Take a virtual tour of the Waldorf Astoria’s freshly landmarked interiors

On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to designate most of the famed Waldorf Astoria’s first three floors an official interior landmark. The decision came just a week after the iconic hotel closed for what’s expected to be a three-year renovation and condo conversion. But for those who missed their chance to get inside before the doors shut, Google Maps has released a virtual 3D tour of the Art Deco interiors, including the Park Avenue lobby with its bronze-and-mahogany clock tower, Peacock Alley restaurant, the grand ballroom and balconies, and Louis Rigal’s “Wheel of Life” mosaic made from 140,000 marble tiles (h/t Crain’s). You can even go inside the Guerlain Spa and some hotel rooms.

Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance Group bought the Waldorf for a record $1.95B in 2015 and, somewhat surprisingly, they’ve been on board from the beginning with landmarking and preserving the interiors. Though they’ll now begin converting the 1,413 hotel rooms into 840 renovated hotel rooms and 321 luxury condos to the tune of $1 billion, the landmarked spaces will be untouched. As 6sqft reported, in a statement following the LPC decision, they described the Waldorf as a “landmark and an iconic hotel with unparalleled history and beautiful, irreplaceable features.”

[Via Crain’s]