American mogul who met tragic end built secret entrance to historic hotel A secret entrance to an iconic hotel can be found in the deep and dark depths of the New York subway system.
There have been many rumours about the door's use, whether it be providing access to the hotel's basement, a secret doorway or direct entrance for people on the downtown platform of the Interborough Rapid Transit subway line, in place at the time.
The Knickerbocker Hotel was built by one of America's wealthiest men, John Jacob Astor IV, who commissioned the guilded joint in 1901, five years before it opened to the public.
The hotel, which is an example of Beaux-Arts architecture, was located at the corner of Broadway and 42nd street in Midtown Manhattan, near Times Square and the Theatre District.
He says: "While the entrance is now sealed, it used to take people directly to the bar of the famous Knickerbocker Hotel.
