Mayflower Hotel
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The Mayflower Hotel is a historic
hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
in downtown
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, located on
Connecticut Avenue Connecticut Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., and suburban Montgomery County, Maryland. It is one of the diagonal avenues radiating from the White House, and the segment south of Florida Avenue was one ...
NW. It is two blocks north of
Farragut Square Farragut Square is a city square in Washington, D.C.'s Ward 2. It is bordered by K Street NW to the north, I Street NW to the south, on the east and west by segments of 17th Street NW, and interrupts Connecticut Avenue NW. It is the sister par ...
(one block north of the
Farragut North Farragut North station is an underground Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C., on the Red Line. Farragut North serves downtown Washington and is located just north of Farragut Square. It lies at the heart of the business district on ...
Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
station). The hotel is managed by the
Autograph Collection Hotels Autograph Collection is a group of independent upper-upscale to luxury hotels within the Marriott International portfolio. The properties are independently owned and operated under the Autograph Collection name. History To grow in the post-200 ...
division of
Marriott International Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging including hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. T ...
. The Mayflower is the largest luxury hotel in the District of Columbia, 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 the "Grande Dame of Washington", the "Hotel of Presidents", and as the city's "Second Best Address" (the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
is the first)—the latter sobriquet attributed to President
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
(a frequent guest at the hotel). It was also a charter member o
Historic Hotels of America
the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Today it is a four-star hotel.


History


Construction, sale, and renaming

The site on which the Mayflower Hotel sits was, after the organization of the District of Columbia in 1792, initially owned by the federal government. The federal government finally sold the property to Nathaniel Carusi for $5,089. Carusi sold the site to the
Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary , image = Salesas-escut.gif , size = 175px , abbreviation = V.S.M. , nickname = Visitandines , motto = , formation = , founder = Saint Bishop Francis de ...
in 1867 for $50,000. The order built the Convent of the Visitation on the site, a structure that occupied the land until the construction of the Mayflower Hotel itself. The Mayflower Hotel was built by Allan E. Walker, the land developer behind Brookland and other residential neighborhoods of Washington. Initially called the Hotel Walker, it was to have 11 stories, 1,100 rooms, and cost $6.2 million ($ in dollars). On May 27, 1922, the Walker Hotel Company was organized, with Allan Walker as president. The corporation issued 80,000 shares of
preferred stock Preferred stock (also called preferred shares, preference shares, or simply preferreds) is a component of share capital that may have any combination of features not possessed by common stock, including properties of both an equity and a debt ins ...
worth $2 million and 80,000 shares of
common stock Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other Com ...
, and purchased a site on the north half of the block on DeSales Street between 17th Street and Connecticut Avenue. Plans for the hotel, whose cost was now pegged at $6.75 million ($ in dollars), now included an 11-story, 1,100-room hotel facing Connecticut Avenue, whose first two floors would be common rooms, and an eight-story residential hotel facing 17th Street. Robert F. Beresford of Washington, D.C., and the New York City architectural firm of
Warren and Wetmore Warren and Wetmore was an architecture firm in New York City which was a partnership between Whitney Warren (1864–1943) and Charles Delevan Wetmore (June 10, 1866 – May 8, 1941), that had one of the most extensive practices of its time and w ...
were appointed the architects, and Beresford said the structure would be built of concrete and brick around a steel frame. Indiana limestone would be used for the facade on the first three floors, with rusticated brick and terra cotta trim on all upper floors. By June 6, however, the cost of the hotel had risen to $8 million ($ in dollars), largely due to a sizeable expansion in the size of the ballrooms (the largest of which could now seat 1,600 people), meeting rooms, and other public spaces on the first two floors and first basement level. Ground for the new hotel was broken in July 1922.
Structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of safety, technical, economic ...
F. E. Gillen designed the foundation, and oversaw its construction. As excavation began, workers quickly uncovered the stumps of massive
cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...
trees, some of the trunks nearly in diameter. Geologists estimated the stumps at 100,000 years old. As workers dug deeper, they discovered that an underground branch of Rock Creek ran below the site. This forced the foundation to be dug to bedrock, some below ground. The facade along Connecticut Avenue was in length, along DeSales Street in length, and along 17th Street in length. The main promenade running through the center of the hotel was wide and long, while the lobby was wide and long. Wainscoting and floors in the public rooms of the hotel were of
Botticino marble The following is a list of various types of marble according to location. (NB: Marble-like stone which is not true marble according to geologists is included, but is indicated by ''italics'' with geologic classification given as footnote. Afri ...
and featured
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...
moldings. A glass dome covered the Palm Court, which as decorated on the interior with ornamental ironwork in the
Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
style. Excavation of the foundation was completed in late November 1922, several weeks ahead of schedule. Steel for the frame began arriving the week of January 21, 1923, and erection of the building's frame was expected to take 10 weeks. More than 500 men worked on erecting the frame, while 2,000 men erected the facade and interior walls, and worked laying electrical, water, sewer, and gas lines. Longacre Engineering Company of New York was the general contractor. Construction costs continued to rise, however. Although scheduled to open January 1, 1924, the hotel remained unfinished. The Allan E. Walker Investment Company, the largest shareholder in the Hotel Walker Company began running short of funds, slowing construction. Nearing bankruptcy, the Walker Investment sold its interest in the Hotel Walker to C.C. Mitchell & Company, builder of large apartment complexes and hotels in Boston and Detroit. The reported price of the sale was $5.7 million for the $8.5 million hotel. But in fact, costs had risen much higher, and the hotel's final cost was closer to $11 million ($ in dollars). The new owners changed the name to the Mayflower Hotel in honor of the 300th anniversary of the landing of the ''
Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...
'' and the Pilgrims at
Plymouth Rock Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the ''Mayflower'' Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in December 1620. The Pilgrims did not refer to Plymouth Rock in any of their writings; the first known writt ...
.


About the hotel

The Mayflower Hotel opened on February 18, 1925. The hotel sat on of land, and had roughly of interior space. Several
heating oil Heating oil is any petroleum product or other oil used for heating; a fuel oil. Most commonly, it refers to low viscosity grades of fuel oil used for furnaces or boilers use for home heating and in other buildings. Home heating oil is often a ...
furnace A furnace is a structure in which heat is produced with the help of combustion. Furnace may also refer to: Appliances Buildings * Furnace (central heating): a furnace , or a heater or boiler , used to generate heat for buildings * Boiler, used t ...
s and one of the world's largest
air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
units kept the hotel at an even year round. The hotel's promenade, as completed, was wide and long. The hotel had 440 guest rooms, each with its own
shower A shower is a place in which a person bathes under a spray of typically warm or hot water. Indoors, there is a drain in the floor. Most showers have temperature, spray pressure and adjustable showerhead nozzle. The simplest showers have a ...
bath. Guest suites had a sitting room, dining room, bath, and up to seven bedrooms. The hotel's 500 residential guest apartments each had its own
kitchenette A kitchenette is a small cooking area, which usually has a refrigerator and a microwave, but may have other appliances. In some motel and hotel rooms, small apartments, college dormitories, or office buildings, a kitchenette consists of a small ref ...
, dining room, and
drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th cent ...
with fireplace. Some had as many as 11 rooms, and up to five baths. The
cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...
lobby had a mezzanine on the north, west, and south sides, and marble-clad
piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...
divided the north and south walls into three
bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...
. A small cocktail lounge was located along the north wall, while the reception desk occupied the south wall. The lobby received light from a
coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also c ...
ed
skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History Open ...
. Four great bronze
torchère A torchère ( ; french: torchère ; also variously spelled "torchèr", "torchière", "torchièr", "torchiere" and "torchier" with various interpretative pronunciations), also known as a torch lamp or floor lamp, is a lamp with a tall stand of wo ...
s, hand-wrought and trimmed with gold, dominated the lobby (and were claimed by the hotel to be "priceless"). The main lobby entrance on Connecticut Avenue had a stairway that led down to the first below-ground level, where public restrooms, the
barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...
shop, and a shoeshine stand (made of marble) were located. A secondary corridor and steps behind the elevators led to the Presidential Room; another secondary corridor to the east of the front desk led to the Mayflower Coffee Shop. The four elevators to the east of the lobby, joining it to the Promenade, had bronze doors with images of the ''Mayflower'' vessel on them. The Mayflower featured three restaurants. The Palm Court featured a glass dome supported by iron latticework, numerous palm trees, and a marble fountain and pool with
water lilies ''Water Lilies'' (or ''Nymphéas'', ) is a Serial imagery, series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionism, Impressionist Claude Monet (1840–1926). The paintings depict his Fondation Monet in Giverny, flower garden at Fond ...
growing in it. The Presidential Restaurant was decorated with the seals of the
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of Kingdom of Great Britain, British Colony, colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Fo ...
. Both were located on the main floor. The Garden Terrace was located on the first below-ground floor. The
Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
room featured a coffered ceiling done in copper, a marble fountain, plaster walls in warm pastel tints, alcoves designed to look like arbors, and murals of early Washington, D.C., and nearby
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
. Two well-known hoteliers managed the restaurants: Jules Venice, the
maitre d'hotel Maitre or Maître is a French-language title, associated with lawyers. It is also a surname, equivalent to the English "Master" Notable people with the surname include: *Jean-Philippe Maitre (1949–2006), Swiss politician *Romain Maitre (born 19 ...
, and Sabatini, former chef at
Delmonico's Delmonico's is the name of a series of restaurants that operated in New York City, with the present version located at 56 Beaver Street in the Financial District of Manhattan. The original version was widely recognized as the United States ...
. The hotel's Grand Ballroom featured a
stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...
with
proscenium A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...
, beneath which was a hidden
thrust stage In theatre, a thrust stage (also known as a platform stage or open stage) is one that extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its upstage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between performe ...
that could be projected out into the ballroom. The Grand Ballroom's main entrance was on 17th Street, where a covered, semi-circular carriageway allowed up to three carriages at a time to unload patrons. The hotel also had several small, private ballrooms for more intimate events. Next to the ballroom on the 17th Street side was the Chinese Room—a sumptuous meeting and banqueting room inspired by ''
The Peacock Room ''Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room'' (better known as ''The Peacock Room'') is a masterpiece of interior decorative art created by James McNeill Whistler and Thomas Jeckyll, translocated to the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. ...
'' by
James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...
. The Mayflower Hotel's interior design was created by E. S. Bullock of Albert Pick & Co. The furnishings, which cost $1.25 million ($ in dollars), were antique and reproduction pieces in the Sheraton,
Louis Quinze The Louis XV style or ''Louis Quinze'' (, ) is a style of architecture and decorative arts which appeared during the reign of Louis XV. From 1710 until about 1730, a period known as the Régence, it was largely an extension of the Louis XIV style ...
, and
early Renaissance Renaissance art (1350 – 1620 AD) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which occ ...
styles. "Walls, floors, stairs, pilasters and wainscoting in the lobby and the major function rooms ereclad in a wide array of American and imported marbles, and ceilings and walls throughout the first floor and mezzanine ereornamented by finely cast, low-relief plaster decorations, often further embellished with gold leaf." The use of gold gilt to trim decoration was extensive; newspapers said the hotel contained more gold trim than any other building except the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
. Original artworks, some by quite famous artists, adorned the public spaces. These included four larger-than-life-sized portraits of the first four presidents by painter and muralist
Louis Grell Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ...
of Chicago. Three marble statuary groups were also displayed in the lobby and public areas: ''La Sirene'' by
Denys Puech Denys Puech (3 December 1854, Gavernac, Bozouls, Aveyron – December 1942, Rodez, Aveyron) was a French sculptor. Biography From a family of farmers (his brother was Louis Puech, Député for the Seine Department from 1898 to 1932, and Minist ...
; ''Flora'' by William Couper; and ''The Lost Pleiad'' (also known as ''Merope Married a Mortal'') by
Randolph Rogers Randolph Rogers (July 6, 1825 in Waterloo, New York – January 15, 1892 in Rome, Italy) was an American Neoclassical sculptor. An expatriate who lived most of his life in Italy, his works ranged from popular subjects to major commissions, includ ...
. Two smaller pieces by Rogers, ''Nydia, the Blind Girl of Pompeii'' and ''Boy and Dog'', were also on display. The Mayflower Hotel offered guests amenities unparalleled among hotels in the United States. This included air conditioning in all the public rooms (the first time a hotel had used air conditioning on such a large scale), and ice water and fans in all guest rooms. Services included daily maid service, a laundry, a barber shop, a beauty salon, a garage for automobiles, a telephone switchboard, and a small hospital staffed by a doctor.


Construction of the Annex

With the Mayflower Hotel finished but not yet furnished in September 1924, plans were made to enlarge the structure even before it opened. The new owners perceived high demand for guest room suites, and quickly designed a $1 million ($ in dollars) addition. Construction began in October 1925, and within six weeks the deep foundation had been dug. The addition opened on May 31, 1925. The most prominent features of the Annex were the Presidential Suite and the Vice Presidential Suite. The Presidential Suite occupied the 10th floor, and was decorated in green and gold in the Italianate style. The Vice Presidential Suite occupied the ninth floor, and was decorated in dull and bright yellow in the
Louis XVI style Louis XVI style, also called ''Louis Seize'', is a style of architecture, furniture, decoration and art which developed in France during the 19-year reign of Louis XVI (1774–1793), just before the French Revolution. It saw the final phase of t ...
. Each suite had 13 rooms, which included a
foyer A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer, reception area or an entrance hall, it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre, opera house, concert hall, showroom, cinema, etc. ...
, drawing room, library, secretary's room, dining room, and five bedrooms—each with its own bath and kitchenette. Each suite also had a maid's room, with an attached bath. The furnishings of both suites were copies of museum pieces. The Presidential Suite featured a
marquetry Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The technique may be applied to case furn ...
table with
ormolu Ormolu (; from French ''or moulu'', "ground/pounded gold") is the gilding technique of applying finely ground, high-carat gold– mercury amalgam to an object of bronze, and for objects finished in this way. The mercury is driven off in a kiln le ...
fittings; a Louis XVI cabinet with painted panels;
Oriental rug An oriental rug is a heavy textile made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes and produced in " Oriental countries" for home use, local sale, and export. Oriental carpets can be pile woven or flat woven without pile, using v ...
s; bronze and marble urns in the
Neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The pr ...
; drapes of
silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
damask Damask (; ar, دمشق) is a reversible patterned fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp yarn and one weft yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin ...
; and underdrapes of silk
taffeta Taffeta (archaically spelled taffety or taffata) is a crisp, smooth, plain woven fabric made from silk, cuprammonium rayons, acetate, and polyester. The word is Persian (تافته) in origin and means "twisted woven". As clothing, it is used in ...
. The suite's dining room featured
Queen Anne style furniture The Queen Anne style of furniture design developed before, during, and after the time of Queen Anne, who reigned from 1702 to 1714. History and characteristics Queen Anne furniture is "somewhat smaller, lighter, and more comfortable than its p ...
. The Vice Presidential Suite featured a dining room with furniture in the Sheraton and
Hepplewhite George Hepplewhite (1727? – 21 June 1786) was a cabinetmaker. He is regarded as having been one of the "big three" English furniture makers of the 18th century, along with Thomas Sheraton and Thomas Chippendale. There are no pieces of furnit ...
styles. Dining room furniture in both suites was manufactured from satin-walnut, and featured painted decorations and marquetry. The bedrooms in both suites featured Louis XVI-,
Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
-, and
Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
-style furniture made of
satinwood Satinwood may refer to: * A name for a wood that can be polished to a high gloss derived from certain species of flowering plants: * ''Brosimum rubescens'', Red satinwood, Suriname satinwood * ''Ceratopetalum apetalum'', Scented satinwood * ''Ch ...
, walnut, and mahogany. Each piece was painted, lacquered, or marquetried. Dust-covers for the beds were also of taffeta. Sofas and chairs in each suite were upholstered in imported
brocade Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian ''broccato'' meaning "embos ...
s, while the walls were covered in hand-made
tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
. Each suite had numerous shaded lamps, porcelain and crystal art objects, and gilt mirrors. Original oil and watercolor paintings as well as etchings and engravings—many of them by famous artists—decorated the suites. Each suite's bathroom was completely tiled in white, with silver-plated fixtures for the sink and shower, an engraved glass shower door, and a Swiss shower. The kitchens, too, were tiled in white, and contained an electric stove and oven, a
Frigidaire Frigidaire Appliance Company is the American consumer and commercial home appliances brand subsidiary of multinational company Electrolux. Frigidaire was founded as the Guardian Frigerator Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and developed the first s ...
refrigerator, silver
tableware Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, List of glassware, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variet ...
, complete
porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...
table setting Table setting (laying a table) or place setting refers to the way to set a table with tableware—such as eating utensils and for serving and eating. The arrangement for a single diner is called a place setting. It is also the layout in which th ...
, and fine table linens. The second through eighth floors of the Annex contained guest suites. Each suite had five bedrooms, and each bedroom had its own bath. The first floor of the Annex was occupied by the Mayflower Coffee Shop, a vastly expanded version of the highly popular but extremely small
café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...
located on the ground floor of the existing hotel. The basement of the Annex occupied by a huge laundry, which served the hotel and annex.


Bankruptcy of the 1930s

On March 31, 1928, the Mayflower Hotel's bonds were refinanced by the American Bond & Mortgage Co. (the successor to C.C. Mitchell & Co.). The
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
had a significant impact on the Mayflower Hotel. It lost money (as much as $760,000 over two years), and in 1929 its affairs were placed in the hands of a special committee established by American Bond & Mortgage. The hotel continued to lose money, and on May 22, 1931, holders of the hotel's original bonds secured a ruling that the hotel was
bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...
. American Bond was declared bankrupt the same day. The receivers later alleged that the hotel had lost more than $2 million since it opened, and that American Bond had issued a large amount of bonds with the hotel as security (worsening the hotel's financial status). American Bond won dismissal of the bankruptcy ruling on June 26, A second bankruptcy was declared by the court on July 28, 1931. Fraud charges were later levied against officials of American Bond & Mortgage. American Bond finally admitted the hotel was bankrupt in October 1931. Holders of the second bonds (issued with the hotel as security), however, feared that they would receive nothing if the Mayflower were foreclosed. They petitioned a court to remove the receivers and to appoint new trustees who would sell the hotel. The court agreed, and the sale began to move forward in 1933. Concerned about the sale, Senators
Hamilton Fish Kean Hamilton Fish Kean (February 27, 1862December 27, 1941) was a U.S. Senator from New Jersey. Early life Kean was the son of Lucy (née Halstead) and John Kean. He was related to several prominent American politicians including his great-grandfathe ...
and
Robert Rice Reynolds Robert Rice Reynolds (June 18, 1884 – February 13, 1963) was an American politician who served as a Democratic US senator from North Carolina from 1932 to 1945. Almost from the outset of his Senate career, "Our Bob," as he was known among ...
began an investigation into the bankruptcy and sale. In 1933, Kean and Reynolds won congressional approval in June 1934 for the Corporate Bankruptcy Act, which allowed the Mayflower Hotel itself to declare bankruptcy and refinance itself. With the receivers having made the hotel profitable once more, the hotel reorganized its finances in a court-approval bankruptcy proceeding on December 20, 1934. Early in World War II, the skylight in the Palm Court was covered over with a mural painting. The skylight was later
flocked Flocking is the process of depositing many small fiber particles (called flock) onto a surface. It can also refer to the texture produced by the process, or to any material used primarily for its flocked surface. Flocking of an article can be per ...
with pieces of
velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...
.


Hilton

In December 1946,
Hilton Hotels Corporation Hilton Worldwide (legally Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.) is an American multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and resorts. Founded by Conrad Hilton in May 1919, the corporation is now led b ...
purchased the Mayflower Hotel for $2.6 million. Some of the Mayflower's stockholders challenged the sale, arguing the price was too low. A court dismissed the suit in May 1947. Over the next decade, Hilton Hotels spent about $1 million refurbishing the guest rooms and public spaces. Hilton Hotels purchased the
Statler Hotels The Statler Hotel company was one of the United States' early chains of hotels catering to traveling businessmen and tourists. It was founded by Ellsworth Milton (E. M.) Statler in Buffalo, New York. Early ventures In 1901, Buffalo hosted the ...
chain in 1954, and as a result owned multiple large hotels in many major cities, as in Washington, where they now owned the Mayflower and the
Statler Hotel The Statler Hotel company was one of the United States' early chains of hotels catering to traveling businessmen and tourists. It was founded by Ellsworth Milton (E. M.) Statler in Buffalo, New York. Early ventures In 1901, Buffalo hosted the ...
. Soon after, the federal government filed an
antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
action against Hilton. To resolve the suit, Hilton agreed to sell a number of their hotels, including the Mayflower Hotel.


Hotel Corporation of America

Hilton Hotels sold the Mayflower to the Hotel Corporation of America (HCA) on April 1, 1956, for $12.8 million. HCA renovated the Mayflower's old Garden Terrace, renaming it the Rib Room. The hotel's occupancy rates were lower than average, however. In 1963, for example, the Mayflower lost $450,000. HCA privately expressed interest in selling the property.


May-Wash Associates

On October 28, 1965, the locally owned May-Wash Associates offered to buy the Mayflower for $14 million. May-Wash Associates consisted of William Cohen, a local real estate developer and banker who owned 50 percent of the company;
Kingdon Gould Jr. Kingdon Gould Jr. (January 3, 1924 – January 16, 2018) was an American diplomat, businessman, and philanthropist. A Republican Party (United States), Republican businessman, Gould was appointed by President Richard Nixon to serve as United Stat ...
and his son, Kingdon Gould III, local real estate developers who owned 35 percent; Ulysses "Blackie" Augur, a local restaurateur who owned 10 percent; and Dominic F. Antonelli, owner of a string of parking lots in the area who owned 1 percent. HCA's board of directors approved the deal on November 11, 1965. HCA continued to manage the hotel for the new owners. The Mayflower Hotel underwent a $2.5 million refurbishment of its common rooms in 1966 and 1967. The renovation got rid of the Presidential Restaurant and renamed it Le Chatelaine. HCA was renamed Sonesta Hotels in 1970. May-Wash Associates considered closing the Mayflower Hotel in 1971 after it lost $485,000 the previous year. Lead May-Wash investor William Cohen said that if Congress weakened the restrictions of the
Height of Buildings Act of 1910 The Height of Buildings Act of 1910 was an Act of Congress passed by the 61st United States Congress on June 1, 1910 to limit the height of buildings in District of Columbia, amending the Height of Buildings Act of 1899."Fiscal Relation of the ...
, the company would tear down the Mayflower and erect a 20-story office and retail skyscraper with of office space and of retail space. If the Height Act remained in force, Cohen said the hotel's first two floors would be transformed into a shopping mall accommodating 40 to 50 small businesses. But the plan was abandoned later that fall when the Mayflower announced a five-year, $2.5 million renovation that would refurbish the retail stores on the Connecticut Avenue side of the structure. Then on November 1, 1971, May-Wash hired Western International Hotels to manage the property. Western International said it would invest $500,000 immediately to upgrade guest rooms (which included color television sets for the first time). Western International said the previously announced $2.5 million refurbishment would go to additional guest room renovations, and improvements to dining spaces, banqueting facilities, and ballrooms. The Rib Room lost its name (which had been trademarked by HCA, the previous manager), the facade was cleaned, and the air conditioning repaired and upgraded. Beginning in April 1973, the Mayflower Hotel served as the temporary
Embassy of China in Washington, D.C. The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States is the diplomatic mission of the People's Republic of China to the United States, located at Northwest Quadrant, Washington D.C. The main chancery is located at 3505 Internati ...
, for a time while their new embassy building at 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW was being renovated following the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China. With the Mayflower making a profit, May-Wash Associates undertook at $2.5 million general refurbishment of the guest rooms about 1977. The hotel then announced a $25 million expansion of the hotel in January 1979. The company intended to combine 800 smaller guest rooms in its eastern half into 407 luxury suites, and to add a health club (with
racquetball Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase velo ...
court,
sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...
, and swimming pool) and café to the 17th Street side of the hotel. Meeting and private dining room space would be added to the structure; all plumbing and mechanical systems would be upgraded; and central air conditioning would replace the window units now in operation. May-Wash hired architect
Vlastimil Koubek Vlastimil Koubek (March 17, 1927 – February 15, 2003) was a Czech American architect who designed more than 100 buildings, most of them in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. When he died, he had designed buildings worth more than $2 bill ...
to design two new floors to add to the top of the eastern tower, bringing it to the same height as the western tower. The 448 rooms in the hotel's eastern half would be turned into retail space on the two first floors with office space above. The hotel sought to permanently narrow De Sales Street NW as part of its renovations. Western International Hotels, which managed the property, was renamed Westin Hotels & Resorts in January 1981. In October 1981, May-Wash Associates announced that Stouffer Corp., a division of
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...
, was taking a minority interest in the Mayflower Hotel, and would assume management of the property on December 1, 1981, under a 20-year agreement. Stouffer said the hotel would be its American "flagship", and the hotel was renamed the Stouffer Mayflower Hotel. While renovation of the eastern tower proceeded, plans for the western tower drastically changed. The Mayflower abandoned its plan to convert the tower into office space, and instead upgraded the hotel rooms in the eastern tower. In some cases, rooms were merged to create luxury suites. The change in renovation plans left the Mayflower with just 727 rooms, but added of meeting room space and a new restaurant. The hotel still attempted to narrow DeSales Street NW, proposing to use the extra space to build an enclosed outdoor café (something city laws did not permit). Even as the first renovations were ending, the Mayflower Hotel embarked on another major set of refurbishments and upgrades. This project, which began in 1981 and lasted three years, cost $65 million. The hotel remained open as the project moved forward in phases. In 1981, two floors were finally added to the eastern wing of the structure. The meeting rooms on the hotel's second floor and the Board Room were refurbished, and offices on the mezzanine were removed and the space restored to public use. The following year, 200 suites received major makeovers, including the installation of baths clad in Italian marble. The Presidential Restaurant was divided into two new banqueting halls, the East Room and the State Room, and the Grand Ballroom and the Chinese Room were renovated. The restoration of the lobby and upgrading of the hotel's restaurants occurred in 1983. Artisans and technicians helped to restore the
bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
plaster moldings and brass fixtures, clean and restore the hotel's many crystal chandeliers, and apply new gold leaf to areas where the gilt had been damaged or removed. The renovations left the hotel with 721 guest rooms (about half rebuilt and restored) and two restaurants. The renovation uncovered many historic decorative elements which had been covered up over time. The skylight in the Presidential Room (formerly the Palm Court) was uncovered. When renovation of the former Palm Court began, two previously unknown murals by Edward Laning were discovered. The murals were dated by art experts to 1957, when the Palm Court was radically reconfigured into the Le Chatelaine restaurant. The murals, long and high, depicted Italian formal gardens. They were hidden behind a false wall when the restaurant was turned into meeting room space in early 1978. Discovered in storage were 24 fire-gilded 19th century service platters purchased from the estate of heiress
Evalyn Walsh McLean Evalyn McLean ( Walsh; August 1, 1886 – April 26, 1947) was an American mining heiress and socialite, famous for reputedly being the last private owner of the Hope Diamond (which was bought in 1911 for US$180,000 from Pierre Cartier), as we ...
in 1947.


Stouffer, New World and Marriott Hotels

After managing the hotel for ten years, Stouffer bought it outright from May-Wash in 1991 for just over $100 million. In April 1993, Stouffer Hotels was sold by Nestlé to New World Development Company of
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. Nestlé also gave New World the right to use the Stouffer brand name for 3 years, from 1993 to May 1996. New World already owned the
Renaissance Hotels Renaissance Hotels is a luxury hotel brand of Marriott International. It was founded in 1981 as Ramada Renaissance, an upscale brand of Ramada Inns. In 1989 the brand was relaunched as Renaissance Hotels. It was bought by Marriott in 1997. As o ...
chain, and merged the Stouffer-branded Hotels into it. The Mayflower was renamed the Stouffer Renaissance Mayflower Hotel. In early 1996, the Stouffer branding was retired, and the hotel became the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel. Marriott International bought
Renaissance Hotels Renaissance Hotels is a luxury hotel brand of Marriott International. It was founded in 1981 as Ramada Renaissance, an upscale brand of Ramada Inns. In 1989 the brand was relaunched as Renaissance Hotels. It was bought by Marriott in 1997. As o ...
from New World in February 1997.


Investment groups

Marriott sold The Mayflower to Walton Street Capital in 2005, in a package with seven other Marriott hotels, for a total of $578 million. Walton Street resold the Mayflower to Rockwood Capital in 2007 for $260 million, financed with a $200 million securitized loan. The hotel, appraised at $285 million in 2008, fell in value to $160 million by 2010. With Rockwood's loan over-leveraged, they refinanced the hotel in 2015, with a $160 million loan from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Inc. and other lenders. Also in 2015, Rockwood sold off 71 of the hotel's rooms to Marriott for $32 million, for use by the company's Marriott Vacation Club Destinations time-share division. In May 2015, the hotel switched from Marriott's Renaissance Hotels brand to Marriott's Autograph Collection brand, dropping the word "Renaissance" from its name. The move was prompted by studies which showed that younger travelers were not brand-loyal and instead looked for individuality and uniqueness when shopping for a hotel stay. Marriott also learned that few travelers knew the Mayflower was a Renaissance Hotel, which made the branding superfluous. A $20 million refurbishment of all rooms and the creation of a club level was completed in August 2015. Each floor of the hotel was given a theme corresponding to a decade, with the second floor devoted to the 1920s, third floor to the 1930s, and so on to the tenth floor. Each room received updated, modern furniture, and the hallways were wallpapered in grey and white with a pattern reminiscent of the lobby mezzanine railing. Each of the hotel's presidential suites also received a complete makeover, and now have a separate office. Rooms on the seventh floor were eliminated to make space for the Marriott Vacation Club Pulse. This left the Mayflower with a total of 581 rooms (512 guest rooms, 67 suites, and two presidential suites). At the completion of the room renovation, the Mayflower announced it would begin a major refurbishment of the hotel's ballrooms and meeting space in late 2016. In July 2021, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Inc., having already provided Rockwood financing for the 2015 refinancing, bought out Rockwood's share of the hotel, for $86 million.


Renovations


Lobby

In the hotel's early years, the lobby skylight was painted over. The lobby originally featured a small store and cocktail bar in its northwest corner. The main entrance to this space was at the corner where the two diagonal walls of the hotel met at the corner of Connecticut Avenue and DeSales Street. In March 1948, the retail area was taken over by the hotel and expanded into a much larger bar and dining space named the Town and Country Lounge. Over the next four decades, the bar became a favorite of Washington politicians and power-brokers. ''
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'' of
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
rated Town and Country as one of the "star bars" of the world (alongside the
Polo Lounge The Polo Lounge is located inside the Beverly Hills Hotel at 9641 Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California. Description The lounge has been described as "done up in peachy pink (as you might expect), with deep carpets and dark green booths, ...
at the
Beverly Hills Hotel The Beverly Hills Hotel, also called the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, is located on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California, Beverly Hills, California. One of the world's best-known hotels, it is closely associated with Cinema of the ...
in
Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...
; the mob-constructed lobby bar of the
Hotel Nacional de Cuba The Hotel Nacional de Cuba is a historic Spanish eclectic style hotel in Havana, Cuba, opened in 1930. Located on the sea front of Vedado district, it stands on Taganana Hill, offering commanding views of the sea and the city. History Design ...
in
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
,
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
; and
Harry's New York Bar Harry's New York Bar is a bar in Paris, France located at 5, Rue Daunou, between the Avenue de l'Opéra and the Rue de la Paix. The bar was acquired by former American star jockey Tod Sloan in 1911, who converted it from a bistro and renamed it ...
in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France). The lobby mezzanine was closed off to create office space in 1962. The ceiling of the elevator foyer was lowered, which covered up a bas-relief plaster sculpture on the architrave above the east entrance to the elevator foyer and a sunburst medallion on the ceiling of the elevator foyer were both covered over (but not removed). Intricate plaster capitals on the piers in the lobby were also removed at this time. At some point, a door was cut through the curved wall opposite the elevator bank. The offices were removed from the lobby mezzanine in the 1981–1984 renovation, and the mezzanine restored to its original function. The door in the curved wall opposite the elevators was also sealed. The Town and Country Lounge was slightly renovated in 2010, with hardwood floors replacing the carpet. The bar's future, however, was not secure. In January 2011, the hotel's lobby, restaurant, bar, and retail spaces underwent a six-month, $5 million renovation (their first since the 1981–1984 refurbishment). The Town and Country Lounge ceased to exist, and the Thomas Pink luxury men's clothing store moved into the space. Thomas Pink had formerly occupied the site of the old Mayflower Coffee Shop on the south side of the lobby. Offices near this space were removed to provide expansion of the space, and a new restaurant to be named EDGAR Bar + Lounge. The lobby itself underwent additional restoration, overseen by the architectural firm of Jonathan Nehmer & Associates, which flipped the lobby orientation.


Presidential Room

The Presidential Room was originally decorated in the Adams style. The floor of the room was white Vermont marble tile. Thin diagonal lines of verd antique ran across the floor. Around the floor was an inner, narrow border of verd antique, with a wide border of blue-veined white Pavonazzo marble. Seven square piers, with Doric order, Doric capitals and gilt festoons, created a narrow colonnade along the north and south walls. A wainscot high, made of white Sylacauga marble with a verd antique baseboard, was placed on the walls and around all the piers. An Acanthus (ornament), acanthus crown molding topped the room, and gilt plaster moldings in the shape of finials surrounded each window and doorway. Turned wood spindles decorated the northern wall. The crests of the 13 Colonies, in gilt and polychrome, lined the walls as decorative elements. On the south side of the room, there was a "service pavilion" wide and one story high. A narrow set of stairs gave access to the top of the service pavilion, which was enclosed by a decorative iron railing. The ceiling of the room was decoration with Adams style bas-relief plaster moldings. The center of the ceiling was a long rectangle stretching nearly the long length of the room, surrounded by gilt plaster wreath moldings. A gilt chandelier with silk shades hung from the center of the room. Shallow, circular domes surrounded by gilt plaster wreath moldings existed at the east and west ends of the room. In the center of each dome was a delicate grating, from which hung two more gilt chandeliers with silk shades. At some point in time, the stairs leading to the top of the service pavilion were removed. The structure was clad in mirrors separated by narrow pilasters, and most (but not all) of the spindles removed from the north wall. The old Presidential Room was partitioned in the 1981–1984 renovation, and two ballrooms/meeting rooms—the State Room and the East Room—were created out of the space. A removable metal partition was installed to divide the room as well as the service pavilion. Almost none of the other original decorations of the room have been changed since its 1925 creation, however.


Palm Court

The north wall of the Palm Court originally consisted of structural piers, leaving the room open to the Promenade. Pilasters along the south wall mimicked this look and gave the room an aesthetic symmetry. A bay in the east wall was framed by columns and an arch, and an Oriel window, oriel balcony on the mezzanine level projected into the room. The Palm Court had a floor of American travertine, a maple dance floor, wainscoting of gold-veined St. Genevieve marble, and intricate plaster moldings on entablature and ceiling. Walls were added between the piers in 1934, and the Palm Court was internally partitioned in 1947. In 1950, arches were constructed between the piers of the north wall and the pilasters of the south wall in an attempt to connect the walls visually. In 1957, the Palm Court was radically renovated. Its Victorian ironwork was removed and a Neoclassical style decorating scheme implemented. Two large murals by painter Edward Laning were added, and framed with nonstructural columns in an attempt to simulate the vista from a verandah. The room's eastern bay was sealed off, and small staging vestibules added to the south wall, leaving the room strongly asymmetrical. During the 1981–1984 renovation, the east bay was reopened. The old Palm Court was now confusingly renamed the Presidential Room.


The Promenade

The Promenade originally featured pilasters that defined six bays along both its north and south sides. The capital of each pilaster was decorated with the profile of a different mythological hero, and festooned with Festoon, swag. Each pilaster had a faux pedestal made of verd antique decorated with plaster Rosette (decoration), rosettes and gilt plaster wreaths. The wainscoting was high, and of white Alabama marble. A baseboard of verd antique and a gray marble dado rail completed the wainscot, and a gilt plaster acanthus crown molding decorated the ceiling. Arches in the north wall gave access to meeting rooms. The arches leading to the Grand Ballroom, Chinese Room, and the original Presidential Room were topped with sculpted architraves of white Alabama marble, while the other arches were each topped by a gilt plaster crest. Beveled mirrors stood between the pilasters. The ceiling of the Promenade consisted of octagonal coffers alternating with small square coffers. At the center of each square coffer was a gilt plaster rosette. The floor was of white Vermont marble and verd antique marble, with a border of verd antique. Architect Shirley Maxwell has noted that the Mayflower's "block-long long lobby and promenade form what is probably the grandest indoor 'street' in Washington..." At some point in time, the arches which led to the small meeting rooms along the north wall were filled in with gilt-edged mirrors.


The Grand Ballroom

The Grand Ballroom was the most opulent room in the Mayflower Hotel. As with the Presidential Room, square piers formed colonnades along the north and south walls. Ionic order, Ionic capitals featuring satanic faces topped each pier. A stage with a proscenium arch was located on the west end. Mirrored Door#Design and styles, French Doors formed the Grand Ballroom's east wall. These could be opened to provide access to the Chinese Room beyond. A small curved balcony, reached by narrow stairs in the northeast and southeast corners of the ballroom, projected over the French doors. The wainscoting was of tan St. Genevieve marble. Six doors pierced the north wall and led to the Promenade, with the end doors reached by curving steps. The floor consisted of a wooden floor with a border of marble. Delicate, bas-relief gilt plaster decorations covered the piers, walls, and ceiling.


The Chinese Room

The Chinese Room had a square floorplan. A flight of short steps led to the entrance, which was in the curved, north wall. Large, rectangular piers framed an alcove (which ran nearly the depth of the room) on the east. The hardwood floor featured a baseboard of verd antique, and a crown molding of gilt plaster acanthus leaves surrounds the ceiling. The ceiling of the Chinese Room consists of a dramatic elliptical dome. A gilt plaster molding of wreathes surrounds the dome, while the rest of the ceiling is covered in chinoiserie paintings of animals, people, and trees. A two-tiered crystal chandelier hung from the center of the dome. At some point in time, the windows in the east wall were filled in, and mirrors inserted in the new, false casements.


The District Ballroom

The Garden Terrace (Originally Named), located on the first below-ground floor, featured
Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
decor, a coffered copper ceiling, a marble fountain, plaster walls in warm pastel tints, alcoves designed to look like arbors, and murals of early Washington, D.C., and nearby
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
. The Garden Terrace was radically redecorated in September 1940, and its name changed to the Sapphire Room. Designed by Robert F. Beresford, one of the hotel's original architects, the rear of the room's stage was clad in glowing sapphire-blue glass brick. The overhead arches were clad in aluminum, most of the decoration in the room removed, and the remaining surfaces painted bright blue. Carpet with a brick-like pattern in blue covered the floor. In about 1950, the Sapphire Room was redecorated in the Colonial Revival architecture, Colonial Revival style, a popular at the time, and renamed the Williamsburg Room. It was open by at least October 1950. The alcoves were removed and replaced with a raised terrace on the north, east, and south sides of the room. A railing with an oak handrail and turned-wood balustrade, balusters enclosed the gallery, and a shallow concave stage was added to the west wall. Pilasters, paneled in warm-colored wood, were added to the walls. A wainscot and dado rail of wood covered the lower part of the walls. A highly intricate plaster architrave and Pediment#History, broken pediment surmounted the entrances to the terrace. The Williamsburg Room became the Colonial Room about January 1971.


Mayflower Coffee Shop

The Mayflower Coffee Shop originally occupied a small space south and slightly west of the main desk and front office on the west side of the hotel. This space was quite small, but was vastly expanded in April 1925 with the completion of the Annex. A soda fountain and candy shop occupied the old coffee shop space, while the coffee shop expanded into a much larger space south of the lobby/front desk area. The coffee shop, which also served small meals and box lunches, was decorated with paintings of Colonial America and was intended to look like an old-fashioned coffee house. In 1956, with the change in hotel management, the front desk was moved to the north side of the lobby (occupying space previously used for phone booths). The soda fountain and candy shop were eliminated, and the restaurant expanded to occupy the space. The restaurant was renamed the Rib Room. When Western International Hotels rook over from HCA, the restaurant lost its name (which was a trademark of HCA). The restaurant was subsequently named The Carvery in July 1972. The Carvery closed in 2004.


Notable events

The Mayflower Hotel hosted the Inaugural Ball of President Calvin Coolidge just two weeks after its opening. It hosted an Inaugural Ball every four years until it hosted its final ball in January 1981. It has not hosted an Inaugural Ball since. President-elect Herbert Hoover established his presidential planning team offices in the hotel in January 1928, and his Vice President of the United States, Vice President, Charles Curtis, lived there in one of the hotel's residential guest rooms during his four years in office. Senator Huey Long also lived at the Mayflower, taking eight suites in the hotel from January 25, 1932, to March 1934. President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt spent March 2 and 3 in Suites 776 and 781 at the Mayflower Hotel before his inauguration on March 4. United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury and former Governor of North Carolina Oliver Max Gardner and his wife, Fay Webb-Gardner, lived at the hotel from 1946 to 1947. Two events of significance during World War II happened at the Mayflower. In June 1942, George John Dasch and seven other spies from Nazi Germany entered the United States after being transported to American shores via a submarine. Their goal, named Operation Pastorius, was to engage in sabotage against key infrastructure. But after encountering a United States Coast Guard patrol moments after landing, Dasch decided the plan was useless. On June 19, 1942, he checked into Room 351 at the Mayflower Hotel and promptly betrayed his comrades. Eighteen months later, a committee of the American Legion met in Room 570 at the Mayflower Hotel from December 15 to 31, 1943, to draft legislation to assist returning military members reintegrate into society. Their proposed legislation, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944—known informally as the G.I. Bill—was put into final draft from by Harry W. Colmery on Mayflower Hotel stationery. Twice, the Mayflower has been the site where a U.S. presidential campaign was launched, and twice it hosted events which proved to be turning points in a presidential nomination. In March 1931, Franklin D. Roosevelt was vying with Al Smith for the Democratic presidential nomination of 1932. John J. Raskob, chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), opposed Roosevelt's candidacy. Knowing that Roosevelt had privately committed to repealing Prohibition in the United States, Prohibition but had not done so publicly (leaving him "damp"), Raskob attempted to force the DNC, then meeting at the Mayflower Hotel, to adopt a "wet" (or repeal) plank in the party platform. Instead of drawing Roosevelt out, the maneuver deeply offended Southern "dry" (anti-repeal) Democrats—who abandoned Smith and threw their support to the allegedly more moderate Roosevelt, and helped him secure the nomination. In 1948, President
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
told a cheering audience of Young Democrats of America at a dinner at the Mayflower on May 14 that he intended to seek re-election in 1948. Former Peace Corps and Office of Economic Opportunity director Sargent Shriver announced his run for President of the United States at the Mayflower on September 20, 1975. Shriver withdrew from the race after a very poor showing, but a more successful campaign began there in 2008. Senator Barack Obama had locked down the 2008 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Democratic nomination for President on June 3, 2008. Hillary Clinton conceded the nomination to Obama on June 7, and introduced Obama to about 300 of her leading contributors at a meeting at the Mayflower on June 26, 2008. J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), lunched nearly every day at the Mayflower Hotel's Rib Room with Clyde Tolson, associate director of the FBI, from 1952 until Hoover's death in 1972. Hoover had the same lunch every day: chicken soup followed by a salad of iceberg lettuce, grapefruit, and cottage cheese. Buttered white toast was served on the side. (He brought his own diet salad dressing.) Hoover was so well known at the Rib Room that he sometimes ducked out through the kitchen to avoid reporters. The Mayflower has been in the news several times in relation to political sex scandals. Judith Exner, who claimed to be President John F. Kennedy mistress, said she stayed in the hotel while in D.C. to secretly meet with the president for sexual trysts. Monica Lewinsky stayed at the Mayflower Hotel when Lewinsky scandal, her affair with President Bill Clinton was in the news, and she was extensively interviewed by federal investigators about the scandal in the Presidential Suite. The Mayflower was also the location where Lewinsky was photographed with President Clinton at a campaign event not long before the 1996 election; this photograph later became an iconic component of the media coverage of the scandal. On March 10, 2008, ''The New York Times'' reported that New York (state), New York Governor Eliot Spitzer patronized a high class prostitution service called Emperors Club VIP while staying at the Mayflower on February 13. Spitzer allegedly had sex for over two hours with a $1,000-an-hour call girl in room 871 while registered under the alias George Fox.


Rating

The AAA gave the hotel four diamonds out of five in 1992. The hotel has maintained that rating every year, and received four diamonds again for 2016. Forbes Travel Guide (formerly known as Mobil Guide) declined to give the hotel either five or four stars in 2016, and did not put the hotel on its "recommended" list.


See also

*Mueller report *Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections


References

;Notes ;Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


The Mayflower official websiteThe Mayflower official chain websiteMarriott Vacation Club Pulse at The Mayflower official websiteThe Mayflower Hotel – Historic Hotels of America, National Trust for Historic PreservationThree Stories From the Mayflower Hotel in D.C.
- Ghosts of DC blog {{Authority control Autograph Collection Hotels Skyscraper hotels in Washington, D.C. Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Hotel buildings completed in 1925 Beaux-Arts architecture in Washington, D.C. Warren and Wetmore buildings 1925 establishments in Washington, D.C. Historic Hotels of America