The original Waldorf Hotel was built on the site of millionaire William Waldorf Astor’s mansion at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street. The 13-story hotel opened on 13 March 1893. Four years later, Waldorf’s cousin, John Jacob Astor IV, erected the 17-story Astoria Hotel on an adjacent site. John Jacob Astor IV died on the Titanic on 15 April 1912. William Waldorf Astoria, having returned to England in 1893, died 18 October 1919.
In 1929, the owners decided to tear down the original building due to it becoming dated and the draining of its revenues caused by Prohibition. The site was sold to the developers of what would become the Empire State Building. The current location on Park Avenue opened on October 1st, 1931 as the tallest and largest hotel in the world. (Hilton.com)
