on the north, and Sixth Avenue on the east. The National Academy of Design building opened in 1863 at the intersection of 23rd Street and Fourth (now Park) Avenue. The building was designed by Peter Bonnett Wight in a style evocative of Doge's Palace in Venice. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, it had been demolished and replaced with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower. In 1878, the Stern Brothers department store opened between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The building, designed by Henry Fernbach, was massive by contemporary standards, standing seven stories high and measuring wide. It became one of the largest cast-iron structures in New York City. A second notable hotel on the street, the Hotel Chelsea, was built between 1883 and 1885, with the first portions opening in 1884. It was New York's tallest building until 1902. Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen lived in the Hotel Chelsea from August 1978. The building has been a designated New York City landmark since 1966, and on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977. The emergence of many new hotels after the American Civil War contributed to the increase of prostitution in the area. By 1876, there were so many brothels in the area bounded by 23rd and 57th Streets, between Fifth and Seventh Avenues, that New York City Police Department captain Alexander S. Williams nicknamed this strip of land "Tenderloin". Referring to the increased number of bribes he would receive for police protection of both legitimate and illegitimate businesses there – especially the many brothels – Williams said, "I've been having chuck steak ever since I've been on the force, and now I'm going to have a bit of tenderloin." Theaters There were several Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters being built along West 23rd Street beginning in the late 19th century. By the turn of the century, the street contained a "Theater Row", which was a prominent fixture in American theater. 23rd Street remained New York's main theater strip until the Empire Theatre opened on Broadway some twenty blocks uptown, ushering in a new era of theater. In 1868, Pike's Opera House (later the Grand Opera House) was built at Eighth Avenue and 23rd Street for several million dollars. The film company RKO Pictures converted the building into a movie theater in 1938. By 1960, it was demolished to make room for the Penn South residential complex. Booth's