The front of the hotel was on seedy 42nd street, and the side on Madison Avenue from 42nd to 43rd. The photo looks as if it were taken from a building obstructing Madison Avenue. The streetcar tracks curve out of the way, too.

The Manhattan Hotel was constructed in 1897, designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh. Hardenbergh was also the architect for the Carnegie Hall tower additions (1894), the Dakota Apartments (1881-84), the former Waldorf Astoria Hotel (1893 – currently the site of the Empire State Building) and the Plaza Hotel (1909).

The Manhattan Hotel was demolished in the 1960s for the current Sperry & Hutchinson Building (aka 330 Madison). The new building, a forgettable glass and steel tower, was constructed in 1964. Designed by Kahn & Jacobs Architects, it is 41 stories (555 feet) tall.

I assume the car got its power from what looks like a third rail between the tracks. Wasn't that kind of dangerous, seeing how it's street level for anyone to step on?

[New York had many cable car lines at the time. And trolleys using street-level electrical power accessed the underground line through a slot in the pavement, not via a third rail. - tterrace]

The Grand Hotel in Berlin 1932 had Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Lewis Stone, Wallace Beery, and many other talented folks.

I'm sure New York had their share of famous folks too.