Our first post in New York state (I hope my choice for this date wasn't too tasteless) focuses on 790 Eighth Avenue, opening in 1963 as Loews Midtown Motor Inn by Loews Corporation (best known for its chain of movie theaters)1 before Loews Corporation decided to convert it to a Ramada Inn franchise in 1972 (the first in Manhattan). From (I'm told) 1995 to 2005, this was a Days Hotel (branded as such) before becoming Hilton Garden Inn, and in the early 2020s closed for renovations (or at least WAS renovated), becoming Kimpton Hotel Theta in 2023 (an IHG hotel). Before renovation, it appears there was lease space at the bottom (a restaurant in the 2010s, then a luggage and electronics store), but that seems to be re-absorbed into the hotel under the Hotel Theta renovation.
Here's a page from the Days Inn directory 2002 (the hotel was also on the cover). I'm not able to find out when Loews divested it entirely. It doesn't look like they own it anymore.
1. The history of Loews is a bit sticky, it was the original owner of MGM Studios, and forced to divest it after the outcome of [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Paramount_Pictures,_Inc.]United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.[/url], with Loews eventually being sold to brothers Laurence and Robert Tisch, who already owned a hotel business. While Loews later spun off its namesake movie theaters in 1985 (which [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loews_Cineplex_Entertainment]eventually merged out of existence[/url]), Loews Hotels continues to exist as a subsidiary of Loews Corporation.
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