The Jane | |
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Former names | American Seamen's Friend Society Sailors' Home and Institute, Seaman's House YMCA, Seaman's Relief Center, Jane West Hotel, Hotel Riverview |
General information | |
Type | Boutique hotel |
Architectural style | Georgian Revival |
Location | Manhattan |
Address | 505–507 West Street |
Town or city | New York City |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 40°44′18″N 74°00′34″W / 40.73833°N 74.00944°W |
Construction started | 1907 |
Completed | October 7, 1908 |
Renovated | 2008 |
Owner | Jeff Klein |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 6 |
Grounds | 8,812 sq ft (818.7 m2) |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | William A. Boring |
Developer | American Seamen's Friend Society |
Main contractor | Richard Deeves & Son |
Other information | |
Number of rooms | 200 |
Public transit access | Subway: 14th Street–Eighth Avenue[1] |
Designated | November 28, 2000[2] |
Reference no. | 2080[2] |
The Jane is a boutique hotel at 505–507 West Street, on the northeastern corner with Jane Street, in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was constructed in 1908 by the American Seaman's Friend Society (ASFS) as a sailors' boarding house called the American Seamen's Friend Society Sailors' Home and Institute. The Jane was designed by William A. Boring in the Georgian style and is a New York City designated landmark.
The Jane building has a red brick facade with cast-stone detailing and is mostly five stories tall, with a main entrance portico on Jane Street. There is a six-story polygonal tower at the corner of West and Jane Street, which was originally surmounted by a beacon. When the Sailors' Home and Institute opened, there were 200 bedrooms and numerous social rooms, as well as amenities such as a chapel, an auditorium, and a bowling alley. Over the years, the ground story has been used for various purposes, including as a bar and grill, a clubhouse, a nightclub, the off-Broadway Jane Street Theater, and a ballroom. Many of the guestrooms are extremely small, averaging 50 sq ft (4.6 m2).
The ASFS acquired land for a new boarding house at 507 West Street in 1905 after its previous boarding house was demolished. Construction of 507 West Street began in 1907 following a donation from philanthropist Olivia Sage, and the building was dedicated on October 7, 1908. The building was initially only open to sailors, and in 1912 house survivors from the sinking of the RMS Titanic. After the ASFS and two other organizations constructed the Seaman's House nearby in 1931, the YMCA operated 507 West Street as an annex of the Seaman's House. 507 West Street became the Jane West Hotel in 1946, and it was renamed the Hotel Riverview by the 1980s. The Riverview was acquired in 2008 by a group who renovated it into the Jane, a boutique hotel operated by BD Hotels. The hotelier Jeff Klein acquired the Jane in 2022 and converted its ballroom into a private club.