Town & Country

As a Washingtonian for over four years, I had never visited the venerable DC institution The Mayflower Hotel.  I’d passed by the grand entrance on Connecticut Avenue several times but last night I finally stopped in for drinks at the Town & Country Lounge with some Junior League friends. 

The wood paneled room and the deep, red velvet lounges are oh so DC.  FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was said to lunch at the lounge daily for over twenty years. This kind of history is what I love about this city. 

The Mayflower was built by Allen E. Walker in my favorite architectural style, Beaux Arts. 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.

It really doesn’t get more DC that the Mayflower.  The hotel, known as the “Second Best Address” in DC after the White House has hosted Presidents and, unfortunately, is probably best known for several 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. 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. 

Most recently, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was caught with Client Number 9 in room 871.  This scandal lead to his resignation and his subsequent media deal with CNN. 

Only in Washington…