Sohotel

First known as The Westchester, The Occidental, The Pioneer, and now as the "Sohotel", this landmark building has long been a fixture in the Bowery, operating as a stop for travelers as far back as there are written accounts. "The Bowery" refers to the neighborhood surrounding the boulevard in the scenic downtown area, but the road itself is actually the oldest thoroughfare in Manhattan, stretching roughly the entire distance of the island from North to South since Pre-Colonial times. It is here that the earliest Dutch explorers settled, christening the township "New Amsterdam", before it was ceded to the English and renamed "New York" following various upheavals during the Anglo-Dutch Wars.  The Bowery also famously played host to General George Washington, as he arrived in New York to watch the final remaining British troops flee back to England in November of 1783 at the end of the Revolutionary War. Since the founding of our country, The Bowery's reputation has ran the gamut, serving as a home to opulent amphitheaters and lavish mansions in times of prosperity, and brothels and flophouses during periods of economic stagnation. When social reform was present, the Bowery housed a multitude of music halls and was the site of the first YMCA, which opened in 1873.  However, its periods of notoriety have been known to attract even more attention from the historically minded.  The infamous Bowery Boys, one of New York's earliest street gangs and one of the subjects of the film Gangs of New York, called the neighborhood home as social unrest grew during the Civil War period. When operating as the Occidental, the hotel served as the headquarters for the famed rogue politician, Big Tim Sullivan, where despite his dubious affiliations, was known to throw lavish banquets here while dining in the company of star athletes and powerful political figures. Other famous politicians that were known to frequent the hotel include John L. Sullivan, Gentleman Jim Corbet, Pat Forley, and William Waldorf Astor (the man for whom the "Waldorf Astoria" is named).