The Waldorf Astoria is arguably the world’s most iconic Art Deco hotel. Finished in 1931, the twin-pinnacled, 625-foot tall structure has represented New York grandeur like no other. Gaining world-wide fame for its high-end suites and lavish events, the hotel has been the New York home for countless celebrities and diplomats, and has hosted every U.S. President since Herbert Hoover.
The hotel’s next chapter of is now being written by Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance Group who closed on the purchase of the property from Hilton Worldwide Holdings in early 2015 for $1.95 billion. Plans are being finalized to convert a portion of the 44-story hotel into high-end condominiums and upgrade the remaining rooms into a five-star facility offering unparalleled customer experience. The three-year overhaul is set to begin next year with the hotel slated to close on March 1, 2017, resulting in the layoffs of approximately 1,500 hotel employees. Hilton will continue to manage property after it reopens, per the Wall Street Journal.
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Building permit applications were filed earlier this month and detail the building’s room count will be shaved down to 840-keys between the 5th and 12th floors. Above, starting on the 14th floor, 321 commodious residences and world-class amenities will be added. Global architectural office Skidmore Owings & Merrill are listed as the architects of record.
Architectural visualization firm, ArX Solutions produced a glossy portfolio of renderings dating from 2015 that show reinvigorated interiors and upgraded amenity spaces. The firm notes that the renderings shown are not current and the webpage notes Silverstein Prperties commissioned the renderings and film. There have no previous reports that the developer is involved in the expected billion-dollar project and a representative from Anbang confirmed the renderings are no longer relevant.
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The Waldorf Astoria, previously Waldorf=Astoria until Hilton dropped the “=” in 2009, was designed by Schutze & Weaver at the tail end of New York’s heroic Roaring 20’s decade. Occupying a full city block between East 49th and 50th streets, the tower is one of the few pre-war buildings on Park Avenue below 59th Street that is not overwhelmed by the scale of neighboring International-style office towers. The monumentally-scaled structure opened as both the tallest and largest hotel in the world - its prior home on the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street was replaced by the tallest building in the world, the Empire State Building.
Google Earth View with Waldorf Astoria in center
The hotel’s exterior was designated an official city landmark in 1993, and its many and extensive lobbies and meeting spaces were calendared for interior designation earlier this fall. Anbang has agreed to maintain the distinctive spaces and chief among preservationist concerns are the hotel’s Art Deco mosaic by Louis Rigal in the Park Avenue foyer, the grand ballroom, Starlight Roof event hall, and the Peacock Alley Restaurant, inspired by the promenade that once connected the original Waldorf and Astoria hotels.
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