Hotel St. George is a building in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, New York City, which was once the city's largest hotel. The hotel is within the Brooklyn Heights Historic District. The hotel was originally created by Union Navy Captain William Tumbridge in 1885, and various constituent buildings were built through 1929. The building survived a large 1995 fire. The building is now being used as student housing for surrounding colleges, especially New York University, Pace University, St. Francis College, and the New York Law School. The building is open only to its student residents, and has several lounge areas and one communal kitchen to be shared with the resident occupants. Attached to the building on the Clark Street side is a four floor "Eastern Athletic" gym that is separately owned. It is located atop the New York City Subway's Clark Street station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (), one stop from Manhattan. The station's sole subway entrance continues to function inside the hotel itself, right before the main door leading to the former ballroom and guest check-in. History The hotel was originally created by Union Navy Captain William Tumbridge in 1885. After making a name for himself with his stockbroker company Tumbridge and Co, the captain sought to create a grand hotel. The designer and architect of the building was Emery Roth. In the pre-World War II era, the St. George was a popular venue for society gatherings, weddings and celebrations, and a stomping ground for such celebrities as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Johnny Weissmuller, the Olympic swimmer and star of Tarzan movies, and others who ventured over the East River to dine at the hotel’s restaurants, to dance and socialize in its ballroom, and to take in the unrivaled view of Manhattan from its upper floors and roof terrace. The hotel boasted an enormous ballroom and a 120-foot natural salt water swimming pool. In its heyday, the hotel had 2,632 guest rooms, one thousand full-time employees, could accommodate nearly three thousand people for a dance, and could provide food for seven thousand guests at any one time. During WWII and the Korean War, the hotel was used to lodge troops and their families en route to or returning from their military assignments. Consequently, it was a place many families last saw their loved ones. The need for this type of lodging declined significantly following the loss of army and navy