16-03-2025
Memories of York's Viking Hotel - the city's first new hotel in 90 years
York's Viking Hotel in 1968 - our city's first new hotel in 90 years...
OUR photo today takes us back to 1968 and shows the sign being fitted on York's newest hotel.
The image - from our Press archive - shows Bill Rogan and Bill Hudson fitting a sign on the new Viking Hotel in York.
Officially opening on January 1, 1969, the hotel became the second tallest building in York (after the Minster).
It was said to have been York's first new hotel in 90 years.
Originally named the Viking Hotel, it is now known as Radisson Hotel York, and before that was Park Inn by Radisson. Previously it was called the York Moat House hotel.
Many locals still refer to it by its original names, the Viking Hotel.
The hotel was designed by London-based architects, Fitzroy Robinson & Partners, and built by York's own Shepherd Construction.
The brick slab design, with large windows, and its dominating height, was a departure in architectural terms for the city.
It was built at just a few years after the concrete-block designed Stonebow House, once said to be the ugliest building in York. Stonebow House has since had a new lease of life and been refurbished into smart city apartments.
Share your memories
If you love delving into York's past and seeing photos and reading stories from yesteryear then make sure you check The Press every day for its regular nostalgia stories. And don't miss our eight-page nostalgia supplement every Wednesday in the paper.
We also have more than 3,000 members in our online nostalgia group on Facebook, Why We Love York - Memories. It is free to join and you will find us at
It would be great to see your old photos of York - and they don't have to be from centuries ago. We all love seeing old photos from our recent past, and some of our more popular stories with readers date from the 70s, 80s and 90s.
If you have a nostalgia story for us, please email
