Mick Hartley

New York, 1904. "Knickerbocker Trust Building and Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Fifth Avenue at W. 34th Street." A contrast in architectural style.

[Photo: Shorpy/Detroit Photographic Company]

More on the Waldorf-Astoria here. At the time it was the largest hotel in the world. The building pictured here, the Waldorf-Astoria with a hyphen, was demolished in 1929 to make way for the Empire State Building. The new Waldorf Astoria, without a hyphen, was completed in 1931 – a 47-story art deco effort on Park Avenue which still stands.