American Hotel : The Waldorf-Astoria and the Making of a Century

Completed in 1931, New York’s Waldorf-Astoria towers over Park Avenue as an international landmark and a masterpiece of Art Deco architecture. A symbol of elegance and luxury, the hotel has hosted countless movie stars, business tycoons, and world leaders over the past ninety years. __American Hotel__ takes us behind the glittering image to reveal the full extent of the Waldorf’s contribution toward shaping twentieth-century life and culture. Historian David Freeland examines the Waldorf from the opening of its first location in 1893 through its rise to a place of influence on the local, national, and international stage. Along the way, he explores how the hotel’s mission to provide hospitality to a diverse range of guests was put to the test by events such as Prohibition, the anticommunist Red Scare, and civil rights struggles. Alongside famous guests like Frank Sinatra, Martin Luther King, Richard Nixon, and Eleanor Roosevelt, readers will meet the lesser-known men and women who made the Waldorf a leader in the hotel industry and a key setting for international events. __American Hotel__ chronicles how institutions such as the Waldorf-Astoria played an essential role in New York’s growth as a world capital. "Known internationally as a symbol of elegance and luxury, Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria is one of the world's most famous hotels. Its reputation as a host to political leaders and movie stars is matched only by the renown of its cuisine and soaring Deco architecture. Now, historian David Freeland takes us behind the glittering image to reveal the full extent of the Waldorf's contribution as a shaper of twentieth-century life and culture. In the process, we discover how the Waldorf reflected pivotal social issues while honoring its mission to offer hospitality to a diverse range of guests. Filled with the events and personalities that accompanied New York's rise as a world capital, American Hotel is both a chronicle of a great city and a testament to the influential position hotels have occupied within the urban landscape"-- Provided by publisher Filled with the events and personalities that accompanied New York's rise as a world capital, American Hotel is both a chronicle of a great city and a testament to the influential position hotels have occupied within the urban landscape. In this work, historian David Freeland takes us behind the glittering image to reveal the full extent of the world-famous Waldorf-Astoria's contribution as a shaper of twentieth-century life and culture.