Wonder of the Waldorf: Iconic hotel closes its doors — for now

The word “grand” matched few hotels in the world better than New York City’s Waldorf Astoria, but this bastion of gilded splendor is now closing for two to three years for a transformative makeover.

The last guests were checking out by noon Wednesday after enjoying the rich Art Deco style of the old Waldorf one last time.

When the building reopens, it will still have a hotel, but hundreds of its 1,400 guest rooms will have been converted into privately owned condominiums, according to a spokesman for the Anbang Insurance Group, the Chinese company that bought the storied hotel for nearly $2 billion in 2015.

The exterior is protected by law as a New York City landmark, but some fans are still nervous about the future.

“I’ve been watching New York disappear in front of my eyes,” lamented Shade Rupe, 48, an author and actor who visited the hotel’s lobby this week for one last look around.

Wrapping his arms around an entrance pillar, he noted that the ever-changing city has a history of devouring its own landmarks.

“There’s so little of what we’ve known as iconic New York left, and as soon as you say the Waldorf Astoria, that’s like saying the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty. It’s huge!” (AP)

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