Waldorf-Astoria Hotel - Notable Events

Notable Events

• The investigation into the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 was held at the old Waldorf-Astoria. John Jacob Astor IV, who built the Astoria Hotel, which became part of the old Waldorf-Astoria, died on the Titanic. His second wife Madeline, seven months pregnant, survived the sinking.
• On the evening of November 15, 1926, the National Broadcasting Company broadcast its inaugural program from the grand ballroom of the old Waldorf-Astoria. Among the entertainers heard by radio listeners was Will Rogers. The network became the Red Network on January 1, 1927 when NBC launched its second network, designated the Blue Network. It was sold in the early 1940s and became the American Broadcasting Company.
• After a New York ticker-tape parade in his honor for winning four Olympic gold medals, Jesse Owens had to ride the freight elevator to attend a reception for him at the Waldorf-Astoria due to its segregation policies.
• On June 21, 1948 a press conference at the hotel introduced the LP record.
• In 1954, Israeli statesman and archaeologist Yigael Yadin met secretly with the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Mar Samuel in the basement of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to negotiate the purchase of four Dead Sea Scrolls for Israel. Yadin paid $250,000 for all four.
• Since 1958, the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Football Hall of Fame have held its Annual Awards Dinner and Hall of Fame Induction ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria's Grand Ballroom. The Waldorf-Astoria has been the site of all but the first NFF Awards Dinner. The NFF's Gold Medal is also given out at the event. Seven U.S. Presidents, five U.S. Generals, three U.S. Admirals, one U.S. Supreme Court Justice, 28 Corporate CEO' s and Chairmen, John Wayne, Jackie Robinson and Bill Cosby have claimed the award.
• From 1960 until 1978, Guy Lombardo and The Royal Canadians televised their annual New Years Eve show live (in the Eastern and Central time zones) from the Grand Ballroom.
• In 1985, the NBA held its first-ever draft lottery between non-playoff teams at the Starlight Room. The lottery was for the 1985 NBA Draft in which Patrick Ewing was the consensus number one pick. The New York Knicks wound up winning the right to select Ewing, an occurrence that many feel was fixed in New York's favor.
• The NASCAR Sprint Cup end-of-season awards banquet was held at the Waldorf-Astoria every year between 1981 and 2008, initially in the Starlight Room, but since 1985 in the Grand Ballroom, except 2001 and 2002. A formal awards ceremony (not a banquet) was held in those two years, with the 2002 awards ceremony being held at Hammerstein Ballroom, with the pre-show banquet held at the Waldorf-Astoria. The Presidential Suite was reserved for the Series Champion. In 2009, NASCAR moved the event to the Wynn in Las Vegas.
• The Metropolitan Opera Guild holds its annual member lunch at the hotel.
• The annual International Debutante Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria is held to formally introduce young high society women.
• On May 1, 2004, the Waldorf-Astoria was the venue for the Grand Europe Ball, a historic black-tie charitable affair co-chaired by Archduke Georg of Austria-Hungary which celebrated the Enlargement of the European Union.
• The Bronx High School of Science, Stuyvesant High School, Xaverian High School and Syosset High School traditionally hold their Senior Proms in the Grand Ballroom of the hotel. Regis High School and Hunter College High School in Manhattan and Pelham Memorial High School have also held their prom in the Starlight Ballroom.
• Since 2006,Russian Children's Welfare Society (RCWS) hosts black tie gala - the "Petroushka Ball" - to raise funds to support orphaned and disabled children in Russia.
• New York University used to hold its annual International Hospitality Industry Conference, with the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management, at this hotel. It is the largest-known annual gathering of hotel management professionals and hospitality business leaders.
• In 2011, Bette Midler's 2nd Annual Hulaween Gala to benefit the New York Restoration Project was held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on October 31 with singer Gloria Estefan as the headliner, and other acts such as Kathy Griffin and Michael Kors.
• St. John's University holds its annual President's Dinner in the grand ballroom.
• New York Couture Fashion Week is held at the hotel.
• Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York celebrates its annual gala in the grand ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria where the Archbishop of New York presents the Deus Caritas Est Award for philanthropy.
• The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner