The "New" Albert Hotel refers to the last two parts of the hotel Albert complex. These were built as a 12-story extension on University Place, built 1903-04 and designed by the firm of Buchman & Fox.
The final section of the Hotel Albert to be built was the 6-story neo-colonial style building located on the northeast corner of University Place and East 10th Street. It was built 1922-24, and designed by William L. Bottomly and the firm of Sugarman & Hess.
Some of those writers who have stayed at the Albert (or St. Stephens) include Robert Louis Stevenson, Harte Crane, Richard Wright, Anais Nin, Diane di Prima and Leroi Jones/Amiri Baraka. Political radicals stayed at the Albert as early as 1906 including Ivan Ivanovich Norodny (chief executive commissioner of the Russian Military Revolutionary Party). John Gages, the editor of the Daily Worker, held a rally there in 1958.
Many artists stayed there or gathered in the ground floor restaurant. Joseph Brody, who ran the restaurant from 1946 to 1968, hung the art of some of the many patron/artists on the walls and sponsored poetry contests; he also offered tours of the Village on a bus decoratively painted by Salvador Dali. Some of the famous musicians who spent time at the Albert during the 1960s and 70s included Jim Morrison, Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell, and James Taylor. The Mamas & the Papas wrote the hit “California Dreamin'” and Lovin’ Spoonful wrote “Do You Believe in Magic” at the Albert.