William Waldorf Astor tore down the family house next door and erected a new and fashionable hotel, the Waldorf, bringing crowds and noise and public life to Mrs. Astor’s exclusive doorstep, she considered exacting her revenge by tearing down her own house and building a stable so that the beautiful people would be harassed by the odor of manure. Instead, she erected a hotel of her own—the Astoria. Eventually, the two hotels would merge, creating the first Waldorf-Astoria Hotel,
