Construction begins, 1930 

The new location on Park Avenue 

Spanning a full city block from 50th to 51st streets and Park to Lexington Avenue, 1931 

Park Avenue Foyer, 1933 

Park Avenue Foyer, 1933 

The Silver Gallery, 1933 

Basildon Room, 1933 

Lexington Ave. Escalator, June 30th 1963 

1893 - The Waldorf Hotel  The original Waldorf Hotel opened on March 13, 1893, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street, on the site where millionaire developer William Waldorf Astor had previously built his mansion. Constructed in the German Renaissance style by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, it stood 225 feet (69 m) high, with 15 public rooms and 450 guest rooms, and a further 100 rooms allocated to servants, with laundry facilities on the upper floors. It was heavily furnished with European antiques brought back by founding manager and president George Boldt and his wife from an 1892 visit to Europe. The Empire Room was the largest and most lavishly adorned room in the Waldorf, and soon after opening, it became one of the best restaurants in New York City, rivaling Delmonico's and Sherry's.

1897 - The Astoria Hotel  The Astoria Hotel opened in 1897 on the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, next door to the Waldorf. It was also designed in the German Renaissance style by Hardenbergh, at a height of about 270 feet (82 m), with 16 stories, 25 public rooms and 550 guest rooms. The ballroom, in the Louis XIV style, has been described as the "pièce de résistance" of the hotel, with a capacity to seat 700 at banquets and 1,200 at concerts. The Astor Dining Room was faithfully reproduced from the original dining room of the mansion which once stood on the site.

1893 - Waldorf-Astoria Hotel (Original Hotel)  The original two hotels were built by feuding relatives (John Jacob and William Waldorf Astor on the site of their aunt Caroline Schemerhhorn Astor's home. It was the first hotel to offer a bathroom for every room and electricity it was located too far uptown when it was built. Astor hired George Boldt from the Bellevue Stratford to run the hotel. He hosted a benefit concert for St Mary’s Hospital for Children on its opening day which was a favorite charity that earned $4.5 million in 1st year. The hotel hosted multiple society events. In 1899 There was a meal costing $250/ person unheard of at the time Carnegie, NBC’s first radio broadcast was here on Nov 15, 1926. Chop Suey invented here for a dinner honoring the Chinese Ambassador in 1896. The combined hotel was moved to its current site enticed by a $10 million offer from NY Central to build a new building at 51st St. When it opened, Herbert Hoover announced it on radio from the white house. It was the tallest hotel in the world/ largest 2200 rooms – offered a radio in every room The Waldorf-Astoria has a legacy of famous residents: U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, Nikola Tesla, Cole Porter, Frank Sinatra, General Farley (who lived there about 30 years) and Marilyn Monroe. Charitable events continued including the April in Paris Ball. There were also major political events. Track 61 of Grand Central Terminal was built in the 30’s to help Franklin Roosevelt keep his polio diagnosis from the public with his own train car which could accommodate a limosine – Entry can be seen as 101 – 121 Lexington Avenue. Then building has been under renovation for the past few years and is slated to open as condominiums in 2020. Built in 1893 and expanded in 1897, the Waldorf–Astoria was razed in 1929 to make way for construction of the Empire State Building. Connected by the 300 metres (980 ft) long corridor, known as "Peacock Alley" after the merger in 1897, the hotel had 1,300 bedrooms, making it the largest hotel in the world at the time. It was designed specifically to cater to the needs of socially prominent "wealthy upper crust" of New York and distinguished foreign visitors to the city. It was the first hotel to offer electricity and private bathrooms throughout.

1897 - Bradley Martin Ball  Bradley – Martin costume party was reputed to be the most expensive party of modern times costing approximately $9.7 million today. Coming at the end of the depression from the Panic of 1893, the extravagance of the ball generated great publicity throughout the country. Guests were required to come in historic costumes. Invitations were sent on short notice so that they would have to buy their attire in New York which was supposed to stimulate local business. And the Waldorf was transformed into a version of Versailles. Nearly 800 members of the New York Society showed up. A guest list was compiled and published in the New York Times three days and the historical characters they were going to impersonate and what costumes they were going to wear. Mrs. Bradley-Martin's was Mary Stuart and her husband was attired as Louis XV. The event was a great success socially. However, there was considerable political fallback as the authorities raised Bradley-Martins taxes; they ended up leaving New York and retiring to a castle they owned in Scotland.

1896 - The Cook Book by 'Oscar of the Waldorf'  There were many food innovations at the Waldorf Astoria that became widely popular. Chop Suey was supposedly invented for a dinner for the Chinese Ambassador in 1896. Oscar Tschirky the long time Maitre D invented Waldorf Salad which originally contained just apples, celery and mayonnaise. Other innovations included Eggs Benedict and Thousand Island Dressing A story circulated that a guest at the upscale Waldorf-Astoria Hotel dining at the hotel’s eminent restaurant, ordered a slice of fudge cake for dessert. The woman enjoyed it so much that she asked the waiter for the recipe, with which he complied. Upon receiving her hotel bill in the mail, however, there was a hefty charge for the recipe. To obtain revenge, she began to widely distribute the specifications for making the cake. The original cake was actually chocolate. The hotel also became famous for its version of the chocolate cake with red food coloring or Red Velvet Cake which was wildly popular.

1931 - Herbert Hoover announces the opening of the Waldorf Astoria  The grand reopening : In 1931, the Waldorf Astoria re-opened in its current Park Avenue location, becoming the largest and tallest hotel in the world. Designed in the Art Deco style, it welcomed presidents, royals, movie stars, and cultural luminaries into its grand public spaces and palatial suites. From Frank Sinatra to Ella Fitzgerald, celebrities flocked to New York’s unofficial palace. The Waldorf Astoria hosted legendary events like Prince Rainier III of Monaco and Grace Kelly’s engagement party, President John F. Kennedy’s birthday gala, the April in Paris Ball, and a special address by Queen Elizabeth II. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor made the Waldorf Astoria their home after the Duke abdicated the throne, and the hotel welcomed every U.S. president from Herbert Hoover to Barack Obama. 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. It was also the residence of Herbert Hoover from his retirement for over 30 years.

1931 - 1st hotel to offer 24 hour room service  The Waldorf Astoria set a list of global precedents: the first hotel to have electricity on every floor, the first to have en suite baths, and the first to offer 24-hour room service and was the first major hotel in the world to hire women as chefs, beginning in 1931. A rose topped each room service order that went to The Towers.

1934 - Cole Porter moves into the Waldorf Astoria  Several of the luxury suites in the penthouse 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. Other famous guests were Barron, Vanderbilt, Windsor, Conrad, Vertès, Louis XVI. Several boutiques surround the lobby, which contains Cole Porter's Steinway & Sons floral print-decorated grand piano on the Cocktail Terrace, which the hotel had once given him as a gift. Cole Porter and his wife Linda Lee Thomas had an apartment in the Waldorf Towers, where Thomas died in 1954. Porter's 1934 song "You're the Top", contains the lyric, "You're the top, you're a Waldorf salad". The Cole Porter Suite, Suite 33A, was the place where Porter lived and entertained for a period.

1957 - Queen Elizabeth II speaking at the Waldorf Astoria  Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip stayed at the hotel during their first visit to America on October 21, 1957, and a banquet was held for them in the Grand Ballroom. In the Bicentennial year in 1976, most of the heads of state from around the world and all of the Kings and Queens of Europe were invited to the hotel, and it also served the presidential candidates in the run-up to the elections of that year.

1979 - Frank Sinatra moves into the Waldorf Astoria  Frank Sinatra paid nearly $1 million a year to keep it as his suite at the hotel between 1979 and 1988, which he called home when out of Los Angeles. Sinatra took over part of the hotel during the filming of 'The First Deadly Sin' in 1980.

1972 - Oscar's coffee shop at the Waldorf  Oscar's Brasserie, overlooking Lexington Avenue in what was once a Savarin restaurant, is designed by Adam Tihany. The restaurant takes its name from Oscar Tschirky (Oscar of the Waldorf) and serves traditional American cuisine, with many dishes based upon his cookbook which have gained world renown, including the Waldorf salad, Eggs Benedict, Thousand Island dressing, and Veal Oscar. The Waldorf salad—a salad made with apples, walnuts, celery, grapes, and mayonnaise or a mayonnaise-based dressing—was first created in 1896 at the Waldorf by Oscar. The original recipe, however, did not contain nuts, but they had been added by the time the recipe appeared in The Rector Cook Book in 1928. Tschirky was also noted for his "Oscar's Sauce", which became so popular that it was sold at the hotel. Another of the hotel's specialties was red velvet cake, which became one of its most popular desserts.[

1989 - The fourth Annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony at the Waldorf  The fourth Annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ceremonies. The night's inductees are Dion, Otis Redding, The Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Mick Taylor), The Temptations (Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, David Ruffin, and Otis Williams), Stevie Wonder, and Phil Spector, plus The Ink Spots, Bessie Smith, and The Soul Stirrers in the Early Influences category.
Bruce Springsteen took the stage, joining in the all-star jam on most of the songs and sings lead on "Crying", dedicated to Roy Orbison, who had passed away only a few weeks earlier. Tina Turner, Little Richard, Pete Townshend, Dion, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Anita Baker, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Bobby Womack, Al Green, Ben E. King, Bobby McFerrin, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Foreigner's Mick Jones, and more.

1945 - Movies shot at the Waldorf - 'Week-End at the Waldorf'  An American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Ginger Rogers, Lana Turner, Walter Pidgeon, and Van Johnson. It premiered in Los Angeles on 17 October 1945. The screenplay by Samuel and Bella Spewack is based on playwright Guy Bolton's stage adaptation of the 1929 Vicki Baum novel Grand Hotel, which had been filmed as Grand Hotel in 1932. The film focuses on guests staying at New York City's famed Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

1926 - NBC's 1st Broadcast  The oldest broadcasting network in the United States, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) came into being on November 15, 1926, with a gala four-hour radio program originating from the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. NBC was the joint effort of three pioneers in mass communications: Radio Corporation of America (RCA; nowRCA Corporation), American Telephone and Telegraph (now AT&T Corporation), and Westinghouse Electric Corporation.

1955 - 'April in Paris' Ball at the Waldorf Astoria  'April in Paris' Ball was an annual US gala event whose mission was to serve charity and Franco-American relations. Established in 1952 at the Waldorf Astoria New York in New York City, it was the idea of Claude Philippe, the hotel's banquet manager, who enlisted Elsa Maxwell to help organize it.
The first event was a celebration of the 2,000th birthday of the city of Paris and was held in 1951. When it was decided to make the ball an annual event, the name was changed to the April in Paris Ball. The 1955 event, attended by Marilyn Monroe and her husband Arthur Miller, Senator John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie, included 1300 guests, who paid $100 each and donated $130,000 to charities; the Duke and Duchess of Windsor attended as well.

1965 - Andy Warhol with Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi attending an exhibit of his work in the secret train tracks under the building 1965  Andy Warhol with Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi attending an exhibit of his work in the secret train tracks under the building 1965

1910 - Abandoned Train Tracks 61  Track 61 is a storage track abutting a private railroad platform on the Metro-North Railroad in Manhattan, New York City. It is located beneath the Waldorf Astoria New York hotel, within an underground storage yard northeast of Grand Central Terminal. The platform is part of the Grand Central Terminal complex. Track 61 is part of the "Lex Yard", a twelve-track storage yard under the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. It shares a platform with track 63, to its west. A similar platform exists between tracks 53 and 54, to the east. The yard was built during the construction of Grand Central Terminal in the 1910s, and served the terminal's power station and heating plant. The platforms at tracks 61/63 and 53/54 were originally used to carry ashes away. The power plant was demolished in 1930 to make way for the hotel. The platform was not originally intended to be used as a station, but its location made it ideal for unobtrusive access to the Waldorf Astoria when the hotel was built. Track 61 was famously used by General John J. Pershing in 1938; by Franklin Delano Roosevelt during World War II in 1944; and by General Douglas MacArthur in 1951. The track was also used for the exhibition of American Locomotive Company's new diesel locomotive in 1946; a fashion show by Filene's and the New Haven Railroad in 1948; a charity-benefit dinner in 1955; and an event featuring Andy Warhol in 1965. The 1946 event was the only event in which Track 61 was open to the public. In 1978, there were plans to convert Track 61 into a platform for Amtrak trains, though this never happened. The track was also reportedly set as an escape option for President George W. Bush, Colin Powell, and Condoleezza Rice in 2003, while in U.N. General Assembly meetings. As of May 1, 2014, it has been reported to still be in occasional use.

1930 - The Waldorf-Astoria - Sert Room  The Sert Dining Room was thus called as it was decortated with murals by Jose Maria Sert, the distinguished Spanish painter. One of the Park Avenue Restaurants, A favorite of New York's most interesting people. Continental in atmosphere, cosmopolitan in patronage.