1929 Gothic Hotel-Turned-Dormitory and the Ghost of Molly
55 E 10th St, New York City, NY 10003
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Active university residence hall; no public access to interior
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved, urban sidewalk
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1929 · Greenwich Village Architecture · NYU Campus History · Art Deco New York · Notable Alumni
The Brittany was built in 1929 as a high-end apartment hotel, designed by the architectural firm Farrar & Watmough. The 15-story tower sits at the northwest corner of Broadway and East 10th Street, directly opposite Grace Church, James Renwick's 1846 Gothic Revival landmark. The Brittany's Gothic decorative language was a deliberate architectural conversation with its neighbor.
The building operated as an apartment hotel through much of the 20th century, with notable long-term residents including Walter Winchell and, in later decades, musicians and performers drawn to the Village neighborhood. Jerry Garcia, Al Pacino, Debbie Harry, and Adam Sandler have all been associated with the building during its various eras.
New York University eventually acquired the building for use as a student residence hall. Remnants of a prohibition-era speakeasy were documented in the upper floors during NYU's occupancy — a relic of the building's 1929-era construction, when the Volstead Act was still in effect and clandestine bars were common features of upscale hotel construction.
The building sits in Greenwich Village, one of Manhattan's most historically layered neighborhoods, and the East 10th Street address places it at the intersection of the Village's literary, artistic, and now academic identities.
Sources
The Molly legend has circulated at Brittany Hall since the building opened in 1929. The account holds that during construction, a young girl — described variously as four or five years old, named Molly — was playing in the unfinished building and fell into an open elevator shaft. Despite an extensive search, her body was never recovered from within the building.
The absence of a recovered body — if accurate — would be significant. Buildings of this era had complex basement and subfloor infrastructure, and the shaft itself would have connected to a mechanical pit. The legend's emphasis on the undiscovered body creates an open wound in the narrative, which may explain its persistence across generations of students.
Reported phenomena at the hall are consistent with the ghost-child archetype: strange sounds concentrated in the basement, a shadowy figure seen standing in a doorway from a student's bed. The elevator is often cited as the site of unexplained behavior — appropriate given the origin story, though also consistent with ordinary mechanical idiosyncrasies in a nearly century-old building.
Brittany Hall residents have noted the phenomena are not alarming in character. The prevailing interpretation among students is that Molly is not malevolent but simply present — still looking for someone to play with, still unaware of what happened.
Notable Entities
Brittany Hall at 55 East 10th Street is a 15-story Gothic-style tower designed by Farrar & Watmough, completed in 1929 directly across from James Renwick's 1846 Grace Church. The building's Gothic detailing deliberately echoes the church facade across the street. The interior is accessible only to NYU residents and their registered guests. View from East 10th Street.
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