57 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
In 1922 Albert Champion, the inventor of the sparkplug, began a relationship with and quickly married a showgirl named Edna Crawford. Shortly thereafter, Edna began having an affair with a Frenchman named Charles Brazelle; after five years Brazelle is alleged to have murdered Champion in a Parisian hotel. Edna and Brazelle claimed that Champion died of natural causes, took his fortune, and used it to buy the penthouse at 57 West 57th street. Brazelle proved to be jealous and paranoid, however, and kept Edna locked up in the apartment; eventually he snapped and killed her with a telephone. Edna’s bodyguards found out and responded by tossing Brazelle out a window.
The apartment remained empty for a number of years before one Carlton Alsop rented it. Alsop reported being haunted by ghostly images while in the penthouse, hearing the ghostly sound of Edna’s high heels clicking on the floor and arguments between her and Brazelle. Alsop also regularly saw violent images, causing his mental state to deteriorate; as his mind continued to slip Alsop’s wife grew weary and left him. His dogs reportedly had nervous breakdowns in the penthouse, and with no one left to turn to Alsop committed himself to a mental hospital in hopes of escaping his otherworldly torment.
Nearby Real Haunts
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Friars Club
0.3 miles away
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The Leopard at des Artistes
0.6 miles away
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Palace Theater
0.6 miles away
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The Algonquin Hotel
0.7 miles away
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Belasco Theatre
0.7 miles away
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The Dakota
0.8 miles away
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Reviews
Back in 1993, 57 West 57th Street was called the medical arts building because there was a drug rehab facility on the 3rd floor. I was working for a private security company at that time and I was posted at the lobby desk. My first week there, I overheard the cleaning staff and a supervisor said that the building was haunted. I laughed and said to myself, "These people are crazy." During the course of that year, a lot of strange things happened. Yeah, I wasn't laughing no more. When I was in the lobby, I use to hear a conversation between two people. I would look down the hall leading to the 57th street side and no one would be there. The lobby also has an entrance on the 6th Ave side also. The voices were coming from the ceiling. It sounded the same way when people talk in their sleep. There were times when I had to go upstairs to conduct a patrol on certain floors or use the restroom, I felt like I was being watched. As I would approach the passenger elevator and before I could press any buttons, the freight car would open up by itself. This happened a lot and It freaked me out. The cleaning supervisor or somebody else would watch the lobby while I was upstairs. When I got downstairs I would ask in a serious tone, "Did anybody send the freight car upstairs?" They would reply, "No" and state that nobody was using it. Well how was the freight car getting up there?? Someone would have to operate it manually or send it up. I would be on different floors and the same exact thing would happen. Do I believe that there was some paranormal activity involved? Yes! without a doubt. I worked at that location for a year and there is something else that happened while I was there. but for now I will keep it short. Ronald
May 2021
| Would Recommend | No |
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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| Last Edit to Your Listing: | Aug 15, 2015 |
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