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

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

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

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

by David Freeland

Hardcover

$35.95 
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Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780813594392
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Publication date: 05/14/2021
Pages: 372
Product dimensions: 6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range: 16 - 18 Years

About the Author

DAVID FREELAND is a historian and journalist who has written for the Wall Street JournalNew York History, and Time Out New York. His books include Ladies of Soul and Automats, Taxi Dances, and Vaudeville: Excavating Manhattan’s Lost Places of Leisure. In his free time, David leads walking tours of New York City, where he lives, and gives lectures on the city’s culture and history.

Table of Contents

Prologue
Introduction
1 A Haven for the Well-to-Do
2 Woman Spelled with a Big “W”
3 “Boom Centre”
4 Temporary Storms and Stress
5 No More Junior Proms!
6 Weekend at the Waldorf
7 Little America
8 The Waldorf Belongs to the People
9 Becoming Visible
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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