WALDORF ARTIFACTS include several oil paintings and artwork, Chinese porcelains, trays, bowls, and Royal Copenhagen china. Personal possessions include a cane, suitcases, gold-plated razor kit, decanter set, and the bowl and rock used by Mr. Hoover for striking matches to light his pipe. Hoover's personal fishing gear included a straw hat, fly fishing tackle box, split bamboo fishing rod, reel, wet flies, and a silk tie. His "snack box" was custom-made to fit inside a Beech aircraft that ferried Herbert Hoover on fishing trips, plus the cushions taken along for extra comfort during the plane ride.
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, West Branch IA

Retirement to California left the energetic ex-president with a restless spirit. The Hoovers soon juggled their time between Palo Alto and New York City , leasing an apartment in the Waldorf Towers . After his wife's sudden death in 1944, Mr. Hoover moved permanently into the luxury hotel where Suite 31 - A became his home for the next 20 years.

The suite included a spacious living room, dining room, two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and two offices occupied by four secretaries. The living room showcased exotic objects from Hoover 's lifetime, including Chinese porcelains and Russian "tommyknockers."

When home from traveling, fund-raising excursions for the Boys Clubs, attending to famine relief efforts after World War II, or heading commisions to streamline the bureaucracy of the federal government, Mr. Hoover wrote many of his 43 books and answered thousands of letters from school children. He closely followed baseball games and watched television with his grandchildren and pet Siamese named Mr. Cat.