Who did the ADA refuse to relinquish the Waldorf-Astorias Grand Ballroom for during their centennial?
In September 1959, the ADA was preparing to mark its first 100 years with a centennial celebration at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. With the long-planned event just days away, then-ADA President Percy T. Philips received two letters—one from New York Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr., the other from U.S. State Department Chief of Protocol Wiley T. Buchanan Jr. Both men urged the ADA to relinquish the Waldorf’s Grand Ballroom on the date of its centennial gala, Sept. 17, so that the city could host a luncheon for a visiting dignitary: Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. After mulling these requests, Dr. Philips and the ADA said “Nyet!” to both. The Association noted that it had a rock-solid agreement to use the Waldorf’s Grand Ballroom on the day in question, and that moving the House of Delegates’ centennial meeting to another site on short notice was not feasible. The Association’s strong stance made big news. Then-Vice President Richard M. Nixon, scheduled to speak at the ADA meeting, too
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- Who did the ADA refuse to relinquish the Waldorf-Astorias Grand Ballroom for during their centennial?
