5. Waldorf Astoria

Renovated Waldorf Astoria

The land on which the Waldorf-Astoria hotel now sits was the City’s potter’s field, after its former location at Bryant Park was co-opted by the Croton Distributing Reservoir. When the land on Park Avenue was granted to the Women’s Hospital in 1857, over 100,000 remains were transferred to Ward’s Island. (From there the potter’s field was moved to Hart Island where it still exists today). The Waldorf-Astoria hotel was later constructed on the site in 1931.