Planning the skyscraper hotel’s next century

The standards for American hospitality forever changed when Waldorf Astoria opened its doors in 1931. Setting a record as the largest hotel in the world, the city’s new “unofficial palace” became an instant centerpiece of New York culture—welcoming celebrities, politicians, royalty, everyday tourists, and New Yorkers alike throughout its ornate lobbies and event venues.

Starting in the 1960s, however, a series of modernization efforts changed the look and feel of the original design by Schultze & Weaver. SOM’s project restores the Waldorf’s former grandeur, while repositioning the hotel for its next life. It is a methodical work of preservation, a meticulous restoration, and a comprehensive transformation that reimagines the 1,400-room hotel into a 372-unit luxury residence and 375-key, five-star hotel. Ninety-six percent of the building has been converted, and for the remaining four percent—a total of 62,000 square feet encompassing the landmarked lobbies, corridors, ballroom, and other event spaces—SOM maintained, and in many cases reclaimed, their historic character and purpose.

Renewing the exterior

The Waldorf rises in the classic “wedding cake” style of the city’s Art Deco architecture, receding in setbacks before culminating in copper-clad twin towers. Bronze doorways and marquees mark the entrances on a limestone base. A custom “Waldorf Gray” brick, harmonizing with the limestone, clads the upper floors. Across the facade, terracotta, aluminum, and cast stone accent the gray facade with decorative spandrels.

The limestone, which had darkened over the decades, has been cleaned and repaired, and now appears as bright as it did in 1931. Artisans replicated the spandrels, and deteriorated bricks were replaced. More than 20 setbacks, many of which were filled with mechanical equipment, are now both communal and private terraces. At the top, the formerly empty pinnacles have been converted into penthouses.

Among the skyscraper’s nearly 5,600 windows, only one remained unaltered. This extant window became the basis for a full restoration of the original frames and dimensions. On the residential levels, SOM expanded 820 window openings by one foot to bring more natural light inside. New double-glazed enclosures improve acoustics and energy efficiency.

Restoring the hotel’s original symmetry

In the Waldorf’s original configuration, guests entered street-level foyers and followed grand staircases up to the main level—an enfilade of public spaces that expanded and contracted in a dramatic, alternating rhythm. But new retail closed off large portions of the corridors, a new reception desk and restaurant altered circulation, and renovations to the materials and lighting vastly changed the Jazz Age aesthetic. 

SOM brought back many of the original finishes, refurbished unaltered murals and materials, and added new staircases. Old mechanical equipment, which sat above the Lexington Avenue Foyer for 94 years, has been removed to raise the ceiling and open a path for sunlight. Working from Schultze & Weaver’s specifications book and a black-and-white photograph, SOM reconstructed the electric lighting in the Park Avenue Foyer, replacing a postmodern chandelier with backlit, luminous marble that the architects envisioned. The East Arcade and Peacock Alley corridors, previously interrupted by retail, have been reextended. 

At the center of the building, the original clock lounge, SOM reestablished the original Art Deco design. Gone are unoriginal details—dark wood paneling, a ceiling frieze, and the reception and restaurant that blocked two entrances. Maple burl veneer now clads the walls for the first time in decades, the space’s full height has been restored, and the entrances have reopened to a separate reception area and bar.

A chromatic overhaul

The third level of the Waldorf features a series of distinctive event venues. The Silver Corridor—a gallery of mirrors, gray harewood, crystal chandeliers, and murals salvaged from the first Waldorf Astoria hotel in the 1890s—connects them all. Over the decades, cigar smoke faded the color of the murals, and the gray paneling was changed to a dark brown wood. ArtCare Conservation meticulously removed years of dirt, grime, and varnish. Throughout the space, SOM replaced the brown finish with new gray harewood, helping the Silver Corridor once again live up to its chromatic moniker.

Just off the corridor, the Jade Room, Astor Room, and Basildon Rooms were all restored. For the Basildon Room, the Waldorf’s most colorful space, the restoration team peeled back layers of paint to discover a revelation of reds, greens, and silvers that once again distinguish the room.

Modernizing the Grand Ballroom

A three-story-height space that accommodates 1,500 seated guests, the Grand Ballroom has hosted major events throughout its history. Fifty years after its Art Deco design was transformed to a French garden style, SOM found that the ceiling—originally conceived as a series of coves with hidden lights—was never fully built. Using an original drawing, SOM completed Schultze & Weaver’s vision. And to address a longstanding acoustical issue, SOM isolated the ballroom’s structure with new separation joints, keeping the surrounding guestrooms quiet during performances.

Reimagining the hotel and residences

On levels seven through 15, the guestrooms—reconfigured by SOM, and designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon—are now doubled in size, and include a landscaped terrace on a previously empty setback alongside a full suite of amenities.

On the floors above, SOM worked within the nearly century-old arrangement of columns, beams, moldings, and punched windows to create 125 unique layouts among the 372 new residential units—a remarkably high ratio, even for a tall building. The structure, which once divided guestrooms, now distinguishes one living space from the next. With interiors designed by Jean-Louis Deniot, the condos blend an Art Deco aesthetic with a contemporary sensibility.

On the 25th floor, SOM transformed the Starlight Roof—a former nightclub with a retractable skylight that was covered by cooling towers—into the Starlight Pool. Naturally illuminated through a new skylight, this residential pool is surrounded by 50,000 square feet of amenities, from a fitness center and wellness lounges to a library, theater, and children’s playroom.