Jay Lloyd's Getaway: History And Luxury Meet On NYC's Ludlow Street

By Jay Lloyd

NEW YORK, N.Y. (CBS) — An iconic New York City neighborhood is getting a facelift, as new amenities blend with the historic.

As you enter Ludlow Street from Houston on the storied Lower East Side, you'll spot a sign as familiar to New Yorkers as the Statue of Liberty.  It's Katz's Delicatessen, the granddaddy of Jewish delis in America.

The packed interior of Katz's Deli. (Credit: Jay Lloyd)

It represents the immigration history of the city where this street was once jammed with pushcarts and tenements.  But right here is a brand new luxury hotel that features the same brick facade of old New York.

Ludlow Hotel manager Bruno Vergeynst explained the idea was to maintain that early 20th century flavor.

"We really wanted to be part of the neighborhood," he said. "That was the architecture of the neighborhood and we wanted to keep that, not just build another glass tower."

But inside, there's a lounge and a courtyard garden off the lobby with craft cocktails and breakfast nooks, a multinational staff, and modern comforts, made to retain elements of the past.

The Lobby of the Ludlow Hotel. (Credit: Jay Lloyd)

And the Ludlow is surrounded by a profusion of international eateries, the Tenement Museum, and, of course, Katz's.

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