Grand Central Motor Inn
Known Name(s)
Grand Central Motor Inn
Address
71-11 Astoria Blvd, Astoria 2 Queens, NY
Establishment Type(s)
Hotel
Physical Status
Extant
Description
The Grand Central Inn is in the modern day located directly next to a highway, but this was not the case when it appeared in the Green Book, as this highway was constructed later. The Grand Central Inn is a three-story, vernacular style concrete building constructed in an L shape. Emblazoned on the tip of the L, facing south, is the name of the inn in big red letters, with the first two words, Grand Central, written in cursive and the second two, Motor Inn, printed. The building appears to have changed little in the decades since it was constructed and 2025, when research on this entry concluded.
Detailed History
Construction on the building concluded in 1961. Throughout its initial years, we see numerous examples of the Grand Central Motor Inn advertising in different local newspapers. These advertisements would usually boast of the numerous events the Motor Inn could host, such as weddings, dinners, and cocktail parties. This era is also when we see the inn appearing in the Green Book, specifically in the years 1963, 1964 and 1966. Events hosted within the Grand Central Inn, such as jazz concerts, swimming parties, and dances, as well as specific amenities such as free parking, a swimming pool, and cocktail lounge were often advertised in local newspapers. The St. Francis Assisi Holy Name Society specifically hosted a post-communion breakfast at the inn in the early ’60s.
In 1962, local newspapers proclaimed that the Grand Central Motor Inn received its liquor license. By 1963, the Motor Inn advertised furnished rooms from $35 and up for a week. It received warm reviews for its private rooms utilized for weddings, private gatherings, and a pictorial exhibition that displayed pictures taken during the 1939-40 New York World’s Fair. As time went on though, its good reputation faltered amongst the community. By 1977, the original owners sold the inn to Robert and Herbert Kaplan who renamed it the Westway Motor Inn. The new owners attempted to expand the inn but ran into opposition amongst the local community who argued the motel didn’t fit the character of the local community.
In 2015, the hotel aroused controversy again, this time with its willingness to provide housing for unhoused people in NYC. Prior to this, it had been an emergency shelter, but the conversion of the hotel into permanent housing for unhoused people aroused controversy because the local community felt it wasn’t sufficiently consulted on this change.
