☞ REVIVE: The Hotel Olga on Lenox

A boarded up building at 697 Lenox Avenue and 145th Street receives little attention these days but was once known as the place to stay in Harlem for visiting African Americans. The Hotel Olga had the distinction of being the first hotel to lease out to African-Americans in Harlem during the early 20th century and would open its doors to all citizens while the Hotel Theresa on 125 Street remained segregated.  Hotel Olga would be the establishment to stay at for African-Americans throughout the 1920s and 1930s but today lies in a state of neglect.  Community Board 10 has added the building on to a list of recommended landmarks to be reviewed by the city's Landmark Preservation Commission but only time will tell if any action will come about to help restore this important building.