Waldorf Astoria New York Socialites Information

The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The hotel has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York. The first, bearing the same name, was built in two stages, as the Waldorf Hotel and the Astoria Hotel, which accounts for its dual name. That original site was situated on Astor family properties along Fifth Avenue, opened in 1893, and designed by Henry J. Hardenbergh. It was demolished in 1929 to make way for the construction of the Empire State Building. The present building, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets in Midtown Manhattan, is a 47-story 190.5 m (625 ft) Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultze and Weaver, which was completed in 1931. The current hotel was the world's tallest hotel from 1931 until 1963, when it was surpassed by Moscow's Hotel Ukraina by 7 metres (23 ft). An icon of glamour and luxury, the current Waldorf Astoria is one of the world's most prestigious and best known hotels.Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts is a division of Hilton Hotels, and a portfolio of high-end properties around the world now operate under the name, including in New York City.

From its inception, the Waldorf Astoria gained international renown for its lavish dinner parties and galas, often at the center of political and business conferences and fundraising schemes involving the rich and famous. Particularly after World War II it played a significant role in world politics and the Cold War, culminating in the controversial World Peace Conference of March 1949 at the hotel, in which Stalinism was widely denounced. Conrad Hilton acquired management rights to the hotel on October 12, 1949, and the Hilton Hotels Corporation finally bought the hotel outright in 1972. It underwent a $150 million renovation by Lee Jablin in the 1980s and early 1990s, and in October 2014 it was announced that the Anbang Insurance Group of China had purchased the Waldorf Astoria New York for US$1.95 billion, making it the most expensive hotel ever sold. On July 1, 2016, Anbang announced that it would convert some of the Waldorf's hotel rooms into condominiums, closing the hotel for a three-year renovation on March 1, 2017.

The Waldorf Astoria and Towers has a total of 1,413 hotel rooms as of 2014. In 2009, when it had 1,416 rooms, the main hotel had 1,235 single and double rooms and 208 mini suites, while the Waldorf Towers, from the 28th floor up to the 42nd, had 181 rooms, of which 115 were suites, with one to four bedrooms. Several of the luxury suites are named after celebrities who lived or stayed in them such as the Cole Porter Suite, the Royal Suite, named after the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the MacArthur Suite and the Churchill Suite. The most expensive room, the Presidential Suite, is designed with Georgian-style furniture to emulate that of the White House. It was the residence of Herbert Hoover from his retirement for over 30 years, and Frank Sinatra kept a suite at the Waldorf from 1979 until 1988. The hotel has three main restaurants: Peacock Alley, The Bull and Bear Steak House, and La Chine—a new Chinese restaurant that replaced Oscar's Brasserie in late 2015. Sir Harry's Bar, also located in the hotel, is named after British explorer Sir Harry Johnston.

The name of the hotel is ultimately derived from the town of Walldorf in Germany, the ancestral home of the prominent German-American Astor family who originated there. The hotel was originally known as the Waldorf-Astoria with a single hyphen, as recalled by a popular expression and song, "Meet Me at the Hyphen". The sign was changed to a double hyphen, looking similar to an equals sign, by Conrad Hilton when he purchased the hotel in 1949. The double hyphen visually represents "Peacock Alley", the hallway between the two hotels that once stood where the Empire State building now stands today. The use of the double hyphen was discontinued by parent company Hilton in 2009, shortly after the introduction of the Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts chain. The hotel has since been known as the Waldorf Astoria New York, without any hyphen, though this is sometimes shortened to the Waldorf Astoria.

The original hotel started as two hotels on Fifth Avenue built by feuding relatives. The first hotel, the 13-story, 450-room Waldorf Hotel, designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh in the German Renaissance style, was opened on March 13, 1893, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street, on the site where millionaire developer William Waldorf Astor had his mansion. The original hotel stood 225 feet (69 m) high, with a frontage of about 100 feet (30 m) on Fifth Avenue, with an area of 69,475 square feet (6,454.4 m2). The original hotel was described as having a "lofty stone and brick exterior", which was "animated by an effusion of balconies, alcoves, arcades, and loggias beneath a tile roof bedecked with gables and turrets". William Astor, motivated in part by a dispute with his aunt Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor, had built the Waldorf Hotel next door to her house, on the site of his father's mansion. The hotel was built to the specifications of founding proprietor George Boldt, who owned and operated the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, a fashionable hotel on Broad Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with his wife Louise. Boldt was described as "Mild mannered, undignified, unassuming", resembling "a typical German professor with his close-cropped beard which he kept fastidiously trimmed... and his pince-nez glasses on a black silk cord". Boldt continued to own the Bellevue even after his relationship with the Astors blossomed.

At first, the Waldorf appeared destined for failure. It was originally a laughing stock with its high number of bathrooms and was known briefly as "Boldt's Folly" or "Astor's Folly", with the general perception of the palatial hotel being that it had no place in New York City. Wealthy New Yorkers were angry because they viewed the construction of the hotel as the ruination of a good neighborhood. Business travelers found it too expensive and too far uptown for their needs. In the face of all of this, George Boldt decided that the hotel would host a benefit concert for St. Mary's Hospital for Children on its opening day. The hospital was the favorite charity of those on the Social Register. The ballroom filled with many of New York's First Families, who had paid five dollars for the concert and dinner at the Waldorf. It soon became a major success, earning $4.5 million in its first year, exorbitant for that period.

William Astor's construction of a hotel next to his aunt's house worsened his feud with her, but with Boldt's assistance, Waldorf's cousin, John Jacob Astor IV, persuaded his mother to move uptown. On November 1, 1897, John Jacob Astor IV opened the 17-story Astoria Hotel on an adjacent site, and leased it to Boldt. The hotels were initially built as two separate structures, but Boldt planned the Astoria so it could be connected to the Waldorf by an alley. Peacock Alley was constructed to connect the two buildings, and the hotel subsequently became known as the "Waldorf-Astoria", the largest hotel in the world at the time.

With a telephone in every room and first-class room service, the hotel was designed specifically to cater to the needs of socially prominent "wealthy upper crust" of New York and distinguished foreign visitors to the city. The hotel became, according to author Sean Dennis Cashman, "a successful symbol of the opulence and achievement of the Astor family". It was the first hotel to offer complete electricity and private bathrooms. Founding proprietor Boldt, whose motto was "the guest is always right", became wealthy and prominent internationally, if not so much a popular celebrity as his famous employee, Oscar Tschirky, known as "Oscar of the Waldorf", maître d'hôtel from the hotel's inauguration in 1893 until his retirement in 1943. Tschirky had arrived in the United States from Switzerland 10 years prior to applying for the position at the new Waldorf, and over the years grew to possess a great knowledge of cuisine. He authored The Cookbook by Oscar of the Waldorf (1896), a 900-page book featuring all of the popular recipes of the day, including his own, for which he garnered great acclaim, such as Waldorf salad, eggs Benedict, and Thousand Island dressing, which remain popular worldwide today. James Remington McCarthy wrote in his book Peacock Alley that Oscar gained renown among the general public as an artist who "composed sonatas in soups, symphonies in salads, minuets in sauces, lyrics in entrees". In 1902, Tschirky published Serving a Course Dinner by Oscar of the Waldorf-Astoria, a booklet that explains the intricacies of being a caterer to the American and international elite. Tschirky had an excellent memory and an encyclopedic memory of the culinary preferences of many of the guests, which further added to his popularity. In 1937, for instance, he recalled the opening night and notable people present at the old Waldorf, a guest at the old building known to the public as Buffalo Bill, and spoke at length about the planning for the Panama Canal that took place at the Waldorf-Astoria.

The Waldorf gained significant renown internationally for its fundraising dinners and balls, regularly attracting notables of the day such as Andrew Carnegie, who became a fixture. Banquets were often held in the ballroom for esteemed figures and international royalty. The Waldorf Astoria was influential in advancing the status of women, who were admitted singly without escorts. George Boldt's wife, Louise Kehrer Boldt, was influential in evolving the idea of the grand urban hotel as a social center, particularly in making it appealing to women as a venue for social events. On February 11, 1899, Oscar hosted a lavish dinner reception that the New York Herald Tribune cited as the city's costliest dinner at the time. Some $250 were spent per guest, with bluepoint oysters, green turtle soup, lobster, ruddy duck, and blue raspberries. One article that year claimed that at any one time, the hotel had $7 million worth of valuables locked in the safe, testament to the wealth of its guests. In 1902, a lavish dinner was organized for Prince Henry of Prussia, and in 1909, banquets attended by hundreds were organized for Arctic explorer Frederick Cook in September and Elbert Henry Gary, a founder of US Steel, the following month.

The United States Senate inquiry into the sinking of the RMS Titanic was opened at the hotel on April 19, 1912, and continued there for some time in the Myrtle Room, before moving on to Washington, DC. John Jacob Astor IV was one of the people who perished on its ill-fated journey. Seven senators were present on the subcommittee, including William Alden Smith (Republican, Michigan) as chair, Jonathan Bourne (R, Oregon), Theodore E. Burton (R, Ohio), Duncan U. Fletcher (Democrat, Florida), Francis G. Newlands (D, Nevada), George Clement Perkins (R, California), and Furnifold McLendel Simmons (D, North Carolina). The composition of the subcommittee was carefully chosen to represent the conservative, moderate, and liberal wings of the two parties.

In 1919, restaurateur Louis Sherry announced an "alliance" with the Waldorf-Astoria that involved both his candies and catering services. Although it was not disclosed at that time, at some point, ownership of Louis Sherry Inc. was significantly vested in "Boomer-duPont interests", a reference to Lucius M. Boomer, then chairman of the Waldorf-Astoria, and T. Coleman du Pont. Upon his death that year, William Waldorf Astor was reputed to have been worth £200 million, which he left in trust for his two sons Waldorf and John Jacob. His half share of the Waldorf Astoria and the Astor Hotel at the time were reported to have been worth £10 million. On the evening of November 15, 1926, the National Broadcasting Company broadcast its inaugural program from the grand ballroom of the old Waldorf-Astoria. Among the entertainers heard by radio listeners was Will Rogers. The network became the Red Network on January 1, 1927, when NBC launched its second network, designated the Blue Network. An antitrust suit forced the sale of the Blue Network in 1942; it became the American Broadcasting Company.

The hotel faced stiff competition from the early 20th century, with a range of new hotels springing up in New York City such the Hotel Astor (1904), the St. Regis (1904), the Knickerbocker (1906), and the Savoy-Plaza Hotel (1927). By the 1920s, the hotel was becoming dated, and the elegant social life of New York had moved much farther north than 34th Street. The Astor family finally sold the hotel to the developers of the Empire State Building and closed the hotel on May 3, 1929. It was demolished soon after.

The idea of a new Waldorf-Astoria hotel was based on the concept that a large, opulent hotel should be available in New York for distinguished visitors. Financial backing was not difficult to get in the summer of 1929, as times were prosperous; the stock market had not yet crashed nor had the Depression arrived. However, before ground was broken for the new building, some of the investors became dubious about whether this was the right time to be investing in a luxury hotel. The land for the new hotel was formerly owned by the New York Central Railroad, who had operated a power plant for Grand Central Terminal on the site. New York Central had promised $10 million toward the building of the new Waldorf-Astoria. The railroad and all the other investors decided to honor their commitments and take their chances with the uncertain financial climate.

The new building opened on Park Avenue, between East 49th and East 50th streets, on October 1, 1931. It was the tallest and largest hotel in the world at the time, covering the entire block. The slender central tower became known as the Waldorf Towers, with its own private entrance on 50th Street, and consisted of 100 suites, about one-third of which were leased as private residences. President Herbert Hoover said on the radio, broadcast from the White House: "The opening of the new Waldorf Astoria is an event in the advancement of hotels, even in New York City. It carries great tradition in national hospitality...marks the measure of nation's growth in power, in comfort and in artistry...an exhibition of courage and confidence to the whole nation". About 2,000 people were in the ballroom listening to this speech, but by the end of the business day, the 2,200-room hotel had only 500 occupancies. The Waldorf-Astoria did not begin operating at a profit until 1939. Lucius Boomer continued to manage the hotel in the 1930s and 1940s, a commanding figure to whom Tony Rey referred as "the greatest hotelman of his era". Boomer was elected chairman of the board of the Waldorf-Astoria Corporation on February 20, 1945, a position he held until his death in July 1947.

Like the original hotel, from its inception, the Waldorf Astoria gained worldwide renown for its glamorous dinner parties and galas, often at the center of political and business conferences and fundraising schemes. Author Ward Morehouse III has referred to the Waldorf Astoria as "comparable to great national institutions" and a "living symbol deep within our collective consciousness". It had the "greatest banquet department in the world" at the time according to restaurateur Tom Margittai, with the center of activity being the Grand Ballroom. On August 3, 1932, some 200 people representing the "cream of New York's literary world" attended the Waldorf Astoria to honor Pearl S. Buck, the author of The Good Earth, which was the best-selling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932. One dinner alone, a relatively "small dinner" attended by some 50 people in June 1946, raised over $250,000. During the 1930s and 1940s the hotel's guests were also entertained at the elegant "Starlight Roof" nightclub by the Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra and such noted musicians as: Xavier Cugat, Eddie Duchin, Lester Lanin and Glenn Miller.

The hotel played a considerable role in the emerging Cold War and international relations during the postwar years, staging numerous events and conferences. On March 15, 1946, Winston Churchill attended a welcoming dinner at the hotel given by Governor Thomas E. Dewey, 10 days after making his famous Iron Curtain speech, and from November 4 to December 12, 1946, the Big Four Conference was held in Jørgine Boomer's apartment on the 37th floor of the Towers between the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union to discuss the future of Eastern Europe. On November 24, 1947, 48 prominent figures of the Hollywood film industry, including various film executives such as Louis B. Mayer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures, Spyros Skouras of 20th Century Fox, Albert Warner of Warner Bros., and Eric Johnston, the head of the Association of Motion Picture Producers, met at the Waldorf Astoria and discussed what would become the Waldorf Statement, banning people with Communist beliefs or tendencies from the Hollywood film industry. The statement was a response to the contempt of Congress charges against the so-called "Hollywood Ten".

On June 21, 1948, a press conference at the hotel introduced the LP record. From March 27 to 29, 1949, the Cultural and Scientific Conference for World Peace, also known as the Waldorf World Peace Conference, was held at the hotel to discuss the emerging Cold War and the growing divide between the US and the Soviet Union. The conference came at time when deep anti-Communist sentiment and suspicion of the Soviet Union existed in the United States, following the Berlin Blockade and the Czechoslovak coup d'état the previous year. The event was organized by the struggling American Communist Party, but was sponsored by many individuals who were not Stalinists, such as Leonard Bernstein, Marlon Brando, Albert Einstein, and Aaron Copland, with the intention of promoting peace. The conference was attended by the likes of Soviet Foreign Minister Andrey Vyshinsky, composer and pianist Dmitri Shostakovich, and writer Alexsander Fadeyev. Tension mounted during the controversial event, and culminated when Shostakovich, in front of a crowd of some 800 people, launched a scathing attack on western civilization, remarking, "a small clique of hatemongers was preparing world public opinion for the transition from cold war to outright aggression". The event was picketed in a counterattack by anti-Stalinists running under the banner of America for Intellectual Freedom, and prominent individuals such as Irving Howe, Dwight Macdonald, Mary McCarthy, Robert Lowell, and Norman Mailer publicly denounced Stalinism at the hotel. In 1954, Israeli statesman and archaeologist Yigael Yadin met secretly with the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Mar Samuel in the basement of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to negotiate the purchase of four Dead Sea Scrolls for Israel. The scrolls were kept in a vault at the Waldorf-Astoria branch of New York's Chemical Bank. At the request of the Israeli government, respected biblical scholar Dr. Harry Orlinsky examined the scrolls and verified their authenticity; Yadin paid $250,000 for all four.[a] Restaurateur George Lang began working at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in 1955, and on December 13, 1955, he helped organize the American Theatre Wing's First Night Ball to celebrate Helen Hayes's 50th year in show business. He did much to organize dinners at the Waldorf to assist Hungarian issues and relief. On one occasion, an event was attended by Edward G. Robinson and pianist Doklady and some $60,000 were raised.

The April in Paris Ball was an annual gala event whose mission was to improve Franco–American relations, to share cultures, and to help provide assistance to US and French charities, aside from commemorating the 2000th anniversary of the founding of Paris. It was established by Claude Philippe, the hotel banquet manager, in 1952. While the hotel's management handled invitations and publicity, other details were coordinated by socialites.Elsa Maxwell was given the primary responsibility in organizing it. It was initially held annually in April, but according to Ann Vaccaro, former executive director of the ball, it was changed to October because "Mr. Philippe decided that because there are so many balls in the spring, he would make it in October". After being changed to October, it often marked the start of the US fall social season. It was staged in the Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf for eight years before moving to the Hotel Astor in 1960, the Seventh Regiment Armory in 1961, and other venues.

The ball was designed to cater for "very, very high-class people" according to Vaccaro. Raffle tickets cost US$100 per person and offered opulent prizes such as a US$5000 bracelet and other jewels, expensive furs, perfumes, and even cars. In the 1960 event, prizes given included a Ford Thunderbird car, a chinchilla coat, a Renault Dauphine, a TV Hi-Fi system, an electric typewriter, 25 cases of expensive French wines, original paintings and porcelains, jewels, clocks, evening bags, and a pedigreed poodle; guests were given gift boxes containing gold key rings and jewelry, champagne and brandy, Maxim ashtrays, pipes, silver bottle openers, hats and scarves, and flowers. Every guest was said to have gone home with at least one gift in return. In the 1979 event, some US$106,000 worth of prizes was given out. Over its history, the ball, which was exempt from taxes, earned millions of dollars, which went primarily to over 20 American charities such as the American Cancer Society, with 15 to 20% going towards French charities. A staff of three people was paid full-time throughout the year to organize it. Of the expenses of the ball, founder Philippe stated, "We charge the most, give the most, and make the most – it's a success formula". Bernard F. Gimbel served as chief treasurer.