St. Regis is Starwood's main luxury brand, launched in 1999. It is named for The St. Regis Hotel in New York, which was built in 1904 in Manhattan at 5th Avenue and 55th Street by John Jacob Astor IV, who also founded the Astoria Hotel (which later became the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel) was part of the ITT Sheraton Luxury division before it became the cornerstone and flagship of Starwood's new brand. The brand is currently present on four continents with a total pipeline of 57 operating and signed hotels as of April 2016.