Vigilant Hotel , 370 8th Ave. between 28th St. and 29th St. (2003)

So faded as to be practically unreadable, this sign identifies the Vigilant Hotel, in business for more than a century.

In 1895 the lodgings empire of Angelino Sartirano consisted of hotels at 116 Gansevoort St., 208 and 352 8th Ave., 1553 Broadway, 2291 3d Ave., and here at 370 8th Ave.

The Sartirano (sometimes spelled Sartirana) hotel business is even older, going back to 1888 with his first hotel at 116 Gansevoort St. in the West Village.

The name Vigilant Hotel, however, is not quite so old, and seems to date no earlier than 1916. The hotel is still here (as of August 2003) but to all appearances no longer operates as a hotel in the usual sense...

Two photos by Percy Loomis Sperr (1890-1964) in the New York Public Library's Digital Collections show signs for the Vigilant Hotel located at 352 8th Ave. The first dated 1932 shows a side wall with "Rooms 25¢." The second dated 1938 shows a small sign over the sidewalk reading "Vigilant Hotel."

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