Waldorf Astoria Interior Spaces Gain Landmarks Designation

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The City Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to protect some of the Waldorf Astoria's "most lavish" interior spaces less than a week after the legendary hotel was closed for an upcoming condominium conversion.

Landmarks designation was granted to connected rooms and corridors on the ground, first, second and third floors, which means they will be protected as workers gut about 75 percent of the Waldorf Astoria's existing rooms and turn them into condominiums. Some of the protected interiors include the hotel's main lobby, Park Avenue lobby, the grand ballroom, the jade room and Astor gallery.

"The Waldorf Astoria Hotel has some of the most internationally renowned rooms in all of New York City," LPC Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan said in a statement. "These designated spaces connect seamlessly from the foyers and lobbies on the ground and first floor to the Grand Ballroom and other public rooms on the third floor. Today's action not only protects the rich and beautifully detailed art-deco features of the hotel's interior public spaces, it also preserves the unique experience of moving through the hotel's varied interiors, which countless New Yorkers and visitors have enjoyed for more than eight decades."

All of the fixtures and components of the landmarked spaces — such as surfaces, murals, mirrors, chandeliers, lighting fixtures, attached furnishings, doors, railings and balustrades, decorative metalwork and attached decorative — would also be awarded landmarks designation, according to the LPC.

The Anbang Insurance Co., a Chinese company which purchased the hotel in 2014 for $1.95 billion predicted the conversion could take three years and that 300 to 500 luxury rooms will be left after the conversion. The company issues a statement praising the LPC's decision to landmark the hotel's interiors.

"The Waldorf Astoria New York is a landmark and an iconic hotel with unparalleled history and beautiful, irreplaceable features. Anbang knows the Waldorf Astoria’s history is a large part of what makes this hotel so unforgettable. That is why we fully supported the Commission’s recommendations for designation of the Waldorf Astoria’s most important public spaces and applaud the Commission on achieving landmark status for them. It is fitting that the Waldorf Astoria – which Conrad Hilton called ‘the greatest of them all’ – would warrant one of the most extensive interior landmark designations of any privately owned building in New York City’s history. These designations are consistent with our vision and we look forward to presenting our plans for restoring these historic public and event spaces in the coming weeks."

The interiors of the Waldorf Astoria are the city's 119th interior landmark. The hotel's exterior was landmarked in 1993, according to the LPC.

This story will be updated.

Photo courtesy of New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission