Waldorf Astoria Welcomes Back Interior Design’s Hall Of Fame Gala

Editor’s note: In part I of our mini series celebrating Interior Design’s Hall of Fame gala and its return to the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan, we explore the event’s storied history and the hotel’s newly unveiled interiors. Take in beloved memories from past inductees in part II.

The Interior Design magazine Hall of Fame benefit gala, a tribute to industry vision and excellence, is the commercial design world’s most epic annual event. The institution is without equal, reflecting the breadth and depth of the publication’s coverage and professional connections. “Interior Design celebrates the complete language of design, from interiors to architecture, product to thought leadership, and from hospitality to workplace to residential,” says Editor-in-Chief Cindy Allen. “Because the magazine and our community is so wide-reaching, the mix of inductees every year is above and beyond.” The 2025 inductees are no exception: Mexico-based product and interior designer Héctor Esrawe of Esrawe Studio; New York multihyphenates Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, the urban forces behind WEISS/MANFREDI, and French luxury-hospitality giant Pierre-Yves Rochon of PYR.

Excitement around the upcoming festivities has reached a fever pitch, as this year marks the long-awaited return to a beloved venue: the Waldorf Astoria’s grand ballroom. Hall of Fame attendees will be among the very first to experience the thoughtful and painstaking nine-year update by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and PYR, who restored the original art deco design to its former glory, modernized vital infrastructure and technology, and even realized previously unbuilt elements from Schultze & Weaver’s 1929 architectural plans. In the grand ballroom, which hosted the Hall of Fame for 32 consecutive years prior to the renovation, balconies are newly set aglow by beautifully burnished silver-leafing, recessed cove lighting newly integrated into the plasterwork ceiling, and the space acoustically buffered from adjacent hotel suites.

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel, a Storied Icon, Reopens Its Doors 

The cultural treasure has been an apropos choice for the Hall of Fame since its 1985 inception, given that both the building and the magazine chart their roots to the early ’30s. “We’re unapologetically modern, and yet the history of the space very much ties to the event,” says Allen. From its founding, the Hall of Fame festivities had an Oscars-like vibe, courtesy of the majestic triple-height art deco surrounds that lent gravitas to this recognition of history-making designers, regularly attended by more than 1,200 revelers.

While the Waldorf Astoria offers unparalleled significance and presence, other venues have lent their own touch to the Hall of Fame fêtes. In 2017, the party moved to the River Pavilion at Javitz Center, a modernist glass box designed by I.M. Pei—who was inaugurated into the Hall of Fame that year, just a few months after celebrating his 100th birthday. And from 2022 through 2024, it was held in the Glasshouse, an amenities-forward event venue with panoramic city views where HoF observed its landmark 40th anniversary last year.

History Meets Glamour At The Waldorf Astoria

The Waldorf homecoming, fortuitously coinciding with the centennial of the art deco movement, affirms the power of place and place-making at an event that honors just that. “The Hall of Fame is so deeply entwined in this space, which connects us all; the significance sits in the air there,” says Allen. “Collectively, our community has so many fond memories of the Waldorf. There’s also a new generation of designers who have yet to experience the Hall of Fame there—that unique grandeur and sense of possibility. It’s going to be an amazing year after having been away for so long.” See you there!

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See what’s next for Interior Design‘s Hall of Fame visionary event with a peek at what we’re planning for the 41st annual gala at the Waldorf Astoria. Reserve your seat at the table.

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