York
Known Name(s)
York
Address
1200 Madison Avenue Baltimore, MD
Establishment Type(s)
Hotel
Physical Status
Demolished
Description
York Hotel stood on the northwest corner of Madison Avenue and Dolphin Street in Baltimore’s west side. Described in a news article in the Afro American as a four-story building. Now a grass lot near Renaissance Academy.
Detailed History
In 1944, the hotel was described as having 37 rooms, a dining room, bar, kitchen and a basement entertainment area when it was sold to L. Randolph who also owned the Smith Hotel on Druid Hill Avenue. In 1959, the building was slated for demolition as part of an urban renewal program in the Madison Park neighborhood. Randolph expected to relocate his hotel to Eutaw Street, but there was local opposition to the move. (Source: "Report of York Hotel Sold to L. Randolph for $35,000" Afro American downloaded from Proquest Historical Newspapers, P. 18 June 15, 1944. And "Lost to Urban Renewal" also Afro American, Proquest Historical Newspapers April 4, 1959, P. 8.) Ella Fitzgerald, Jackie "Moms" Mabley, and Pearl Bailey are among the noted African American entertainers who spent the nigiht. When Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers came to Baltimore in the early 1950s to play the Baltimore Orioles, he was heckled and two teammates stayed with him and escorted him as far as their downtown hotel. He continued on the trolley to the York Hotel.
