Big Apple's grande dame to get face-lift

NEW YORK - It's goodbye for now to the grand Art Deco lobby and celebrities crossing paths en route to "The Towers" at the Waldorf Astoria: one of the world's most luxurious hotels is closing for renovation.

The legendary establishment opened at its Park Avenue location in midtown Manhattan in 1931 with more than 1,400 rooms, the largest - and tallest - anywhere at the time.

It has hosted a stream of international political leaders, movie stars, tycoons and power players of all kinds for more than 85 years.