The Altman Building

Been here a few times, mainly for food events. The recent visit, I was here for the NY Drinks NY event. It was really well done, especially compared to an Italian Wine event I’d been to last month at the Highline Ballroom (seriously, get your act together guys). The space isn’t huge, but it was well set up, it was well attended but never felt crowded or cramped. The entrance line moved very smoothly and quickly. Tables were spaced out properly and food was on both sides of the large room so there weren’t any lines. The staff were extremely attentive as well. Great place to do a medium size event.

Checked out this event space for The Seed: MARKET, and it was fine. Nothing spectacular and nothing awful; bathrooms downstairs, and watch your step entering and exiting the place.

My company had our holiday party here and it was a blast! The space is very large and can accommodate a lot of people (500?). My only thing is the bathrooms are down TWO flights of stairs. That equals minus TWO stars. Like am I really suppose to walk down not one but two flights of stairs in my high a$$ heels and cocktail dress while tipsy from the 2 shots I just knocked back? Didn’t think so ;)

I’ve been to The Altman Building a few times for events and it’s a great venue. This place has two floors of nice and open space. The bathroom is well cleaned and maintained throughout the event. However, this building does not have an elevator. If you need to go to the bathroom and have trouble navigating up and down stairs, this might be a problem for you. There is a service elevator available for the workers setting the venue up. If you are lucky, they can bring you up and down, but the times I’ve been here, I haven’t seen this happen.

This is a lovely venue that has the versatility to host a myriad of events! I happened to attend the Joy of Sake event here on 9÷26÷13 (…thanks to a haiku writing contest here on good ol’ Unilocal!), and the space was laid out extremely well. Though crowded with sake enthusiasts, the beau and I were able to maneuver around to the 384 different kinds of sake on display. (Mind you, we only partook in 15. Haaa. BUT! We did see them all!) Food vendors were placed along the walls in good order, making it easy to grab a bowl of edamame gazpacho from WD-​50 or a bite of the famous Ramen Burger. Downstairs was a bit smaller, but the flow still moved along quite nicely.
My singular complaint about the space (or, perhaps, more how the event planners chose to set up THEIR space) was lack of access to elevators. Though I did spy a service elevator on the basement level, it seems to be closed off to public use on the main floor; though my disabled S.O. can take the stairs, albeit quite slowly, being able to hop on the elevator would have made the trip between floors a lot less arduous. (Sorry. My penchant for ADA compliance rules has increased exponentially since dating him, coupled with taking a Business Law class in grad school. Ha!)
Regardless, this space is wide and a lot can be done with it. Very impressive!

Came here for the Chelsea Bazaar. Its very spacious and has the potential to be very beautiful when decorated.
The bazaar was ok. Met some interesting people.
The people who work in the building are very polite. I would love to come here again for more events.

Came here for a company event and space is decent if it’s not to large of a party. They have 2 floors. The bathroom was well maintained since they had a lady in the bathroom. I think food here can be a bit on the junk food side. They serve sliders, fries, pasta, etc. But this came be different since different event is hosted here and can be different menu. I wish they had more seats and table though. No one really gets drunk here though of all the times I came. The staff was very professional.

I came here for the «Ultimate Trunk» event that showcased different vendors selling art, jewelry, clothes, handbags, etc. It reminded me of an African American version of Shecky’s girls night out, The altman building itself was beautiful, clean and well maintained. Its close to transportaton and in the heart of the city of cool places to eat and check out.

This is a really nice space for an event. Came here for Savor Craft Beer and was very impressed with the staff and security. It was nicely set up, not crowded and completely what I was hoping for from a «classy» beer and food pairing event. People weren’t really being allowed to be sloppy drunk which made life easier and kept it classy. The staff was on point and friendly. Bathrooms were clean and nice which was a shocker during a beer event. Everything moved quickly and it was a large enough space to hold many, many different craft beers and tables all around for easy eating and drinking. Oh and even floors — very important in heels and imbibing. I would definitely attend an event here again and if I ever needed a small to medium sized venue in the Chelsea area myself I would definitely consider using this space.

Attended The Macallan Single Malt event here. Upon arriving there was a whole load of confusion with people not knowing where to stand outside and wait. This was in a light drizzle. Surprised they werent able to accommodate people inside as they arrived, instead forcing a disorganized line to form outside. Having a chance to ask a security personnel for information, he was more concerned with talking to one of the people working the event than the line of confused people outside. Quite odd.
Once inside, the venue was quite nice with happy hour downstairs standing and then small tables upstairs sitting for the main sampling. The appetizers served were quite decent, especially the tuna roll, bbq pork, and crab cakes. Not too fond of the macaronni w/​cheese items, even it they had truffle. For the sitting down tasting we had provided nuts — salted almonds and unsalted pecans. Really nice touch.
When the even ended, even though the host was still talking to people the workers and security were ushering us out in earnest. We still had samples on the table! We felt very rushed.
In summary, nice venue, decent catering, but horrible service and organization.

This place is conveniently in Chelsea area of Manhattan. I guess it depends on what kind of event is thrown here, but I would give the Altman building 5 stars in my book. It is a nice venue. The facilities are clean. The staff was very nice and very professional. With the right event an easily justifiable 5 stars.
I could see how a badly planned event thrown here could make the place look bad. Fortunately I experienced a spectacularly thrown event. The event was the Joy of Sake New York in 2011. The event being held here was awesome. Great restaurants as well as greater selection of ultra super premium awesome sake. This was a model for a good event that made the Venue look good. Well done.

I am writing this review as a customer of the Altman Building. Not coming from a guest going to an event here but a person who helped throw an event here.
The Altman Staff is very accommodating as well as very courteous and professional. The venue is clean, the location is convenient and the price was reasonable for Manhattan. That’s all you can ask for when wanting to throw an event. The rest is all up to you on how well its planned and executed.

I came here a few years ago with friends at one of those New Years Eve party. Yes, it was really expensive, way too crowded, but you know a night out with the fellows and all your ladies was kind of worth it. Well, maybe at this moment I would not have said it was worth it but before the recession, it was .
–I was also here for a Matt and Kim show last year. Great production that was put on for that event. Yes, I did see a few other Unilocalers sprinkled in the crowd too. They knew where the cool place to be was that night. I went the second night of this event. 135 West 18^th Street…6^th and 7^th. I heard Johnnie Walker did hold a tasting here a few years ago too, I think I signed up for it but just did not go.

I was here with a few friends at the last Belgian Beer fest — NY Get Real craft beer and food festival. It’s not the biggest space but served it’s purpose well for the event. Had the right amount of people for the size of the space and a great selection of brews. Staff was professional and efficient.
Seems like a venue that is perfect for smaller private parties, affairs, corporate gatherings, or food/​beer tasting events. Nice wooden floors, clean, and airy. It’s situated in the Altman Building which is a converted old 1896 carriage house that was built for the B Altman’s department store from long ago. The two sets of fifteen foot high arched mahogany and glass doors as entrance ways give it charm and character.

This building was smaller than expected. especially for a Shecky’s event. I actually had it confused with the metropolitan pavilion and went there first. Unfortunately the Altman building made the event short, but not sweet. What pulled me through (the rain) was being able to see 2 of my lovely friends.
I guess the building could be a nice size for a private party, but definitely not a place for a larger anticipated event such as a Shecky’s HNO :(

I came here for the NY real craft beer and food festival, which was a great event to learn more about craft beers and local brewers. The venue is a great space for parties and/​or food tastings. It is large and spacious, I think you can do a art gallery in there also.

I came here for a Johnny Walker tasting, which was hosted in this building. The venue itself served as a nice backdrop for guests to enjoy the promotional tasting which included cocktails + food (all free!). I didn’t have to deal with the issue of management and event planning, so this review is from the eyes of an attendee enjoying free booze and trinkets!
It’s a good venue space, large and spacious. I could see it potentially useful for other sorts of promotions and marketing events.

My friend and I celebrated our birthdays here a few years back. It wasn’t my choice to come here but since I knew this one promoter — he did everything for us. The set up, the venue, and even the freaking THEME!
It ended up being a masquerade party. Everyone had to wear a mask but I opted out since I am not trying to carry a stupid mask all night. I ended up making my own mask with gold leafing directly onto my face.
When we got there — -please shoot me. I felt like I was at a Homecoming Dance. (Do East Coast people have that here?)
The venue is one big gigantic open space. They didn’t have a real bar, so they have to make one up with some table linens and few tables.
Can we say Cheesy?
Yeah, we got our own private area and everything but I wouldn’t have picked this place for a party.
But my friend was having a ball because she was F*** up —-and I mean F********************************* up!
I am not going to call myself out and say why I wasn’t having a good time but just know I was more interested in staring at the FLASHING LIGHTS than to socialize with anyone else.
I had such a boring time here.
The moral of the story — -don’t trust someone else to plan your party for you because people have different taste!

If the management was better at communication-​I would give the Altman Building 5 stars! The place is gorgeous and affordable for a NYC venue. It is a historic carriage house that is a blank slate for you to do whatever it is your heart desire to it. It is perfect for cocktail parties, dinners and other events.
If you decide to use the Altman Building though-​get every last detail in writing. They like to say yes verbally and then tell you it is not in your contract… oh the fun games of he said/​she said after a 500 person event!