The Waldorf Astoria New York – A Legacy Reimagined

Join us for an illuminating conversation on the storied history and ambitious restoration, preservation, and adaptive reuse of the iconic Waldorf Astoria New York. This landmark hotel has been a symbol of elegance and innovation for 95 years, and its transformation raises fascinating questions about preservation, design, and cultural identity in New York City. Panelists, Frank Mahan, Principal at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and Commissioner of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Ray Pepi, Founder and President of Building Conservation Associates, and moderator Justin Davidson, Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture and classical music critic for New York Magazine, will share insights into the architectural vision guiding the transformation, explore the challenges of preserving historic integrity, and provide cultural and historical context on the Waldorf’s enduring significance. Together, they will examine how this project balances heritage with modernity, offering a rare glimpse into the future of one of the world’s most celebrated hotels.

About the Speakers: 
Frank Mahan is a Design Principal and Adaptive Reuse Practice Leader at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), where he oversees the firm’s restoration, preservation, and adaptive reuse projects. Frank believes that architects can save embodied carbon while reviving our most cherished cultural landmarks. He begins projects with research in order to understand a building’s history before shaping its next life—a method he has applied in the redevelopment of icons like the Waldorf Astoria and James A. Farley Post Office. Among his other most notable works are some of SOM’s own legacy projects, including Lever House and 9 West 57th Street. In 2025, Frank was appointed to serve on the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, the largest and most sophisticated municipal preservation agency in the country. 
 

Ray Pepi is the President of Building Conservation Associates, Inc., a historic preservation and architectural conservation consulting firm he founded in 1985. Ray is a widely respected expert in the conservation and regulation of historic buildings and has contributed his knowledge and expertise to the field as a lecturer on a wide variety of conservation topics, including masonry cleaning and repair, bronze and stone statue restoration, historic finishes, and digital tools for project management and building maintenance. He is the Chair of the American Friends of the Old Royal Naval College, the World Heritage Site, in Greenwich, London; and serves on the board of the Stephen T. Mather Building Arts & Craftsmanship High School in New York, NY.
 

Justin Davidson has been the architecture and classical music critic at New York magazine since 2007, and his architecture columns also appear in the magazine’s website Curbed. Before that, he spent 12 years as classical music critic at Newsday, where he also wrote about architecture and was a regular cultural commentator. He won a Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 2002 and was a finalist again in 2020. Davidson is the author of Magnetic City: A Walking Companion to New York, which leads readers through a portrait of the city told through its history, architecture, music, art, and literature. A native of Rome, Davidson graduated from Harvard and later earned a doctoral degree in music composition at Columbia University. He is on the faculty of the Urban Design program at Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. He has contributed to many publications, including The New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, and the book Beyond Architecture: the New New York. 


This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.