Inside the Beekman Hotel

As soon as you walk into the Beekman Hotel, you get the sense that you're walking back in time. From the tile marble floor to the antique rugs flanking the reception desk, this place feels special -- and it is. For starters, the site is historic. Prior to the construction of this building in 1881, the site hosted Shakespeare's first New York production of "Hamlet." Then it became Clinton Hall, where writers Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain honed their craft. It is also where NYU launched its inaugural classes. Irish businessman Eugene Kelly built the current structure in 1882. It was renamed Temple Court.