbourhood indoors, and the hotel has an unusual amount of indoors to offer: it occupies a bank building from early last century, restored down to the marble, with a vaulted hall set behind the entrance.
Where everyone goes
Guests come in through a small, quiet lobby and turn into the former banking hall, which is where the day lands. The bar there has its own door from the street, so the room fills with people from the surrounding blocks as well as with those staying upstairs.
What stops working
The rooftop, with its domed pavilion, depends on conditions and may be closed, and the tables on the sidewalk come in. Errands in the streets nearby, the market and the park and the bridges, get postponed rather than done.
What the building does
A bank answers weather well. Stone walls, deep window reveals and a ceiling high enough to hold a crowd mean the ground floor works all day, and the second entrance spreads arrivals so the small lobby never jams.
