[9] The hotel has a facade of Indiana limestone with terracotta trim, while the main exterior walls are made of light colored brick.

[15][16] About two-thirds of the building's foundation sits above two levels of Metro-North Railroad[a] tracks just north of Grand Central Terminal, rather than being attached to the bedrock itself.

[22] The easternmost portions of each story, as well as the exterior wall on Vanderbilt Avenue, are cantilevered 4 feet (1.2 m) past the outermost set of columns.

Some of the Roosevelt's "utility spaces" (such as the beauty parlor, barber shop, and Turkish bath) were placed above ground, rather than in the basement, as was common in older hotels.

[41] The first basement included storage space for the ground-level storefronts, in addition to a kitchen, cafeteria, locker room, and service facilities for the hotel's staff.

[8][36] Immediately past the vestibule, a stairway ascended from the arcade to the first-floor lobby; this staircase was decorated with iron panels from New York City Hall.

[3][33] The grill room was at the center of the Vanderbilt Avenue elevation and contained a dance floor surrounded by a slightly raised dining area.

[3][49] The pantry contained a serving counter built atop a structural beam, which could not be removed because it spanned a set of railroad tracks.

[52] The main lobby was a double-height space,[3] which had travertine walls and pilasters, as well as a plaster coffered ceiling painted in ivory and gold.

[53] Leading west from the main lobby, a small set of stairs led up to a lounge overlooking Madison Avenue, on the western side of the first floor.

There was another lounge west of the foyer, named the John Alden Room; it contained fireplace mantels topped by large paintings that depicted romantic scenes from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem Evangeline.

[8][36] At the mezzanine level, a balcony overlooked the main lobby on three sides;[45] it had an iron balustrade salvaged from an old residence on Irving Place in Manhattan.

[38] The Colonial Ballroom included architectural details inspired by Southern mansions,[21] a movie projection screen,[4][29] and three Arthur Crisp murals that depicted scenes from the fairy tale Cinderella.

[75] New York Central's vice president William J. Wilgus proposed electrifying the line and building a new electric-train terminal underground,[76] a plan that was implemented almost in its entirety.

[83] A 1920 New York Times article said, "With its hotels, office buildings, apartments and underground streets it not only is a wonderful railroad terminal, but also a great civic centre.

[11] According to Hotel Monthly magazine, the Roosevelt name was not only intended "to keep away from the gorgeous and extravagant", it also justified why the interior design was patterned after colonial American mansions.

[136] In November 1947, the Roosevelt added TV sets to 40 rooms on the seventh through ninth floors,[137] becoming the first hotel in the United States to provide permanent TVs in guestrooms.

[140] Wangeman oversaw a $75,000 renovation of the hotel in mid-1952, adding 10,000 square feet (930 m2) by relocating a luncheon club from the 16th floor and consolidating some departments.

The alliance allowed the three hotels to host a single convention across 4,000 guestrooms, 90 meeting rooms, 15 restaurants, and 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) of exhibit space.

[193] Soon afterward, during the early 1990s recession in the United States, the Roosevelt began advertising to large associations and group conventions, which paid more than weekend visitors and tourists did.

[211] The airline wanted to sell the Roosevelt along with the Hôtel Scribe in Paris, but PIA delayed the sale by several months because of the Iraq War.

[43] Several developers, including Donald Trump, Harry Macklowe, The Related Companies, and Vornado Realty Trust, expressed interest in buying the Roosevelt.

[210] By the following year, amid a decline in guests caused by the financial crisis of 2007–2008, the Roosevelt's managers started offering discounted room rates.

[223] Venture capitalist Shahal M. Khan expressed interest in buying the hotel, telling The Real Deal magazine that he planned to offer at least $500 million.

[233][234] In September, Pakistan's Economic Coordination Council gave $142 million to the Roosevelt Hotel Corporation to settle outstanding debts and pay severance to employees.

[239] One year after the Roosevelt closed, PIA had still not paid $7 million in severance to the hotel's workers, as was required by New York City law.

[240][241] By early 2022, Australian mining firm Tethyan Copper sought to acquire the hotel after the Pakistani government reneged on a mineral-rights agreement with them.

[243][244] At the time, Pakistan's aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan denied reports that PIA was planning to sell some shares in the hotel to Qatar.

[259] Pakistani officials reviewed four proposals for the redevelopment of the Roosevelt Hotel in September 2023,[260] and they selected Jones Lang LaSalle in February 2024 as the site's real estate brokerage.

[269] By the mid-20th century, the Roosevelt was hosting events such as National Federation of Music Clubs meetings,[270] coin exhibits,[271] dog shows,[272] and tennis conferences.