203 E 45th Street, home of “The Perfect Pint,” is a bit of a mystery to me. My usual sources have no real information on the building – but then, why would they? The three-story-plus-roof-garden building is a modest structure with no special architectural features.
But it appears to belong in “Holdouts!: The Buildings That Got In The Way” (or the earlier paperback version “New York’s Architectural Holdouts” ), a fascinating book by Andrew Alpern and Seymour Durst. The neighboring 32-story Wyndham Hotel is cantilevered over The Perfect Pint, similar to 160 E 22nd Street.
The Wyndham was originally the Alex Hotel, completed in 2006 on the site of the famed Pen and Pencil restaurant. While there are numerous online articles about the Alex’s early financial troubles, I found none that mention dealings with the owners of the property’s diminutive neighbor.
203 E 45th Street Vital Statistics
- Location: 203 E 45th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues
- Floors: 3
203 E 45th Street Recommended Reading
- The Real Deal: Alex Hotel in Midtown to convert into time-share
- Not about this building, but fascinating related reading: “Holdouts!: The Buildings That Got In The Way“