The Inn, which opened in 1969 (originally named The Hide-A-Way Motel), is known for its cozy, romantic charm, but our building has a long line of former 'lives'. Constructed in 1908 and originally known as the Strand Hotel, it served for many years as a rough and tumble boarding house for sailors, and later became a Prohibition era speakeasy, a go-go bar, and for a time the notorious Anvil Social Club.

As the shipping industry faded out in the 1930s, wholesale meat firms found the neighborhood perfect for their transportation needs, and the area developed into Manhattan's main wholesale meat market district, where thousands of carcasses would be delivered by trailers each morning and strung up on hooks along the sidewalks. Given this 'atmosphere' its little wonder that the area went into a steady decline, and by the 1970s and 80s it had become about as seedy and 'down and out' as a Manhattan neighborhood could get.

A few wholesale meat market firms still remain, but in the last 10 years most have moved out as a swift and dramatic 'gentrification' transformed the area with an influx of art galleries, professional offices, clubs, high end restaurants, upscale clothing boutiques, the Chelsea Market complex, and of course the Chelsea Piers recreational center - making the 'Meatpacking District' one of the most vibrant and exciting areas of all Manhattan.

So come visit with us at The Liberty Inn. Make it the start -or end- of your visit to our sparkling neighborhood - or make your stay here a tour of its own !

(212) 741-2333