FROM WALLDORF to WALDORF: The Story Behind
the Name - Part 2
How the original Waldorf Astoria Hotel came to be built is an
amazing story. One stormy night, at the very end of the 19th century,
an elderly gentleman and a lady approached the reception desk
of a small hotel in Philadelphia and asked for a room. It was
very late and the friendly porter was sorry to have to tell them
that the hotel was full up. Reluctant, however, to turn such a
nice couple out into the rain at one o'clock in the morning, he
offered them his own room for the night and said, "It's not
exactly a suite, but under the circumstances it'll do for one
night. Don't worry about me, I'll manage somehow for the night."
The following morning, the gentleman said jokingly to the porter,
"You're just the manager to put in charge of the best hotel
in the United States. I might even build one for you.” Two
years passed and the porter had long forgotten the incident, when
he received a letter from the gentleman in question reminding
him of that stormy night. The letter invited him to come to New
York. The two men met on the corner of 5th Avenue and 34th Street
in front of a large, new palace built of reddish stone. "This
is the hotel I've had built for you," said the elderly gentleman,
whose name was William Waldorf Astor. Thus George C. Boldt became
the first-ever manager of a Waldorf Astoria Hotel. He carried
out his duties in keeping with the biblical proverb which advises
us not to turn our backs on those in need of our assistance, as
they may well be angels in disguise!
By the year 1919, the name 'Waldorf', with its history going
back more than a century, had become an economic trademark. The
starting point of it all-the place name 'Walldorf'-had lost one
of its 'l's' on the way to America. With the rapid spread of Waldorf
Schools, the name took on a new cultural dimension. In America
itself, the first Waldorf School was founded in New York (ironically
enough starting in the basement of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel)
in 1928. Waldorf Education is now the largest independent non-sectarian
school movement in the world. In this the year 2006, there are
hundreds of Waldorf Schools in North America alone, both within
the private (Independent) as well as the public sector
- Merrill Badger, Principal
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Happenings:
Thursday January 19th at 6pm is a Board Meeting. Everyone is
welcome to attend these sessions and meetings. Please come!
TAX CREDIT HELP!
Please take part in this worthy program to help
your school financially this year!
Online Credit Form (277Kb PDF)
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To wonder at beauty,
Stand guard over truth,
Look up to the noble,
Resolve on the good:
This leadeth us truly,
To purpose in living,
To right in our doing,
To peace in our feeling,
To light in our thinking;
And teaches us trust,
In the working of Creation,
In all that there is,
In the width of the world,
In the depths of the soul.
- Rudolf Steiner
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