Online Finding Aid for the Waldorf=Astoria Archives
Scope and Content:
The archive of the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel contains a variety of materials pertaining to the rich history and culture of the hotel, its guests, its staff, and the events that it has hosted over the last century. Our collection contains materials of various formats which include photographs; various paper documents such as correspondence, menus, programs, periodicals, etc; ephemeral items, such as fine china, ash trays, silverware, etc; and textile items such as staff uniforms. Through our Amnesty Project, a significant portion of our ephemeral items are on display throughout the hotel for guests and visitors to enjoy.
Organization:
The collection is divided into the following series: Administrative Records, the Buildings Collection, the Press and Media Collection, the Biographical Collection, the Photographs Collection and the Objects Collection.
Unless otherwise noted, the arrangement for these collections was imposed during processing in the absence of a usable original order. Items were brought together into collections based on their originating body, format and/or subject matter. For example, the Administrative Records category is further subdivided based on division of hotel business.
It is important to note that the sub-series' of the Photographs Collection reflect the other collections they relate to. For preservation purposes, photographs have been separated into their category and stored separately from other records.
Access:
This collection is open to researchers with relevant research requests. Archival policy is to present the researcher with a digitized copy of relevant materials, as objects are generally not loaned out.
Much of the Photograph Collection and select items from other collections are available online at the Host to the World digital archive at www.hosttotheworld.com
If you locate a folder in the finding aid that interests you while conducting your research, it would be best to also search the digital library by using the identifier number associated with that folder. Because a good portion of our collections have been digitized, some items may be available for viewing through our digital collection. This is done by clicking the "Collections" tab on the homepage www.waldorfarchive.com.
However, if you wish to find information on non-digitized items in the collection, please contact the Archivist at Erin.Allsop@waldorfastoria.com.
Copyright:
Copyright is held by the Waldorf=Astoria unless otherwise noted.
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