Cole Porter, the beloved American songwriter, lived in several suites in The Waldorf Towers from 1934 to 1964, eventually settling on room 33A. This spacious and grand suite later became the home of Frank Sinatra. If you’ve ever visited my show in New York City, you’ve had a peek inside the Towers. The Waldorf Towers are the super-luxury, high-security, residential “hotel within a hotel” in the Waldorf-Astoria.

Cole Porter’s piano – a small mahogany Steinway with Louis XVI courtly figures – is on display in the Park Avenue cocktail terrace of The Waldorf-Astoria. If you’re a Cole Porter fan, it’s definitely worth a visit. He composed many of his most famous songs on this piano, including I’ve Got You Under My Skin. 

Al Hirschfeld illustration of Cole Porter

Porter gave the piano to the hotel as a gift in 1939, and kept it in his suite until his death in 1964. There were actually two pianos in his suite, positioned curve to curve, so that two players could face each other while playing.

Here’s a floorplan I found online of suite 33A (click the image to enlarge):

Cole Porter kept two cats in this apartment for a while, one named “Anything” and the other one “Goes.” The cats reportedly never left the luxurious confines of their Towers suite.

Suite 33A was in the news in 2008 when it was put up for rental at $140,000 per month. Of course, that rental comes with twice-daily maid service.

Back to the piano. Cole Porter’s piano features double Empire-style legs, intricate hand carvings and decorative paintings. The keyboard lid is kept locked, so you unfortunately can’t tickle the ivories during your visit. However, I’ve heard pianist Daryl Sherman play this piano during her long tenure as the Waldorf’s pianist, and it sounds magnificent. The talented Ms. Sherman was kind enough to entertain over a hundred guests at my book launch party for Win The Crowd several years back.