Skyway Hotel


The hotel in 2022 (Photo via Google Maps).
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Front of a 1960s matchbook cover depicting the hotel (Photo by Author)

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Back of a 1960s matchbook cover depicting the hotel (Photo by Author)
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Article naming the owners of the Skyway Hotel and giving the opening date, Herald Statesman, 26 September 1958, Page 6.
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Article mentioning the restaurant and head chef of the Skyway Hotel, Williamsburg News, 29 January 1960, Page 5.
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Article describing the hotel's readiness for the 1964 World's Fair, Long Island Star-Journal, 31 March, 1964, Page 44.
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Description of a crime near the Skyway Hotel, Nassau Newsday, 6 December 1967, Page 11.
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Advertisement for the Skyway Hotel, Home Reporter and Sunset News, 22 October 1982, Page 58.
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Known Name(s)

Skyway Hotel

Address

132-10 S. Conduit Ave., Jamaica 30, Flushing 69 Queens, NY

Establishment Type(s)

Hotel

Physical Status

Extant

Description

The building is a mid-century, commercial-style, T-shaped structure of two stories with one additional floor below street level. The entrance, which is in the middle of the top of the T shape, features an awning that covers the driveway that leads to the building, ostensibly for loading and unloading luggage under shelter. Exterior-facing windows exist on both above-ground levels across the structure for each guest room. Windows also face out from the subterranean levels into small courtyards that provide natural light. Decorative quoins adorn the two south-most corners of the building. The roof of the building bears a sign reading "Skyway Hotel" in red and blue lettering.

Detailed History

The Skyway Hotel at 132-10 S. Conduit was the second of its name in Queens, with the first being at 10210 Ditmars, near LaGuardia Airport. The second location opened in late 1958 in order to serve customers coming from Idlewild Airport (now JFK) and is the only one listed in the Green Book. At the time of opening, Abe Sonenshein and Martin Fleischman were the owners of the hotel, which boasted approximately 75 guest rooms, a restaurant, and a lounge known as the Vouge Room, later the Pompeii Room. The hotel made special preparations to serve guests coming for the New York World’s Fair in 1964-65, coinciding with the years it was listed in the Green Book. The hotel remained in operation through the 1990’s. In the early 2000’s, the hotel was sold and became a homeless shelter (https://www.qchron.com/editions/south/another-hotel-at-jfk-airport-may-b...). The building is extant and remains in use for this purpose as of 2025 under the name of Skyway Men Shelter.

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