DEMOLITION: HOTEL OLGA ON LENOX AVENUE

Harlem Bespoke:  As can be seen by the above photos, the historic Hotel Olga at the corner of Lenox and 145th Street has been almost completely demolished.  Construction diggers were still removing what was left of the base today and the safe haven for black visitors in New York City during the Renaissance years is now no longer.  Hotel Olga was one of the only hotels in the city were black travelers could stay because it was black-owned and located in Harlem which in turn welcomed many famous guests over the years.

Somehow the property had been mostly blocked up in the past few decades and no efforts to landmark the site appear to have really taken off. A lot of bland newer taller housing buildings surround this corner of 145th Street today and Hotel Olga was one of the last interesting example of architecture in the area from over a century ago.   This could of been a great cultural institution or school for a part of Harlem that is pretty void of such things but setting up street signs to honor people seems to be the easier route than actually saving part of the neighborhood which has some significance.  More on Hotel Olga can be found in our past post: LINK


HarlemBespoke.com 2019