By Michele Alperin
The Hotel Washington, built in 1917, sat in a privileged position across from the White House at 515 15th Street in Washington, DC, where it sheltered the famous, the wealthy and the powerful for 90 years. When it was built, the hotel had an ice skating rink on the roof as well as a telephone in every guest room and bathroom. On July 8, 2009, the luxury W Hotel will open in the renovated building of the old Hotel Washington.
Site
Previous occupant of the site from 1875 to 1917 was the Corcoran Office Building, designed by New York architects Renwick and Sands.
Architects
John Carrere and Thomas Hasting, who both studied at Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, designed the nine-story hotel in the Italian Renaissance Revival style. The first-three stories were faced with rusticated stone and the rest was brown bricks. The architects' work also included the New York City Public Library, the Russell Senate Office Building, the Cannon House Office Building and the Cosmos Club at 2121 Massachusetts Avenue.
Decoration
The hotel's distinctive sgraffito plaster work on the upper floors was scratched into the plaster to reveal the colors beneath, incorporating images of American presidents--Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson--and others. The façade and its sgraffito work were restored in 1985 by Mariani and Associates and materials conservator, Ivan Valtchev.
Closing Celebration
The party on December 31, 2007, that serenaded the grand hotel out of existence along with the old year featured ten themed rooms, including The Last Dance, The Last Call, The Last Meal, The Last Kiss, The Last Goodnight, The Last Laugh, The Last Temptation, The Last Waltz, The Last resort and The Last Hurrah (in the Grand Ballroom).
Celebrity Connections
With its tantalizing views of the White House, the hotel's rooftop terrace was a perfect spot for scenes from the films "The Godfather: Part II" and "No Way Out." Much of the Hotel Washington's history is simply the people who lived or stayed there. It has counted among its guests both entertainment icons--John Wayne, Elvis Presley, Duke Ellington, Will Rogers, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Aretha Franklin, Jodie Foster, Willie Nelson, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise and Gladys Knight--and government live-ins, among them Treasury secretary Paul O'Neill, Speaker of the House John McCormack, Supreme Court Justice Frank Murphy and Vice President John Nance Garner.
Fun Fact
The hotel was the official home of the Hillary Clinton Fan Club.
About the Author:
Michele Alperin is a freelance writer with more than 10 years' experience. She specializes in business, arts and Judaism, and her work has appeared in a variety of print and online publications, including MyJewishLearning.com, "U.S.1," "Princeton Packet," "Jewish State" and "Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles." She has master's degrees in business and Jewish education.
