Babe Ruth's Original House

Sitting on the balcony of our less than stellar upper west side hotel in New York, my husband and I noticed this ornate building looking all stately and grand just down the street.  I fantasized about who was lucky enough to live there. If the exterior was this magnificent how great must the interior be? I had a mission. I must find out the name of this building, pictures..anything.  I hopped on googlemaps - if you haven't played with the "street view" option - you simply must. I scoped out a small gold name plate on the backside of the building.  The Ansonia.  I found a fantastic article about it (see link below).  I struck gold! Evidently, it was the Babe's first New York home after being dissed by Boston. Fighter Jack Dempsey, Ziegfield (of the Follies fame), opera singers, and Broadway performers also lived there. It was also the birthplace of baseball's infamous Black Sox scandal. The Ansonia even featured poolside entertainment in the "bathhouse" in the basement: some gal named Bette Midler and her piano player Barry Manilow.  Is this a movie waiting to happen or what? There is an x-rated side to it as well, but you'll have to read that on your own. 
http://nymag.com/nymetro/realestate/features/1871/
Posted by NAOMI THOMPSON at 1:19 AM

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I didn’t dip my toe in an ocean until I turned 25 and my friend Sandy and I traveled to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. After that week, I was hooked. I loved being somewhere new; smelling the smells, tasting new food, seeing how other people lived. It energized me. As luck would have it, I landed a job that allowed me to travel all over the US and often to Canada. Being a sports event television producer, I was on the road all the time. That's when my love affair with travel began. Now, its 20 years later and still no one gets more “geeked up” about planning a vacation than I do. All I need is a destination and some travel companions and my fire is lit! I start delving into my favorite hotel sites, sifting through photos and reviews, comparing, contrasting -it’s like an addiction. The travel shows with tips and trends? I study them like a playbook. I LOVE doing the things most people hate doing before they go on vacation. Whether it be searching for a food tasting tour with a local or discovering a romantic B&B in the middle of New York - I’ve found it and I’ll share it with you. So....where should we go?