Once the world's largest hotel, Hotel Pennsylvania was demolished in 2023. Although I was sad to hear of its demise, I was grateful to have stayed in this place that is now a big part of American history. It was also the backdrop of one of my short stories (One Hot Summer from my book "Souls On Fire ").
Here's an excerpt from that short story.
"Hotel Pennsylvania was an old, picturesque, almost baroque building, like the pictures Tamara had seen on her grandfather’s postcards hanging over the bureau chest in his bedroom.
The hotel was decorated with old furniture; at least, that’s what Tamara got for her eighty dollars a night. Her single room was too small and too narrow. It housed one single bed. White-and-gold French Provincial style, pushed too close against a wall.
A tiny night table sat by the bed holding an old marble-based candlestick lamp. An alarm clock/radio and television remote controls were connected to the table with a flexible telephone-like cord. The small matching dresser was lower to the floor than the ones she was used to. It had three drawers and a mirror of the same width bolted to the wall. The brass bench stood at the foot of the bed, directly across from a television in front of a tall window. Tamara thought it odd that there was no window screen.
Thick, sun-faded jacquard drapes matched a green bedspread of the same fabric, which embellished the outdated decor. The bathroom was small, with a white porcelain-footed bathtub that complemented the oval-shaped pedestal sink. The entire room had a tender stale odor that gave it an indistinguishable character..."
To read the full story, go toAmazon.com: Souls On Fire: Four Stories by Toretha Wright and purchase the ebook or paperback.
