The Majestic Hotel

Side A: The Majestic Hotel was a five-story, 250-room residential hotel that stood on the northeast corner of East 55th Street and Central Avenue from 1902 to 1967. In 1924 the hotel began to accept overnight guests. Amid the Great Migration, owner Hungarian immigrant Joseph Weiss welcomed African American travelers, earning a perennial listing in the Green Book guides. In 1944, Weiss sold the hotel to three African American investors: businessman Alonzo G. Wright, attorney Lawrence O. Payne, and Call & Post publisher William O. Walker. During the Majestic’s heydey, such services as a pharmacy, restaurant, tailor, beautician, and barber were offered. Its Rose Room jazz club drew musicians and fans to “Blue Monday” parties for many years. The hotel closed and was demolished in 1967, as civil rights advances opened more public accommodations to African Americans. Side B: same