The Dark Story of the Waldorf-Astoria: The Grandest Hotel in America Was Built Out of SPITE

The Dark Story of the Waldorf-Astoria: The Grandest Hotel in America Was Built Out of SPITE Officially, the Waldorf-Astoria was a monument to one family's pride. The largest hotel on earth, built by two Astor cousins side by side on Fifth Avenue and joined into one famous name. But the hotel was never a partnership. In eighteen ninety-three, William Waldorf Astor tore down his late father's mansion and put up a thirteen-story hotel a garden's width from his aunt's ballroom. His aunt was Caroline Astor, the woman who decided who counted in New York society, and the one who refused to let his wife be called Mrs. Astor. She moved uptown. Her son answered with a hotel of his own, three floors taller. Lawyers stitched the two together with a marble corridor, and a provision that let either side brick it up if the truce ever failed. Thirty-six years later, the whole thing came down to make room for the Empire State Building. Nobody ever used the clause. Chapters: 00:00 — The Hotel Next Door 02:53 — ACT I — THE RISE 06:47 — ACT II — THE FACADE 11:31 — ACT III — THE CRACK 18:11 — ACT IV — THE RECKONING 22:32 — ACT V — THE AFTERMATH Source Material Visual material used in this production is obtained from publicly accessible archives, including Wikimedia Commons and Europeana. Copyright & Fair Use Notice This channel incorporates copyrighted material under the principles of Fair Use as recognized by U.S. law. Under Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act, certain uses of copyrighted works such as for analysis, commentary, educational purposes, research, and reporting are permitted without prior authorization from the copyright holder. Sources Waldorf-Astoria (1893–1929), Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf...) William Waldorf Astor, Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William... Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolin... The Ultimate Family Feud, Daytonian in Manhattan — http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com... The House That Jack Built, St. Regis Magazine — https://magazine.stregis.com/the-hous... #documentary #history #oldmoney #gildedage