![(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/GettyImages-456743064-1.jpg?resize=840%2C560)
The iconic Waldorf Astoria New York, whose legacy includes the introduction of door-to-door room service and the invention of both the Waldorf salad and Eggs Benedict, is set to close its doors early next year for a three-year renovation, ending a major chapter in its over 100-year history.
New details have emerged about the future of the New York City landmark including the massive renovation which will convert most of its hotel rooms into luxury condominiums, reports The Wall Street Journal. Anbang Insurance Group, a Chinese insurance company, acquired the historic property for $1.95 billion in 2014, making the deal the most expensive hotel sale in U.S. history. Their vision for the hotel, which takes up a full city block in Manhattan, will transform the majority of its 1,413 rooms into residential condos and leave 300 to 500 rooms to continue operating as hotel accommodations.
![NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 06: The entrance to the Waldorf Astoria, the landmark New York hotel, is viewed on October 6, 2014 in New York City. It was announced October 6, that Hilton Worldwide will sell the Waldorf to the Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group for $1.95 billion. As part of the deal the Waldorf will undergo a major renovation. The Park Avenue hotel opened on October 1, 1931, and claimed to be the biggest hotel in the world at the time, attracting movie stars, politicians and the wealthy. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/GettyImages-456743016-1.jpg?resize=840%2C560)
![NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 06: An employee helps a guest with his bags at the Waldorf Astoria, the landmark New York hotel, is viewed on October 6, 2014 in New York City. It was announced October 6, that Hilton Worldwide will sell the Waldorf to the Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group for $1.95 billion. As part of the deal the Waldorf will undergo a major renovation. The Park Avenue hotel opened on October 1, 1931, and claimed to be the biggest hotel in the world at the time, attracting movie stars, politicians and the wealthy. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/GettyImages-456743058-1.jpg?resize=840%2C560)
The building dates back to 1893. It has boasted titles including the tallest and largest hotel in the world. The Waldorf Astoria became an official New York City landmark in 1993, joining other icons like the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge. The hotel has hosted a bevy of luminaries that includes actors, singers, and heads of state, from Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra to Winston Churchill and Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Herbert Hoover. John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy chose to spend part of their honeymoon at the Waldorf. The property has also played starring roles in Hollywood movies, including The Godfather III, Serendipity, Scent of a Woman, and Maid in Manhattan.
In honor of the Waldorf’s closing, RealClearLife has curated some images showcasing the iconic hotel throughout history. – Relaxnews
![A waiter serves food to American finacier Winthrop Aldridge (1885 - 1974), who sits beside married couple, actress Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson, 1926 - 1962) and playwright Arthur Miller (1915 - 2005), during the 'April in Paris Ball' at the Waldorf Astoria, New York, New York, April 11, 1957. (Photo by Peter Stackpole/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/GettyImages-526305048-1.jpg?resize=840%2C853)
![Senator (and future US President) Jack Kennedy (1917 - 1963) lending an ear to his wife Jacqueline (1929 - 1994) as they sit at table at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York, New York, November 22, 1956. They were there during cocktail hour before dining at a society gala sponsored by the wife of the US ambassador to Cuba. (Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/GettyImages-72386719-1.jpg?resize=840%2C555)
![(Original Caption) Joe DiMaggio, (L) who was just voted to Baseball's Hall of Fame, passes on a few batting tips to Willie Mays, who's a slugger in his own right. Their meeting occurred at the 32nd Annual dinner of the Baseball Writers at the Waldorf Astoria tonight. Mays, Giant outfielder and last year's NL MVP, won the Scribes' Sid Mercer Award as "Player of The Year." His batting average last year was .345. He hit 41 homers and has a slugging average of .667.](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/GettyImages-515015604-1.jpg?resize=840%2C691)
![Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, young screen stars here for personal appearances, are pictured in the Empire Room of the Waldorf-Astoria, Aug. 16th, where they had luncheon with a welcoming committee of 300 of their young loyal fans from various neighborhoods of New York City.](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/GettyImages-515347564-1.jpg?resize=840%2C677)
![UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 13: Charlie Chaplin being interviewed by reporters at the Waldorf Astoria. (Photo by Walter Kelleher/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/GettyImages-97298926-1.jpg?resize=840%2C627)
![NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - JANUARY 01: Men relaxing in the Canadian Club Lounge at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. (Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/GettyImages-72401311-1.jpg?resize=840%2C658)
![(Original Caption) Frank and Ron. New York: Frank Sinatra (left) and Ronald and Nancy Reagan share a laugh at a Republican "victory dinner" at New York's Waldorf Astoria. The affair was one of 19 $1,000-a-plate fund-raising affairs being held across the country. A closed-circuit television network emanating from three cities was set up to provide part of the program for all 19 cities.](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/GettyImages-515557806-1.jpg?resize=840%2C555)
![UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1754: Titanic disaster, 12 April 1912: USA Senate Investigating Committee questioning survivors at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York. The wireless operator Harold Thomas Coffin being questioned, 29 May 1912. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/GettyImages-113492619-1.jpg?resize=840%2C626)
![(GERMANY OUT) NEW YORK: WALDORF-ASTORIA. Construction workers having lunch on a suspended I-beam during the construction of the present day Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Park Avenue at 49th Street, New York. Photograph, c1930. (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/GettyImages-542358755-e1467751739949-1.jpg?resize=840%2C687)
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.