The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is considered by many Americans to be the gold standard in holiday decorations — but 1,300 miles away, another magical holiday display is equally steeped in history and enchants thousands every year.
The Roosevelt New Orleans, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, has been decorating its lobby for Christmas since the 1930s — around the same time the Rockefeller Center display began. And while they might not have a single 75-foot-tall tree, they’re certainly not skimping: This year, the hotel is decked out with 124 separate trees, 112,980 white lights, and 4,065 glass ornaments.
The entire ‘Waldorf Wonderland’ display is so painstakingly planned out an put together that it requires 52 staff members, who together spend a total of 1,800 hours preparing, installing, and breaking down the decorations each year.
White Christmas: The Roosevelt New Orleans, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, puts up an incredible display of Christmas decorations every year
Way back: The 124-year-old hotel has been decorating its lobby for the holidays since the 1930s, and it has become a favored New Orleans tradition
Don’t need Rudolph to light this way! The lobby, which is a block long, is lined each year with decorations. This year, the hotel put up 112,980 white lights
Lots of elves on hand! 52 staff members spend a total of 1,800 hours preparing, installing, and breaking down the decor
Gorgeous: There are 4,065 glass ornaments hanging from the snow-dusted Christmas trees, as well as the birch trees that create a canopy down the length of the lobby
No details forgotton! There are also 387 bows, as well as 1,610 feet of lighted garland
Perfect for holiday cards: Catching the lobby empty is incredibly rare, as visitors stream in and out all day to take pictures
Better and better! Locals have been stopping by The Roosevelt during Christmastime to enjoy the decorations for decades
A true wonderland! There are 46 Christmas trees which are dusted with fake snow, as well as 78 birch trees wound up with white lights
The lobby of the 124-year-old hotel spans a block, the length of which is positively bursting with Christmas. It’s been lined with 78 birch trees that glitter with lights from bow-bedecked planters, and 46 Christmas trees dusted with fake snow and shimmering with red and gold ornaments.
There are also 387 bows and 1,610 feet of lighted garland — and that’s not including the other decorations throughout the hotel, which flank the reception hall doors and are scattered throughout the incredibly festive gift shop.
All that decor is added to an already opulent setting, with a line of chandeliers down the lobby.
Though the hotel opened as The Hotel Grunewald in 1893, it wasn’t until the ’30s that the tradition arose of decking out the lobby — the same decade that Governor Huey Long would regularly stop by to stay at his own suite there. Since then, it has become a local favorite, with thousands of New Orleans residents and visitors filing in to enjoy the stunning seasonal show.
Every day throughout the month of December, crowds shuffle in and out throughout the day, dressing up in their Christmas card best to snap family photos and pictures with friends. If they stop in at noon, they can catch local school choirs signing carols.
A regular night sees the lobby packed with revelers, with men wearing button-downs and women in dresses and heels dipping in and out of the Sazerac Bar and carrying champagne glasses out into the lobby.
It’s a party! At night, the lobby is packed with visitors who stop for drinks at the Sazerac Bar and carry cocktails around in the lobby
Classic: The hotel shut down for a few years after Hurricane Katrina caused flooding, but a $170 million renovation got it back up in 2009
Perfect backdrop: Parents frequently dress their children up to pose them for pictures in the lobby, while wedding parties also shoot her
There’s lots of history here! The hotel opened in 1893 and was then called The Hotel Grunewald; it was renamed in 1923 for President Teddy Roosevelt
Glass ornaments dangle from the ceiling, while there are even more trees tucked away in other parts of the hotel — like the Blue Room (right) a music venue that hosted the likes of Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday
Fame: Visitors have included Sonny and Cher, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, and Bob Hope, as well as Presidents Calvin Coolidge, Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, and Bill Clinton
Getting a present? The gift shop, where local good are sold, also get decked out during the season
The shop is packed with trees, ornaments, tabletop decor — and a few non-Christmasy things, if you look for them
Children come donning matching outfits and smile while parents take photos — that is, when they can stop the kids from running around and staring in awe.
While the lobby has been a must-visit during Christmastime since the time of the Great Depression, the tradition — and the historic hotel itself — shuttered briefly due to damage from Hurricane Katrina, which flooded parts of the building. It reopened in 2009 after a $170 million renovation, and the decorations came back just as spectacular as ever.
Inside Teddy’s Cafe, just off the lobby, visitors can also find a giant gingerbread house modeled after the real-life home of Louisiana rock ‘n roll legend Fats Domino. The child-sized house took 350 hours to make and has over 300 lbs. of sugar and 300 lbs. of fondant holding it together.
This year, Fats Domino’s family was even on hand to flip the switch during the hotel’s ceremony to debut the Christmas lights display on November 28.
For those who manage to pick their jaws off the floor in the lobby, The Roosevelt also holds several events throughout the month, including a Christmas Day brunch.
There is also the Teddy Bear Tea, where kids can sing songs, meet Santa, and snack on holiday-themed treats in a ballroom that appears to offer a peek at the roof of the hotel — where Santa has landed his sleigh. Last year, 9,000 guests turned up for the event, and the hotel expects the number to reach 10,000 this year.
That’s something! Inside Teddy’s Cafe, just off the lobby, is an enormous gingerbread house
Genius! It was modeled after the house of musical legend Fats Domino (hence the FD in the window)
Sugar rush! The child-sized house took 350 hours to make and has over 300 lbs. of sugar and 300 lbs. of fondant
For the whole family! The hotel also hosts a Teddy Bear Tea several times throughout the month of December
Magical: The stage is set to look like the roof of the hotel, where Santa has landed his sleigh
All I want for Christmas… Kids’ jaws drop as they enter the room, where they get snacks and a chance to take pictures with Santa
In-demand: Each child also takes home a teddy bear, which the hotel switches up every year
Good ones! Snowflakes are shone on the ceiling, while a sign near the door proclaims all children nice, never naughty