- Mayflower Hotel
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- This article is about the hotel in Washington, D.C. There are other historic hotels by the name of Mayflower, including the Mayflower Hotel on the Park in New York City (closed and demolished in 2004[1]), the Mayflower Hotel in Beirut, and the Mayflower Park Hotel in Seattle.
Mayflower Hotel
The Renaissance Mayflower Hotel
Location: 1127 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. Coordinates: 38°54′15.85″N 77°2′23.29″W / 38.9044028°N 77.0398028°WCoordinates: 38°54′15.85″N 77°2′23.29″W / 38.9044028°N 77.0398028°W Built: 1922 Architect: Warren & Wetmore; Robert F. Beresford Architectural style: Beaux Arts Governing body: Private NRHP Reference#: 83003527[2] Added to NRHP: November 14, 1983 The Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, known locally as simply The Mayflower, is a historic hotel in downtown Washington, DC located on Connecticut Avenue NW, two blocks north of Farragut Square (one block north of the Farragut North Metro station). It is the largest luxury hotel in the U.S. capital and the longest continuously operating hotel in the Washington D.C. area, and a rival of the nearby Willard InterContinental and Hay-Adams Hotels. The Mayflower is known as Washington, D.C.’s “Second Best Address” (second to the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.), a reference attributed to President Harry Truman during his stay at the hotel during White House renovations. [3]
History
Front Entrance to Mayflower Hotel
The Mayflower was built by Allen E. Walker, the land developer behind Brookland and other residential neighborhoods of Washington. Nicknamed the "Grande Dame of Washington" at its opening in 1925, the hotel was said to contain more gold trim than any other building except the Library of Congress. An extensive renovation completed in 1988 uncovered decorative effects, including a skylight, which had been covered up due to blackout regulations during World War II.
Shortly after opening, the Mayflower hosted a ball for the presidential inauguration of Calvin Coolidge. Although Coolidge himself never arrived, the hotel has sponsored a ball every Inauguration Day since. Franklin D. Roosevelt worked on his famous "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" inaugural address while a guest. His successor Harry S. Truman resided there for the first 90 days of his presidential term while the White House was undergoing renovations, and declared his intention to run for the presidency in 1948 at a dinner there. The Mayflower's lounge, Town & Country, has long been a social center for Washington's elite. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was said to lunch there daily with Clyde Tolson for over twenty years. In 1975, the Mayflower was the site of former Peace Corps and Office of Economic Opportunity director Sargent Shriver's formal announcement that he would run for President of the United States.
The hotel came into spotlight several times in relation to political-sex scandals. President Kennedy's supposed mistress, Judith Campbell Exner was established in the hotel and supposedly sneaked into the White House when his wife was away. Monica Lewinsky was staying there when alleged her affair with Bill Clinton was in the news.[4] The Mayflower was also the location where Lewinsky had been photographed with President Clinton at a campaign event not long before the 1996 election; this photograph would become an iconic component of the media coverage of the scandal.[5]
On March 10, 2008, The New York Times reported that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer had on the evening of February 13 patronized a high class prostitution service called Emperors Club VIP[6] and met for over two hours with a $1,000-an-hour call girl in room 871 of the Mayflower Hotel, where Spitzer registered under the pseudonym George Fox, but with his own Fifth Avenue Manhattan address.[7][8] The resulting scandal caused him to announce his resignation on March 12, 2008.
The Mayflower appeared in the news once again as the location of a meeting at which Hillary Clinton introduced Barack Obama to about 300 of her leading contributors on June 26, 2008.[9]
Notes
- ^ The New York Times - New York / Region - 2004-10-16 The New York Times, retrieved 2010-08-08
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ [www.travelpost.com/hotels/The_Mayflower.../good_excellent] [1]
- ^ Eliot Spitzer's tryst at a high-class hotel Telegraph.co.uk 2008-03-13
- ^ Mayflower Hotel also setting in Clinton-Lewinsky scandal NYDailyNews.com 2008-03-10
- ^ Feuer, Alan (2008-03-07). "Four Charged With Running Online Prostitution Ring". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/07/nyregion/07prostitution.html.
- ^ CNN (2008-03-10). "Sources: Spitzer under prostitution investigation". http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/10/spitzer/index.html. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
- ^ Hakim, Danny; William K. Rashbaum (March 10, 2008). "Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring". N.Y. / Region. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/nyregion/10cnd-spitzer.html?_r=1&hp. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
- ^ Zeleny, Jeff. Obama-Clinton Meeting Fest The Caucus: The New York Times Politics Blog 2008-06-26
External links
- Renaissance Mayflower Hotel web site
- National Trust for Historic Preservation: Renaissance Mayflower Hotel
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places travel itinerary: Mayflower Hotel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places Topics Lists by states Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • WyomingLists by territories Lists by associated states Other Hotels in Washington, D.C. 5-star hotels Four Seasons Hotel, Washington, D.C. · Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C. · The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C. · The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown4-star hotels The Melrose Hotel · The Dupont Hotel · Donovan House · Westin Washington, D.C. City Center · Crowne Plaza The Hamilton-Washington, D.C. · The Churchill Hotel · Hotel Rouge · St. Gregory Luxury Hotels & Suites · The Fairmont Washington, D.C. · The Jefferson Hotel · The Liaison Capitol Hill · The Hay–Adams · Sofitel Lafayette Square Washington, D.C. · Westin Grand Washington, D.C. · The Fairfax at Embassy Row · St. Regis Hotel Washington, D.C. · Omni Shoreham Hotel · AKA White House · Hotel Monaco · Marriott Wardman Park · Mayflower Hotel · Hotel Palomar · W Washington, D.C. · Willard InterContinental Washington3-star hotels Renaissance Washington, D.C. Hotel · The Latham Georgetown Hotel · The River Inn · Capitol Skyline · Club Quarters in Washington, D.C. · The Eldon Luxury Suites · Savoy Suites Hotel · Hotel Monticello · Carlyle Suites Hotel · The Quincy · Holiday Inn Washington-Central/White House · Capitol Hill Suites · Hilton Washington · Four Points by Sheraton Washington, D.C. · Hotel Lombardy · Hilton Garden Inn Washington, D.C. Downtown · The George Washington University Inn · Hotel George · Dupont at the Circle B & B · Holiday Inn Washington-Capitol · Washington Plaza Hotel · Hilton Washington Embassy Row · Phoenix Park Hotel · Georgetown Suites · State Plaza Hotel · Windsor Inn · Georgetown Suites Harbour · Beacon Hotel & Corporate Quarters · Henley Park Hotel · One Washington Circle · L’Enfant Plaza Hotel · Morrison Clark Inn · The Normandy Hotel · Capital Hilton · Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill · Embassy Suites Washington, D.C. - Convention Center · Doubletree Hotel Washington, DC · Fairfield Inn & Suites-Washington, D.C. · Washington Court Hotel · Hampton Inn Washington, D.C. - Convention Center · Embassy Suites Washington, D.C. - at the Chevy Chase Pavilion · Homewood Suites Washington-Downtown · Embassy Suites Washington, D.C. · Embassy Inn · Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center · Kellogg Conference Hotel · Grand Hyatt Washington · Topaz HotelCategories:- Hotels in Washington, D.C.
- Hotels on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.
- 1922 architecture
- Beaux-Arts architecture in Washington, D.C.
- Hotels established in 1925
- Warren and Wetmore buildings
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