New York City's Waldorf Astoria is one of the most legendary hotels in the world.
Its suites have hosted every US president since Herbert Hoover, and Hollywood legends Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, and Frank Sinatra have all at different times called the residential towers home. Countless lavish social events were held in its ballrooms, and its kitchens were the birthplace of red velvet cupcakes and the Waldorf salad.
Last year the hotel celebrated its 85th anniversary, but it will close indefinitely for renovations on February 28.
Since 2014, when the property was bought from Hilton Worldwide by the Chinese insurance company Anbang for $1.95 billion, plans for a major overhaul have been on the horizon. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is working to preserve parts of the interior, and Anbang has agreed to comply, Bloomberg reported in September. Though there are no blueprints to see yet, Anbang is reportedly planning to change most of the rooms into condominiums.
Business Insider recently visited both the hotel and the towers to talk to four employees and hear their firsthand accounts of over 100 years of combined experience there. Their stories, plus the history behind the iconic hotel, are below.
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The Waldorf Astoria was originally two separate hotels that were created because of a feud between two cousins, William Waldorf Astor and John Jacob Astor IV. The two hotels were next door to one another on Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street. Eventually, the cousins came to a truce, and they connected the hotels with a hallway. The hotels were demolished in 1929 to make way for the Empire State Building, and the Waldorf Astoria name was sold for $1 to Lucius Boomer, who began construction on the hotel's current location.
Source: History.com
The current hotel is at 301 Park Ave. between 49th and 50th streets, and the primarily residential Waldorf Towers are at the top. When it opened in 1931, the new Waldorf Astoria was the tallest and largest hotel in the world.
President Herbert Hoover mentioned the brand-new hotel in a radio broadcast from the White House. "The opening of the new Waldorf Astoria ... marks the measure of nation's growth in power, in comfort, and in artistry," he said.
Source: Waldorf Astoria New York
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