I almost hate to admit it, but the Today show had a segment I found pretty fascinating this morning, about the “secret” underground rail station beneath the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan. (It’s not really a secret. Train geeks and history buffs — and Andy Warhol — have actually known about it and tried to visit for years, but it was news to me.) Today dumbed it down, of course, but it was pretty cool to see what it’s like down there.
Essentially, based on my further reading this morning, the Waldorf Astoria built a special platform on a set of unused tracks that ran through the hotel’s basement. This allowed guests with private train cars — the preferred mode of transport in the 1930s and ’40s — to enter the hotel discreetly via a private elevator and avoid the paparazzi (yes, they had them back then, too).
The most famous user was FDR, who wanted to hide the fact that his polio forced him to use a wheelchair. Track 61’s secret entrance also provided an extra layer of security for the president during World War II. He often stayed in the Waldorf’s presidential suite when visiting New York and his boyhood home of Hyde Park.
Track 61 fell into disuse with the advent of air travel, which made the deserted station a perfect place for (Pittsburgh’s own) Andy Warhol to hold an underground party in 1965. But reportedly, even though no one’s arriving by train car anymore, it still gets used occasionally when a president comes to town and stays in the Waldorf — even the current one.
May 8, 2008 at 10:38 am
that was a very interesting read. thank you. i still am left with the feeling that we dont know the whole story, and never will.
May 9, 2008 at 6:33 am
More reading on Track #61