Waldorf-Astoria Hotel facts for kids

Waldorf Astoria New York
Quick facts for kids The hotel from the north; you can see St. Bart's in the foreground.
Hotel facts and statistics
Location	301 Park Avenue Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates	40°45′23″N 73°58′27″W / 40.75639°N 73.97417°W / 40.75639; -73.97417
Opening date	1893 (Waldorf Hotel) 1897 (Astoria Hotel) 1931 (Waldorf-Astoria Hotel)
Closing date	2017 (temporarily for renovations)
Architect	Schultze & Weaver
Management	Hilton Worldwide
Owner	Anbang Insurance Group
No. of restaurants	Peacock Alley Bull and Bear Steakhouse 'La Chine
No. of rooms	1,413
No. of floors	47

Park Avenue foyer (in 1988)

The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel is a very famous and fancy hotel in the middle of Manhattan, New York City. It has been known for its amazing buildings. The first hotel was on Fifth Avenue, where the Empire State Building stands today.

The current hotel is at 301 Park Avenue. It is a tall building with 47 floors, reaching about 190 meters (625 feet) high. It was built in 1931 and designed by architects Schultze and Weaver. The building has a special style called Art Deco, which was popular at that time.

The Waldorf Astoria New York is part of Hilton's group of luxury hotels. It is one of the most well-known hotels in the world.

The hotel has several restaurants where you can enjoy American and European food. There is also a beauty salon and many shops around the main lobby. The lobby itself is famous for keeping its original old-fashioned look.

Inside the hotel, there is an even more luxurious part called The Waldorf Towers. It is like a special hotel within the hotel, offering very fancy suites.

The hotel even has its own secret railway platform. This platform is part of Grand Central Terminal. Famous people like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Douglas MacArthur used it. They could take a special elevator big enough for a car to reach the platform!

Famous People Who Stayed Here

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and Park Avenue with Helmsley Building and Met Life Building in background

Many important and famous people have lived or stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria. Some even had apartments there for a long time.

Here are a few of them:

• Herbert Hoover: A former President of the United States.
• Paris Hilton: A well-known celebrity.
• Douglas MacArthur: A famous general.
• Nikola Tesla: A brilliant inventor.
• The Duke of Windsor and Duchess of Windsor: Members of the British royal family.
• Cole Porter and Linda Lee Thomas: A famous composer and his wife, who had an apartment in the Waldorf Towers.
• Marilyn Monroe: A legendary actress.
• The United States' Permanent Representative to the United Nations often lives in the Waldorf Towers.

Important Events at the Hotel

The Waldorf-Astoria has been the setting for many important and interesting events throughout history.

• In 1912, the investigation into the sinking of the Titanic was held at the Waldorf-Astoria.
• After winning four gold medals at the Olympics, Jesse Owens was a hero. However, because he was African-American, he had to use the freight elevator to attend a reception in his honor at the hotel. This shows the unfair rules that existed at the time.
• From 1960 to 1978, a famous band called Guy Lombardo and The Royal Canadians broadcast their New Year's Eve show live from the hotel's Grand Ballroom.
• The annual awards banquet for NASCAR (a popular car racing sport) has been held at the Waldorf-Astoria every year since 1981.
• The International Debutante Ball is held here each year. It's a special event where young women from high society are formally introduced to New York society.
• Many high schools, like Bronx High School of Science and Stuyvesant High School, hold their Senior Proms in the hotel's beautiful ballrooms.
• Since 2006, the Russian Children's Welfare Society hosts a fancy "Petroushka Ball" here. This event raises money to help orphaned and disabled children in Russia.
• St. John's University holds its yearly President's Dinner in the grand ballroom.

Related Pages

• List of tallest buildings in New York City
• Waldorf education

Images for kids

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  Engraved pictures of the original separate hotels

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  Marilyn Monroe with organizer Elsa Maxwell at the 1957 April in Paris Ball

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  Marlene Dietrich at the April in Paris Ball in 1959

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  Conrad Hilton

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  Waldorf Astoria, Park Avenue side

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  Waldorf Towers suite 30A

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  1918 menu for a dinner honoring Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of York

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  Breakfast at the Waldorf Astoria

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  The classic Waldorf Salad

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  Eleanor Roosevelt and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway with Princess Juliana and Thomas Watson

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  The Khrushchev family at the Waldorf Astoria in 1959

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  Herbert Hoover who lived at the Waldorf for over 30 years from the end of his presidency before he passed away in 1964 while living in the Hotel's Presidential Suite.

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  Former US president Dwight Eisenhower maintained a residence at the hotel until his passing in 1969

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  The casts of Parks and Recreation, Portlandia, and Game of Thrones at the 71st Annual Peabody Awards inside the Waldorf Astoria.

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  58th International Debutante Ball, 2012, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City

See also

In Spanish: Waldorf Astoria para niños