Martin Bradley

The Bradley-Martin Ball was a lavish costume ball at the original Waldorf Hotel in New York City on the night of February 10, 1897. Cornelia Bradley-Martin, wife of Bradley Martin, organized the ball. Eight hundred socialites spent about $400,000 imitating kings and queens. Bradley-Martin's stated intention was to create an economic stimulus for New York City, which was at the end of the Long Depression which began in 1873 and included the Panic of 1893.