KM stayed on several occasions in the very early 1900’s in New York in the Hotel Normandie (at least 1901 and 1905) – and it was here that she was spotted and hounded out of town, accused of being a leper. It’s also apparently where Tchaikovsky stayed in 1891 on a visit to inaugurate Carnegie Hall.

The Hotel Normandie was knocked down in the 1920’s, and the block 1384 Broadway now stands in its place (link to official site here).

But in searching for an image of it, I found this amazing photograph on Shorpy.com at: http://www.shorpy.com/Herald-Square-New-York-1908 showing a massive, high resolution snapshot of life in NY in 1908. The Hotel Normandie is lurking at the back, behind the sign for Otard Brandy, with painted on its wall ‘ Hotel Normandie. Absolutely Fireproof.’ I’ve cropped it here to see the hotel, but the whole photo’s so interesting it’s worth clicking through for a fuller look.

A far cry from Siberia. Enjoy!