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FI F TH A VE NUE

NEW YO R'

A fi lia t e d H o t e ls '

u n de r t h e o wn er s h ip

Of B OO M ER DU PONT PRO 'ERTIES COR 'ORATION

TH E BE LLE V UE STRATF ORD Philadelphi a

T LL D H E W Wa sh in t o n . . I AR g , D C

TH E WIN DSOR Montreal Elbe 5tmy

of al l]' Malhurf-Aatnria

B y EDWARD HUNGERFORD

Ill u s t r a t io n s b y R YL LOUI S H . U

03119 51mg

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Eh' M alhnrf- Aamria

N n O f 1 890 Ru m o r I the sp ri g the year , went through the streets of Ne w York town wh i s p ering that Wil liam Waldorf Astor was about to buil d a huge hotel upon t h e/s it e o f his house at the no rthwest corner of Fifth Avenue a n d “ - Thirty third Street . It is to have all of five ' t h l “ e . s hundred rooms, whisp ered y dame, five hundred rooms, an d more than half of them with p rivate baths . — She threw out other hints as well o f a tavern to be built with an elegance and finesse such as neither o a n y New Y rk, nor other city, for that matter, “ e had yet known . One certainly would xp ect ' the Astors to do the thing handsomely, was her final shaft .

’ ‘Villi a m Waldorf Astor had p ermitted the idea of a hotel upon the site o f his Thirty—third

Street house to grow in his imagination . He talked it over at great length with his estate in ex e r i agent, Abner B artlett, a man whose p n ence and j udgme t he p ut large confidence . In the hotel idea Mr . B artlett had anticip ated his

. a n d chief He had both imagination j udgment . Both were forever tempered with a vast sagae

. . e ity Into his j udgment there entered, even b fore William Waldorf Astor had fully made up his own mind, the determination that a great n e w hotel should be buil t at the Thirty- third

Street corner . One day B artlett bespoke t hat determination . “ ' I think that we shall build that hotel , he said slowly . William Waldorf Astor turned his glance toward him . Doubt still ruled him . He was not quite convinced of the wisdom of the p roj ect . “ — It will never p ay, there at Thirty third ' Street, was his reply . “ ' “ Oh , yes , contradicted Abner B artlett . I have thought the thing all out and I am now ' positive that it will p ay .

Astor was quiet for a few minutes . Finally ' he turned toward his agent , saying “ H ave you got a man to look after a house '' like that , if we should decide to build it

The agent did not hesitate . ' I . have the man , he said, quietly ' ' Wh o ' “ l That man over in the little B e levue, in — Philadelphia George Boldt .

. W . B artlett knew Boldt ith Mrs B artlett, he was in the habit of going occasionally to the ’ B ellevue for a few days rest and vacation . Once B oldt had given up his own suite j ust to accommodate them . At that time there p robably was nothing else j ust like that little Philadelphia hotel in all a cre tion ' certainly not in the United States .

It was really a very tiny tavern indeed , of red — brick it possessed b u t thirty- six sleeping rooms — r standing in B road Street . With its mansa d roof it was only four stories in height , all told, and it was not until a number of years after Boldt took it over that an elevator was installed

n . withi it Yet it was a homey little place, and in 1 90 4 — when , , it was finally demolished upon the completion of the magnificent B ellevue Stratford upon an adjoining corner— its p assing was mourned sincerely by whole generations of old Philadelphians .

George Boldt was the manner of man , then , who was chosen to make the operation of the new Astor Hotel— it soon was settled that it 4 — was to be called the \V aldorf his life work . He accepted after consultation with his wife . And ‘pl ans were made for the construction of a cce the house . Within a few weeks after the p

l dt . tance by the B o s of the new house, Henry J r de n b e r h H a g , an architect who was to have considerable exp erience in the development o f New the m odern hotel in York , was engaged upon its p reliminary plans . And it was not long thereafter before t h e A st o r s moved out ‘ of their comfortable red - brick house and the wreckers were engaged in its demolition . In the late summer of 1 891 the gaunt steel framework of the new Waldorf began to show f itself over the edge of the tall , tight ence which the contractors had built about the site o f . the hotel Boldt , although never relinquish ing the full control of the B ellevue, took the house at 1 3 West Thirty—third Street 'imme di a t e l n o t y adjoining the Waldorf site', only as p ersonal living quarters , but also as an office until the new hotel should be finished . Liter

On w . ally he slept the j ob , hen he slept at all At no time during the long p eriod of construe tion wa s he far from it . When he did go it was either to gain ideas or furnishings for the house . Th a t was long before the day of standardization in hotel furnishings 'years before some efficien cy genius was to evolve the idea of rooms exactly alike on each bedroom floo r o f the modern ur hostelry, and f nished alike, down to the smallest detail . The original intention was t o have the Wal dorf eleven stories in height . Finally, in def

. w s erence to a request of Mrs Boldt , this a increased to thirteen stories . The wife of the

p rop rietor of the new house had a sort of sup er , st it io u s ff a ection for the number thi rteen . S O thirteen stories into the blue skies over Mamb at tan went the brand new VVa ldo r f . F rom the first the idea was to create a super tavern with as little of th e t y p ical hotel features in evide nc e 5 as wa s humanly possible . There were to b e 53 0 450 rooms , of which some would be sleeping w 3 50 rooms . There ere to be p rivate bath a t r em en d rooms, feature which alone made a ous imp ression upon the high - grade travel i ng p ublic of the n ineties . Construction p roceeded slowly through the summer of 1 891 and 1 892 . In the latter year it was possible so to enclose the uncompleted building a s to p ermit the decorators and the ‘ furnishings to come into it . But at no time was the constr uction hurried . Few large buildings i n New Yo rk have ever been fabricat ed so del ib — w e r a t el y and so thoroughl y . This a s one of the ‘ few definite wishes of William Waldorf Astor. in The plans for the hotel having been finished, u compliance with his anno nced plan , the owner returned to England . The few orders or sug ges tions that he made in connection with the building o f the house were chiefly given by cable . As far as is known , he never entered it after its completion but twice, and then but f r o a few minutes each time . H e p assed quickly t hrough its corridors and did not lift his eyes from the floor . — it Finally was a wintry day in February, 1 893 ffi , when a great banner was a xed to the front of the new Waldorf . In large black let t ers New Yorkers read upon it

Mr . Boldt announces the op ening o f ' T Wa f “ e dn e s da 1 5 the ldor , y, M arch , 1 893 . Temporary o fii ces at 1 3 West

- Thirty third Street . The actual christening of the original Wal dorf took place on the evening of the 1 4th of m March . For onths it had been anticip ated as a large social function . A huge concert, in aid ’ of St . Mary s Free Hospital for Children and

. R under the direction of Mrs ichard I rvin , formed the excuse for bringing a most r ep r e s en t a t iv e group of New Yorkers to the opening — of the new hotel . A dismal downpour a sh a rp sp ring rain 33 as doing its utmost to dampen the — party f a iled to keep a w a v a great throng of folk . More than fifteen hundred men and women attended the affair . The New York y y S mphon Orchestra , under the leadership of w alter Damrosch , hich had been donated for

W '. e 3 e n in b 3 . the g Mrs V anderbilt , was the chief feature of the p rogram . The state a partments were occupied fo r the first time on Ap ril 1 5t h — just thirty days after the formal opening of the house . A p arty of wa distinguished Spaniards , on their y to the

Columbian Exposition at Chicago, were — hou s ed in them . In this group the p recursor ‘ of a long line of p rominent o fiicia l visitors to the United States to be entertained under the ' — hospitable roof of the W a ldorf were the Duke and Duchess of V eragua , the Honorable Chris t o h e r 3 ' p Columbus Aguilera, the Honorable a Charles Aguiler , the Honorable Maria del Pi 3 ' a B a r b o li s lar Columbus Aguiler , the Marquis and his son , the Honorable Pedro Columbus de la Corda . Later came the delightful Princess

Eulalie and her suite . On the 1 9t h of Ap ril this ducal p arty held a reception in the hotel which was attended b' a hundred of the most ' M a sh in t o n p rominent women of New York, g ,

B altimore, Philadelphia and Chicago . It was a most elaborate aff air . Elaborateness was a peculiar p erquisite of the Waldorf . It fairly m lived on pomp and c e r e o n v .

f. Pomp and circumstance . The large Waldor '

l d r f . The luxurious Vs a o . The glorious Waldorf — How New York huge, calm, sophisticated New York— gazed and gap ed at the splendors of its n ewest tavern . People flocked to it by the hun dreds and b y the thous a nds 'they engaged ta bles in a ll of i t s restaurants days and even weeks in a dvance . The y filled its sleeping r ooms . When the3 could not do any of these 8 R U YL LO U I H . F RO M A DRAW I NG B Y S

- IA THE VV A LD O RF A STO R n ue a n d ' r n e r o f F ift h A v e t a n di n a t t h e I mp r t a n t o S g o S e c i n m i n a t es t h e Gr e a t t - e e i t D o o Th i rty f u r t h S t r t , o A b u t It r t h a t Li es R u n d o f New Yo k o o — h c a m e ~~ o en - t ings they j ust p eyed to return ,

- t . more op en eyed han before Fo r these last, p rofession al guides were engaged 'p robably for the first time in the history of any hotel . These young men , glib of tongue and pleasing of man ner, were hired to direct strangers through the hotel and to sp are no details of information in regard to i t . As the Sp ring of n inety- three turned into summer, Boldt came to be distinctly worried about the success of his venture . A most tem e r a m e n t a l p man at all times, he fell into a dep ressed habit of going to his friends and aski n g them if he had not made a mistake in going into such a whale of an enterp rise . W'ould he not have done far better if he had remained content with the comfortable earnings of the little Bellevue ' Assuredly it h a d been a mistake opening the house almost at the thresh old of oncoming summer . Then , too , the Chi cago fair was not going as well as had been a nticip ated . The great flow of Europ ean visi tors that it was to bring into America— and who could reasonably be counted on f o r stays — i n New York, both coming and going failed completely to materialize . And the shadow of oncoming hard times —the disastrous p anic of — 1 893 was already upon the land . No wonder that Boldt worried . And worried long and worried late . On one Sunda y of that dep ress ing summer of 1 893 there were forty guests in 970 the house, and servants upon the p ayroll that day . He had excellent cause to worry . Yet Boldt never dismissed a single servan’ t o r in any way lowered his standard of service .

He was a stickler for details . Himself an u n tiring worker, he expected nothing less of his w a s associates . Seemingl y he on the job twenty four hours a day 'a ctually he was generally on duty from nine o ’ clock in the m orning until ’ about three o clock the next morning . Some times i n th e e a r l v evening he would retire to

1 0 his ap artments for a quiet game o r two of soli

- taire or to read h e was an invete r ate reader . B ut he was al wa3 s down upon the office floor

before the theatre crowd came pouring in . — In no dep artment of the hotel not . even the — O ffice did Boldt show a keener interest than in i the cuisine . H ere his stickling for deta l became almost a p assion . H e was particularly keen that the waiter— the contact point between the hotel kitchen and the hotel patron— should be as near ly one hundred p er cen t . p er fect as was human l y possible . It was his endeavor from the outset that every m a n engaged for t h e service of his

- dining rooms should be able to sp eak F rench ,

German and English . The idea of a really i nternational hotel , always had a tremendous appeal for him H e is quoted at that early day as s aying “ I intend to have my force so selected that a man from B erlin or Paris can come to the Waldorf fresh from the steamer and have his ' orders p erfectly understood .

' In this phase of his life work B o l dt w a s p ar t i cu l a rly fortunate in having a great a ssistant ’

m a i t r e d h o t e l Ts ch i r k . b e the , Oscar y And ’ cause Oscar s fame as an h o t e li e r is hardly less than that of his great chief, I may be p ermitted to halt this narrative long enough for a brief paragraph or two about him .

This Swiss - American he is a n ative of the Canton of Neufchatel— is today one of the fi . notable gures of New York Not to know . 3 Oscar, of the V aldorf , is really not to know

New York . He has been with the house since the day of its op ening, coming to it from the ’ old Delmonico s on Madison Square, where for half a dozen years or more before the arrival of

. Ne w Mr B oldt in York, he had been engaged in the business of making friends for himself . 1 1

f And Oscar, too , has a powerful aculty for m a king friends . To organize a kitchen and dining - room force — e - for a fi v hundred room hotel, that aimed at the outset to be a world - leader in each detail of its service, was no small task . Added to — — that was the fact unfortunate, but true that the Waldorf kitchen at t h e beginning was badly designed for the great loads that were to be thrust upon it .

i o n e e r e d t r u l y . The Waldorf p h There were few p recedents by which its architects and fur w s — n i sh e r s might be guided . It a a p art and a — “ very difficult p art o f their task to establish p recedents , to help in that bygone day to win for the house her title of “ the mother of the ' modern hotel . But how p erplexing it all was ex e r i away back there in 1 893 . No skilled or p e n ce d efficiency hotel engineer to say ' so many a y squ re feet of sp ace for the kitchen , so man y — for the laundry, so man for refrigeration all the rest of it . Instead, B oldt and Oscar and the late Tom Hilliard , the general manager of the house 'p romoted after a number of years b of valua le service at the B ellevue', were puz zl in O E g their shrewd heads nearly , trying to ‘ — plan efilci en t working qu arters and then fi n d

' ing in t h a t f e a r fu l summer that much o f their work had to be entirel y done over . In the winter of 1 893 the Waldorf really b e a g n to come into its own . Not only had New ' — York caught on to the real loveliness b—ack of all the sheer Op ulence and m a gn ifice n ce o f its new toy, but the rest of the country had fol

’ . n a lowed likewise Boldt was ever n advertiser . He was not well schooled in the fine art o f p ub ’ l i cit y as it is p ractised today . Yet he was far from being a mere beginner in these things . He o f had a real knowledge of p sychology, men and of the workings of their minds . A n d he believed firmly that, in the long run , the very best advertisement for his wonderful new hotel 1 3 would be the unvarying high quality of its serv ice . Upon the things that went to make this quality, he never ceased to hammer . Perfection — - of hotel keeping was his god . To that great god he made his constant p rayers .

Yet, large as was the Waldorf, it was not nearly large enough . The demands upon its hosp itality grew more pressing each month . New York now was coming uptown by leaps and by bo unds . Fifth Avenue as a residence thoroughfare— between Twelfth Street and — Fiftieth, at least was gone . In place of the old — b rown stone and red - brick fronts were coming shops— shop s of high degree and of wonderful loveliness in all of their o ff erings— but shops e c la t none the less . Yet they but added to the W and to the p restige of the aldorf, and to the terrific demands for rooms , p articularly in the more crowded seasons of the year . To be a room - clerk in the old Thirty- third Street office during Horse Show week o r that of the begin ning of the opera season was n o sinecure . One had to have the wit and the diplomacy of a Tal l e r a n d — o r y or a Disraeli both of them together . In addition to all of this there was an increasing demand upon the hotel for formal social func~ tions of almost every conceivable sort . Mr . B agby was organizing his Monday Morning

Musicales ' dining clubs , such as the Southern

Society and that of the Ohio , and the Sphinx

Club were fairly sp ringing into existence, with t h e superior cuisine of the Waldorf always as t h e largest excuse for their b ein g . Temporary relief was gained in 1 895 when five or six small red—brick residences in Thirty third Street , j ust to the west, were torn down and a fi ve - story extension to the main building 'so pl a nned in its foundations and construction framework as to be cap able of bearing many more floors , if it ever should become necessary' was begun . To make room for this wing, Mr . “ Boldt sacrificed the original No . in which

1 41

about what might app ear upon some imme

di a t ely adjoining corner . The entire neighbor

hood was i n the course o f a rapid transition . The ’ old buil dings around about were coming

w . do n , right and left Boldt felt that any day any one of them might be replaced by a huge hotel which would app ear as an immediate rival r to his Waldorf . His p articular worries he e — served for the Thirty fourth Street corner, still

occupied by the John J acob Astor residence . Slowly there had grown in h is imaginative mind a hop e that some day tha t site might be o ccu

p ied by a near twin to the « Waldorf, which

might be operated in conj unction with it . B ut

common sense did its best to dash that hop e . The long—stand ing estrangement between the two branches of the Astor family seemed to make such a p ossibility entirely out of the ques

tion . Yet disquieting rumors continued to come to Boldt about the future of that plot imme dia t l e y adjoining his hotel . Once he heard that a n ap artment house would go upon it , again that it would hold a dep artment store, ~fin a lly that a hotel would p resently appear upon that

corner . This last disquieted the p rop rietor of

. the Waldorf most of a l l . He made immediate e fforts to accomplish the impossible —to bring

the warring houses of Astor into accord, in this

matter at least . The John Jacob Astor branch was also rep

a n a . G eo r e F . resented by est te agent , Mr g Pea body . The eventual bringing together of the

b . branches was accomplished y Mr B artlett,

working in consultation with Mr . Peabody . It was then definitely decided to build a hotel on a eo b the John J Astor p roperty, to be called the Astoria and to be operated jointly with the

W . . H a r de n b e r h aldorf Mr g , who had designed

the original house, was asked to p rep are the

plans for it . And it was discovered that the

foresight of George C . Boldt had caused the W main floor of the aldorf to be set high e n oggh 1 7 above the Thirty- third Street leve—l to come j ust even with the p avement of Thirty fourth Street 'there is a considerable variation between the levels of these two p arallel cross streets . ' You hardl y ever could beat the p rop rietor o f the — Waldorf on long distance vision . l The John Jacob Astor estate, whi e finally a greeing to the joint hotel plan , held tightly to i its rights . The Astoria was not only to be bu lt entirely sep arate from the Waldorf in every way, shap e and manner, but B oldt was required to put up a bond that would p rovide for funds for the immediate closing by br ick and stone o f every op ening in the division wall that sep a rated them . This was done . And in the Sp ring of 1 895 the demolition of John J acob Astor ’ s w u house as begun . And b t a few months later the construction of a sixteen - story hotel followed . B y the summer of 1 896 the Astoria was well upon its wa y toward completion . The details of its magnificence were beginning to seep out in to New York' More th a n the original - Wa l dorf ever had been , this house was to be recog z - ni ed as a semi public institution . Its very c oming seemed to mark a distinctive change in the urban civilization of America . Sharp o h servers o f our social customs began to p erceive — a definite tendency on the p art of well - to do folk to make their real homes in the country, comi n g to New Yo rk for but three or four or possibly five or six months in the winter . To cater to these folk was the special desire of the I “ l d r f - a o Astoria . Gradually it was to become slightly less a hotel for the mere feeding and housin g - o f travelers and considerably more a semi - public institution designed for furnishing the p rosp erous residents of the New York met r o p o l it a n district with all the luxuries of urban l W ife . ith this in view, great attention was given to the plannin g of the ballrooms and other a A t partments of public assemblage in the s OIja .

1 9 — The Astor Gallery alone i n the style of Louis 'V and an exact replica of the historic Crystal R — oom at the Soubise Palace, Paris would have

n . bee a great acquisition of itself, for any hotel Yet it was overshadowed by the main ballroom adjoining, which remains to this day, after all these years , the most sumptuous ap artment of Ne w i f its sort in York , not indeed in all Amer ica . To p aint its lesser murals Turner and Low and Simmons were summoned by Colonel

Astor 'for its giant ceiling the genius o f E . H .

B l a sh fi el d was employed . The results speak for themselves . The semi - public character of the new Astoria was reflected also in its sp acious rooms upon the it — - ground floor . Into upon the Thirty fourth Street side o f the enlarged and hyp henated hotel— were moved the offices and accounting dep artments of the combined establishments .

An Open court , a twin to the Palm Garden , but a full two stories in height , was built adjoining l i that room . And ikew se a Fifth Avenue res t a u r a n t similar in size a n d typ e and immediately adjoining the Fifth Avenue restaurant of the f ’ original Waldor . The men s cafe was moved R out of the Oak oom and into the Astoria, and

Mr . Boldt conceded to it at last, a standing bar, ff — a t a huge a air 'eventually four sided', which once became a tremendous success and which was in no little way responsible fo r the Wal dorf- Astoria becoming known in New York as “ the club of all clubs . In its cafe at five in the afternoon could ever be found the r ep r e sen t a t i ve men of the town . To that room Wall Street adjourned at the close of business down town . And the late tickers buzzed with the gossip of what was being said and done at the

Waldorf that evening . As a final concession to a really public insti “ ' t u t io n , there was Peacock Alley, as some irrep ressible reporter immediately dubb—ed the glorious main corrido r along the Thirty fourth 20 'H O TOGRA 'H B Y 'A M 'B ELL STU DIO S THE LA TE GEO RGE B LD '. O T

21 Street side of the hyphenated hotel . I f the — “ ' Waldorf Astoria w a s the clu b of all clubs “ of New York , Peacock Alley was at once the ' street of all streets . Through it marched the smartness of the town— masculine as well as

feminine . To see 'in Peacock Alley, and to be

’ in y - w a s seen , Peacock Alle ' that the p roper — r thin g . And no one knew this better o loved m b i it better, fro the bottom of his g heart than one George C . Boldt . The Astoria side of the big hotel was for 1 mally Op ened upon the evening of November ,

1 897 . A gain there was a great concert, and l y again it rained fie I ce and furiously . But again the enthusiasm of New York society over its great toy refused to be dampened . Mrs . Richard I rvin repeated her remarkable success of the opening of the Waldorf side of the house . This time the p roceeds of the concert were to be given to not less than four institutions ' the B a Loomis Sanitarium for Consumptives , the ’ ’ bies and Mothers Hospital, the Saturday and ’ IVo m a n s Sunday Auxiliary Hospital , and the B abies ’ Ward and the Day Nursery at the Post

Graduate Hosp ital . The opening ceremony began in the afternoon Th e R e a lm o t h e R o s e with a fairy spectacle, f , given by one hundred children of well - known

New York families . In the evening was the — more formal affair, again a concert this time ’ S e idl s by Anton orchestra, which was placed in the Astor Gallery. After the concert the guests of the evening went to the great ball ’ room, where, upon its stage, Mr . John D rew, Miss Maude Adams and their comp any gave R o s em a r the second act of y , then a raging New ’ b u flet York success . A supp er was served

- afterwards , and again a group of well known young men acted as ushers to show the entire

- house to the guests . As a house warming it was a most complete a ff air . And as an aid to — charity p r a ct i c a ll v every feature of it being

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blow to her husband— the termination of a per

feet partnership . F rom her death he never

“ really recovered . He strove to get back into the

Older order of things, but never entirely success fi n o fully . And his own p assing came nally as great astonishment to those of his cronies who had known of the deep att a chment between this

- super hotel m a n and his wife .

Here was a re a l b l o w ‘ fo r the Waldorf

t .

As oria to weather ' Now it needed all of its p restige to come through rou gh sailing . The

skipp er was gone . For a little time the ship had

a hard battle ahead of her . That she finally weathered it was due more than any o ne thing — to the loyalty O f her crew from Oscar right down to the humblest employee of the in st it u — tion . Her graduates Hilliard and Marshall A W l and mer and oods and Nu le and others, too

- came loyally to her assistance . She pulled through . Another George Boldt came . But young Boldt h a s never h a d the taste fOr hotel keeping that his father possessed . He p referred to seek other pursuits . Oscar remained . Oscar still remains . Oscar is on the j ob .

A new captain has come up on the bridge . t h e Three years ago, when younger generation of Boldt announced its intention to Wi thdraw

- from the management of the Waldo rf Astoria, ~ there was a deal o f doubt and p erplexity as to u the f ture of the house . Then it was that a ‘ shrewd and strategic move Wa s made by its

- several owners . Down Thirty third and Thirty fourth Streets , but a short block away, at d B roa way and Sixth Avenue, a huge new hotel had arisen , but a decade before . This house — the M cA lpi n wa s under the management of

Mr . L . M . Boomer . H e, too, possesses a rare degree O f the imaginative faculty that wa s of such great aid to Boldt . And he attracted the attention of Genera l Coleman du Pont wh ose 25 great constructive genius has b een rep eatedly shown in recent years , not only in the upbuild ing o f the huge powder industry that bears his ’ f i y am l s name, but in that monumental down

b . B e town enterp rise, the Equita le Building cause O f the immediate success of the M c A lp in u du nder Boomer, General k Pont visualized the reincarnation of the Waldorf . A man of action , he said, instantly

Boomer, I will take it, if you will run it .

' Boomer agreed . He has shown a real ability in bringing modern efficiency me thods into the b hotel business , which has not een without its oppo r tunity for them . This combination of imagination and common sense has brought Boomer forward p retty rap idly in the hotel I world . n conjunction with the genius and the du great p restige of General Pont, it brought him, a little less than three years ago, into the f— overlordship of the Waldor Astoria, and then , y shortl a fterwards , into that of two famous — — — o f ' t , out town houses the B ellevue Stra f~ord of ’ Philadelphia 'successor to B o l dt s little B elle ’ VVill a r d s . vue', and the historic , of Washington

Mr . Boomer elected not to take direct manage — ment of the Waldorf Astoria, not at least in the sense that Mr . Boldt had managed it . His other — business interests h e is today a p roduct of that remarkable American tendency to consoli — date every conceiva ble form of busin e s s wo u l d n o t p ermit that . But he selected for the Boldt post a hotel man possessing very many o f the — Ro Boldt qualities y Carruthers , who had had a fine p reliminary schooling as managing di r rector, first , of the Palace Hotel in San F an s cisco , and then of the new Penn ylvania in New

York . Carruthers is also a swift maker of friends . Yet back of his ability to smile and to

- hand shake is a quick , sure, business j udgment — that registers and registers right almost i n l U variab y . nder the two v e a r s of his a dmin is

27

’ — t r a t io n of the Waldorf Astoria that have a l ready elap sed, the house has come back quickly

- into its old time vigor and public esteem .

What is to be the future of the Waldorf Astoria ' Time— and time alone— can answer that ques tion . Mr . Boldt had a way of saying that forty years was the measure of the life of a fi r st class hotel in New York 'at any rate as a really a first class hotel . B ut his estim te was gauged largely by the ceaseless uptown growth of Man hattan . That factor has now been changed very largely . The business section which has been in the p rocess of a steady movement north ward for considerably more than a century has now come to Central Park . That great op en sp ace forms a natural b arrier to it . To S p lit upon both sides of the Park o b vio u sl v i s n o r going to be s a tisfactory . The only answer is that the great b usiness section of M anhattan — Island must remain south of Fifty ninth Street . Other factors have interj ected themselves into the situation— the placing of the rapid transit subways, the multiplication of bridges and tun nels across and under the North and E ast R t ivers, and las , but not least, the building of the great Pennsylvania Station at Seventh Ave

- nue and Thirty third Street . Considering all of these things in their real importance, it now begins to look as if the great hotel and retail shopping section of New York was to “ stay ' y put for a considerable number of ears , at n a y rate . The house itself seemingly was built to last for all time . Since the completion of its final half, many other palatial hotels have sp rung up upon the Island of Manhattan . The most of these have been built upon the success of the YVa ldo r f— Astoria . V ery truly has that famo us 29

i n that list , and hardly a town or a village from all the way across the land .

Th e future of the Waldorf- Astoria '

The question now is answered . It seemingly o f is as firmly assured as is its p ast , and that p ast you have j ust had the brief telling .

TH E TAV ERN TO 'I 'S 'RES S LO NG I SLA D 'ITY N , 3 2

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