February 13, 2025 • 55 mins
The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, is an icon, and she's turning 100 this month! Known as the Grande Dame of Washington, the Hotel of Presidents, and Washington's Second Best Address, we're digging into the history behind this storied landmark. We also interview Katherine Orr of Historic Hotels of America for her take on the significance and impact of the Mayflower and historic hotels like it.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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Hotel history is created for adult audiences.
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Content may not be suitable for all listeners. Discretion is advised.
You're listening to Hotel History. We take you with us through the sordid history and scandals
of some of the world's most famous and infamous hotels. I'm D'Etta. And I'm Yael. Let's get started.
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We are so excited to introduce this episode about the Mayflower Hotel because D'Etta and I had the
amazing opportunity to go to the Mayflower, stay there, interview their staff, and learn all about
it and its history. And we're really, really excited to tell everyone about our journey and to
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go deeper into this very, very long history of this historic hotel.
Yes. So this hotel is celebrating its 100th anniversary on February 18th, 2025. So it is
chock full of just some of the most interesting and a little crazy historical
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facts, scandals, political intrigue. I mean, a hotel in the center of DC that's been around for
100 years where politicians hang out is going to have some stories. It's not going to be, you know.
Yeah. If you've never been to DC, this is just a few blocks away from the White House. So literally
everyone is walking through those doors for some reason or another, be it a meeting, a convention,
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a press conference, a ball, a gala, everyone who is everyone in DC history has been in that building.
So we'll tell you all how it started. And it's very exciting for us.
We'll take you way back to May of 2024.
Yeah. We got a message from the wonderful Meredith Goldberg. Shout out to her. She
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reached out and she works with the Mayflower Hotel and she's like, Hey, we, you know, I love
your podcast. Can we make something happen? Let's collaborate. And that's when it started. And then
we got the opportunity to go to DC and stay at the actual hotel. And it was probably, I'm not
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exaggerating and don't think I'm lying. I think it was like one of the best weekends of my life.
Honestly, it was so much fun. I'd never been to DC before. I had no idea what to expect. I had no,
you know, preconceived notions or anything. It was October. So the weather was perfect and the city
was basically empty because Congress wasn't in session. Everybody was out on the campaign trail.
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So the traffic and crowds were not a problem. The weather was gorgeous and it just felt like the
city was open to us. Yeah. I felt like everything aligned perfectly. Um, the weather was perfect
because also East coast weather, you never know what you're going to get. It's going to rain or
if it's too hot, it's humid, or if it's cold, it's too cold. But we got like the perfect weather.
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It was almost the same weather as in LA. I think like maybe a little warmer. Yeah. It was, it was
perfect. Yeah. And so we, we walked everywhere. We mostly, I think at some point at the end of
some of our walking, we're like, let's take an Uber. We could, you could easily get around without
a car and yeah. And that no one was around even, but it's still a city. So you were, it's not.
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Right. Yeah. So there was still plenty of people. It wasn't barren, but it wasn't, but it wasn't
peak tourist season. So it was like very pleasant. And honestly, the energy in the city was really
nice. Like it was just this nice, I don't know. It, every city has a different energy and vibe to it.
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And I just really liked Washington DCs. Yeah. I liked it too. So the last time before this,
the last time I was in DC, I was, well, I I've driven through it, but the last time I like was
there to explore was in eighth grade and I could not remember anything. I was like,
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I don't know what happened though. I couldn't remember any of the tourists, any like sites,
anything we did. I, I, I vaguely remembered a library. I don't know what I was, my mind,
I wasn't paying attention, but it was nice to go back and actually take everything in and be like,
Oh, Oh, that's where that happens. And that, you know, I feel like we, I could have spent a few
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more days there. Oh, absolutely. Yes. Done more touring. I mean, obviously we did spend a
predominant amount of time doing a hotel, historic hotel related things. And we did get to make it to
the national mall and see a lot of the monuments, but not nearly as many things as are on my list.
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So no, no, we, we just like stopped by, we hopped, hopped around a lot. We took some pictures and
we're like, Oh, we have to go do this. That's why, okay. In our videos, if anyone watches our
videos, like our tours of hotels and restaurants and not restaurants, but when you see us eating
or drinking, notice the outfits. Some of them, we got the same outfit on cause we're hot. We were
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hopping around. We were going from one hotel to the next. Um, we were only there. When did we get
there? We were only there like four days. Yeah. Four days. Yeah. So we landed in the early morning.
Yeah. We took a red eye from LA and, uh, and then I recommend, but it worked out. It did. No, it was
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per, I think our trip like was perfect. Like the way we planned it, it's just a lot. We were
exhausted because every day we woke up really early and then we went to bed really late. Cause
we were working the whole time. Yeah. But it was fun work. It's like eating the meal was work too.
But I want to, I want to go back and I want to explore more hotels there. The hotels in DC are
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insane. They're insane. Gorgeous. The architecture is just jaw dropping.
Honestly, I mean, the Willard was so beautiful. I would love to go back and spend more time there.
Yeah. I have a whole different appreciation for DC now, um, because it wasn't on my list before.
No, not at all. I want to go to DC. Um, I didn't. Yeah. Like I would have been,
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I would have been fine to go. I definitely have always wanted to go to the library of Congress,
which I still haven't gotten to go into. So that's a reason to go back. We need to go to the
spy museum. Um, that too. Oh yeah. Oh, there's so much. Okay. So if another hotel wants to
invite us back to DC, we are ready and willing. Yeah. We know our way around now.
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I want to say the Mayflower has this restaurant in it called Edgar. And we need to talk about
this because honestly, hands down, one of the, my favorite restaurants ever. It was so good. It was
every meal we had was fantastic. It was like the most delicious. Were we just really hungry?
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I don't think so. I think it was genuinely that good because there were a couple of times where
I was like, I don't know that I'm that hungry. Like I'm just going to get a couple of things.
And then by the end of the meal, I was like, I could have had more. Yeah. We ordered almost
everything off that menu. Like, like literally almost everything off that menu. So we wanted to
try everything. And we also had the cutest waiter. Um, a lot of the wait staff and a lot of the people
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that work at the hotel have been working there for like 30, 40 years, decades. And, um, there was
this old sweet waiter. What was his name? I think his name was Dan. Dan. Um, he only works on Fridays
and Saturdays or like something like that. And in the mornings. And of course we had to wake up early.
And so we had him like a few, like twice in a row. Was it Thursday, Friday, Saturdays or something?
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We had him only on the days he worked. And he was our fit. He was hilarious. He was our favorite
person. He was so sweet. He recognized us. He always served us. So, um, shout out to Dan.
Yeah. And you know, on the, on the Mayflower, uh, breakfast and brunch menu is a banana bread
that I believe the menu said they have been serving that banana bread since the opening of the Mayflower.
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Yeah, I remember that. It was really good. It was really good. It was really, really good.
What was your favorite thing off the menu? Oh my God. I don't know. I don't know. I honestly don't know.
Um, I think that tuna. Oh yeah. The tuna nachos. Yeah. The tower was one of my favorites.
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Those pancakes with the blueberries. The French toast was excellent. Yeah. The French toast. Um,
the steak was great. The steak was really, really good. Oh, the Brussels sprouts.
Yeah. The Brussels sprouts. That was really good too. Okay. We're just going to name everything
that we had. So we have to stop. Yeah. What else can we say about our trip? It was, it was wonderful.
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We, we got to speak to the manager of the hotel and she was great. She was very helpful.
The, there were two concierge people that were so friendly and so helpful. Shout out to the
concierges at the Mayflower. They were so sweet. And, uh, we also got, um, we got set up with a tour
by, I want to say Steve. Steve. Yeah. He was great. He gave us so much information. It was great. He
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was so funny and nice. And the stories were really interesting. Yeah. He knew so many, so informative.
Um, and if something funny happened, so where we meet Steve in the lobby and we're like ready to go
on our tour and this random guy, not from the U S because like he was there like promoting a book
he had written or something about Jesus. Oh, it was about, I thought it was about the UN.
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It was, I thought it was about Jesus or, or Christian something. It was nothing to do with
what we were doing, but he kind of just like leached onto our tour. Yeah. And I didn't have
a problem. Like it's fine, but he was also weird and really like in the way. Yeah. Asked the
stupidest questions and he asked us if it was okay. And we being the people pleasers, we are like,
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polite. We should have, we should have said it. Yes. Because it really like distracted from our
tour and he kept getting in our shots. He kept getting in our shots. He asked stupid questions.
Um, and maybe his questions weren't stupid and we were just annoyed, but either way, they were stupid.
I want to say they were stupid. Uh, but, but it was really our time and we were already on a time
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limit. Yeah. I think he also was bit, so it was kind of like, man, you should have just.
Yeah. But you never know. Maybe to this day, he talks about how nice the people were that let him
join their tour last minute. That's why it was like, he was like about to leave for the airport
and he had just like a little bit of time. So I felt bad for him because I was like, all right.
I know. Of course. Like, what are you going to say? No, it's hard to say. It's so hard to say no.
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Uh, we also want to shout out to Logan and McCauley who we interviewed and Catherine,
Catherine or from historic hotels of America. We interviewed all three of them and they came in
on their day off or their time or their lunch break. It was so nice. Yeah. And so we really
appreciate it. They were amazing. Um, they gave us such good information. They were just so sweet
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and supportive and, um, both Logan and McCauley gave us private tours of places. So even though
we got that main tour, it was great. Logan showed us the presidential suite, which is really nice.
Yes. Uh, and then we got a, another tour. We went to go see McCauley who wants to say hi to him
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and he's like, you know what, I'm going to give you a tour. And we're like, yes. So we got,
we got even another tour. Yeah. We had to go through some like back areas of the ball room and
there's a whole, um, what's it called? Like labyrinth that exists underneath the hotel.
We got to see just a touch a piece of that. Yeah. And, uh, it's, it is really old. When you go behind
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the scenes, you're like, Oh, I can see how old this is. Oh, and also, uh, we are going to be
dropping pieces of our interview with Catherine into, uh, these episodes about the Mayflower.
So, um, she had a lot to say about the history and significance of, uh, historic hotels in general
and the Mayflower specifically. So we wanted to let you guys hear some of that. Yeah. So we're
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very thankful for everyone who spoke to us and who helped us and the Mayflower for letting us stay
there and not haunting our rooms. We want to start with some excerpts from our interview with
Catherine back in October. She really puts into context why we find historic hotels so fascinating
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and significant. Hi, I'm Catherine Orr. I'm the marketing, uh, strategist and communications
professional at Historic Hotels of America, which is a program of the National Trust for
Historic Preservation. So how did you get started in the hotel industry? Uh, well, Historic Hotels of
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America is really my first foray into hotels and hospitality. I have degrees in journalism and
history, and so I would call myself a public historian or a history communicator. I've worked
as a historian for big institutions like the National Park Service, the National Archives Museum,
as well as a communications manager for a history nonprofit. But I've always loved travel, and I've
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always stayed in historic hotels around the world. So when this opportunity arose, I thought it was
a really good fit. And as a public historian, I believe in the cultural and social impact and
value of historic hotels, what they offer travelers, as well as being great for the environment and for
the economy of local communities. What really grabs you about Historic Hotels? Um, there's so
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many different ways that Historic Hotels matter. They're more environmentally friendly than a new
hotel, for instance. So they add value to their community and they drive tourism. They're also
authentic, and they add personality to a main street or a city. And I think people are tired
of cookie cutter hotels. But personally, I believe that Historic Hotels, like all historic buildings,
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teach us empathy. When I walk into a historic building like the Mayflower, I like to think that
I'm standing where people stood a hundred years ago. It gives me perspective and humility, and
it makes me think those deeper thoughts about life. And Historic Hotels are also primary sources of
evidence about the past. And it's really those two things, the empathy and the evidence. And I think
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that's the power of place at Historic Hotels. Oh, that's such a good way to put that. Excellent
answer. So what's it like behind the scenes of a like a old historic hotel? And what does it take
to run a successful luxury hotel? Behind the scenes, I think there's a lot of pride amongst
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the staff. I think that they feel like they're part of something bigger, kind of in the same way
that a visitor might, but with more pride in creating this experience for people and being
part of this institution that's been so important throughout its history. And I believe that
owners and managers of Historic Hotels, to make it succeed, they need to come with creativity
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and this sort of understanding that they're stewards of something that is going to exist
after they've moved on to another project or they've sold the building or, you know,
I think that it's a mission. It's something bigger than just an investment. You have to approach it
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as a steward. We hear that a lot. Whenever we research Historic Hotels, that it's never just
an investment or a hotel. It's like, this is, you have to appreciate its beauty, its history. You
have to care for it. You have to love it. The most successful ones, there's a passion for
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having that hotel. What makes the Mayflower stand out from other Historic Hotels in the DC area?
The Mayflower is truly one of Washington's grand dames. So there, I would say, you know,
on my one hand, maybe going into two hands, I could count how many fantastic grand dames there
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are in Washington, DC. I think the Mayflower is one of those special places here in the city that
really respects and honors its history. It invests in itself. It invests in its community. It brings
in local artists to create art for the hotel, for the key cards, for the spaces. I think that
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the Mayflower, it gives the city a sense of constancy. It's a touch point in like a changing
environment where there's a lot of buildings that are demolished. There's always construction going
on in Washington, DC, but new buildings are always going up, new shopping centers, new hotels.
So the Mayflower, as a Historic Hotel, gives the city a sense of place, a sense of time.
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And I don't know if it stands out from its cohort in DC, but certainly it stands out from the rest
of the city.
The Mayflower is the largest luxury hotel in DC and the longest continuously operated in the
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Washington area. And its nicknames include the Grand Dom of Washington, the Hotel of Presidents,
and the second best address in Washington, DC. The area where the Mayflower now sits actually began
as the Visitation Convent and School. A group of seven nuns came to Washington in 1850 to open a
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Catholic grammar school, and in 1876 they purchased seven acres of land for $53,000. The School of
Washington ran until 1919, but the nuns had to sell pieces of it off throughout the years to keep
the school open and support themselves. So probably not the best investment. But despite their
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monetary struggle, the neighborhood around them became one of the most exclusive residential
neighborhoods in the city thanks to the British Legation, which was built there in 1872 at End
Street and Connecticut Avenue. In 1919, the nuns sold their remaining land for the site of the
Mayflower and were able to move their convent over to Bethsaida. So the Mayflower was built by
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Alan E. Walker. It was originally called the Walker Hotel and Apartments. The architecture firm
chosen for the project was Warren and Wetmore, which was based in New York and considered the
premier hotel designers in America. Their previous projects included famous New York names like the
Plaza, the Vanderbilt, the Ritz-Carlton, the Biltmore, and the Commodore hotels. I'm really
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surprised we've only managed to do an episode on the Plaza out of all of those super famous hotels.
We have a lot more to do. So much to do. We have a lot. Yeah, but that makes sense. Okay, so you
know, when you have a go-to style, very nice. That's true. Yeah, obviously these architects
knew what they were doing. Yeah, I mean, it's still gorgeous to this day. That's timeless. You have to
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be a really good architect to make it work. And especially in DC because DC has weird shapes and
corners and intersections. And it was actually quite a challenge to design a building that was
going to look good and also make sense. And they did a really, really good job with the shape that
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they chose for the Mayflower. They broke ground in July 1922 and workers uncovered stumps of
massive cypress trees, some of the trunks nearly eight feet in diameter. Oh my god, that's huge.
Wow. Yeah. What were they doing there? Geologists estimated the stumps at 100,000 years old.
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Holy crap. Did they just like, gut them out? As workers dug deeper, they discovered that an
underground branch of Rock Creek ran below the site, which forced the foundation to be dug
to bedrock 40 feet below ground. DC used to be a swamp. So I think anytime they do major construction,
they probably find things that still exist deep down. Oh, that could explain the cypress tree.
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Because they say they plant trees in swamps to absorb the water. Well, except these trees are
100,000 years old. So I don't think anybody planted them. They were just there. They just grew. Yeah.
I think they were just natural to the area. Holy shit. So they just like dug them out. Yeah. And
it cost so much money. They were not expecting to find this and it cost way more money to the project
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because of that. That's crazy. I thought they were going to find like a dinosaur in there or something.
That would have been cool. The hotel was scheduled to open January 1st of 1924, but the investment
company was running short on funds because of all this extra construction they had to do. So the
hotel remained unfinished and nearing bankruptcy, Walker Investment Company had to sell its interest
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in the hotel to its biggest financial backer, C.C. Mitchell and Company for 5.7 million. The hotel's
final building cost was close to 11 million dollars and that's in 1924. That's a lot of money. So
that's almost 200 million dollars. That's a lot of money. Wow. The new owners changed the name to the
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Mayflower Hotel in honor of the 300th anniversary that had just been celebrated in 1920 of the
landing of the Mayflower and the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. The finished hotel had a dazzling
array of rooms, decor, and amenities. The hotel had wainscoting and floors in the public rooms
that were made of a battuccino marble and featured walnut moldings. The use of gold
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gilt to trim decorations was extensive and you can see that when you go through the hotel, by the way,
to this day. Newspapers said the hotel contained more gold trim than any other building except the
Library of Congress. The lobby had a mezzanine on the northwest and south sides, a small cocktail
lounge along the north wall. The lobby received light from the coffered skylight and it had four
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great bronze torches or torches. I'm not sure. Torsheres. Torsheres. I think that's French for torches.
Okay. Hand wrought and trimmed with gold. It was all over the lobby. So this place was
fancy. A lot of gold. Yes. Very luxurious. It's really, really pretty and it's not overwhelming
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at all. It's just beautiful details and yeah, there's a lot. I think now when they repainted
some of the, because they had to, you know, over the years, fix up the gold. I don't think it's made
with the same gold that it was. Probably not. It's probably made with like a paint mixed with gold.
Yeah. Not actual 24 karat gold everywhere. The main lobby entrance on Connecticut Avenue had a
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stairway that led down to the below ground level where public restrooms and a barber shop and a
marble shoeshine stand were located. And then a second 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 and the four elevators to the east of the lobby joining it to the promenade
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had bronze doors with images of the Mayflower vessel on them. The promenade was 26 feet wide
and 300 feet long. This is how it was set up at the time it was opening. It's set up differently
now. There are some obviously similarities and things that they can't change. But yeah, but when
it opened it had so much going on. So several heating oil furnaces and one of the world's
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largest air conditioning units kept the hotel in the public areas at an even 70 degrees year round.
So this is 1924. Air conditioning is not a staple of life for most people. So the fact that they had
this was extremely luxurious. Yeah. The hotel had 440 guest rooms each with its own shower bath which
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was also extremely unusual. Usually in hotels people had to share bathroom facilities. Guest suites had
a sitting room, dining room, bath and up to seven bedrooms. The hotel's 500 guest apartments each had
its own kitchenette, dining room and drawing room with fireplace. So this is another one of those
hotels that had both guest rooms as like the hotel and then also had a section for apartments
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because so many people chose to live in hotels as residences at this time. Some of these apartments
had as many as 11 rooms and up to five baths. Wow. The Mayflower featured three restaurants.
The Palm Court featured a glass dome supported by iron latticework, palm trees and a marble fountain
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and pool with water lilies growing in it. It was used for tea dances and concerts during Prohibition.
The Presidential Restaurant was decorated with the seals of the 13 colonies. Both were located on the
main floor and the garden terrace was located on the first below ground floor and featured a
coffered ceiling done in copper, a marble fountain, plaster walls in warm pastel tents, alcoves designed
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to look like arbors and murals of early Washington DC and nearby Mount Vernon. This was like a,
it was almost like its own little city at that point. A good hotel is. Yeah it's true. It makes
it, you never want to leave. 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
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a million dollar addition. Construction began in October 1924 and within six weeks the 40 foot deep
foundation had been dug. The addition opened on May 31st 1925. The most prominent features of the
annex were the Presidential Suite on the 10th floor and the Vice Presidential Suite on the 9th floor.
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Each suite had 13 rooms which included a foyer, drawing room, library, secretary's room, dining
room and five bedrooms. Each with its own bath and kitchenette. Damn. Wow no wonder they needed a
whole other addition. Each suite also had a maid's room with an attached bath. Oh my god. Even the
maid gets her own bathroom? That's pretty. Oh honestly maybe they were living better than we were.
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I know right. The second through eighth floors of the annex contained a guest, contained guest
suites. Each suite had five bedrooms and each bedroom had its own bath. Wow. The first floor of
the annex was occupied by the Mayflower coffee shop and an expanded version of the very small cafe in
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the main lobby. So they did, they did a lot and that only cost a million dollars. It's pretty
impressive that they could already tell before the hotel proper even opened that they were gonna need
more. Probably because of the location and the lack of hotels around. They were like they must
have already been having a lot of inquiries for people being able to stay. On February 17th 1925,
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the night before the Mayflower opened to the public, the hotel held a gala for 750 guests
including those who had designed, constructed, and decorated the hotel. Lots of well-known people
also attended from various political and social circles. Secretary of Labor James J. Davis was
the principal speaker of the night and he called the hotel a quote symbol of individual initiative.
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The hotel officially opened on February 18th 1925 and the first person to sign the guest register
was Major H.R. Limley, a retired U.S. soldier. He was also a scholar and polyglot who spoke French,
German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and some Japanese and Chinese. Wow. He was fluent in
Russian which he learned when he lived in St. Petersburg. I bet he had some interesting stories.
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I want to say who is this man? We need to find out more about him. A biography on this man. Stat.
The morning it opened, the Washington star called the Mayflower quote one of the most magnificent
hotels in the country. And that's before it's anyone's even stayed there. It's the morning
that it opened. That night 1500 people attended the official opening festivities. So that just
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tells you how big it is that they can hold 1500 people for a party. It's really big. Yeah. They
had all received invitations mailed with a special stamp reissued specially for the hotel's opening.
The one cent stamp from 1920 celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Mayflower landing at Plymouth
Rock. They got a stamp. They got their own stamp reissued. I want a stamp made for me. Can you do that?
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I'll make some calls. Do you think they still have those stamps? Surely somewhere in their
archive they do. That's so cool. Shortly after opening the hotel booked a convention for the
International Parliamentary Union which was attended by delegates from foreign countries.
The IPU guests put their shoes out in the hall that first night so they would be shined and returned
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in the morning which was standard practice at hotels in Europe. The Mayflower staff was unaware
of this practice so the bell boys and valets collected all the shoes and dropped them into
the laundry bags. The next morning the manager had to tell all the delegates that they could find
their shoes in the grand ballroom. They all had to shuffle to the ballroom in their stocking feet
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to find their shoes. To make it worse the shoes were no longer paired together.
That's a big blunder. That's a pretty big snafu. Yeah but that also sounds hilarious.
That went down. So only two weeks after the Mayflower opened it held an event that established it as a
leader among Washington hotels. President Calvin Coolidge's charity inaugural ball which was held
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March 4th 1925 in the grand ballroom. So for those that don't know the president's inauguration
used to happen in March which was set by the 12th amendment in the constitution but Congress
changed that in 1933 with the 20th amendment moving it to January 20th which we're all familiar with.
But every single inaugural ball was held at the Mayflower until the last one that it held in 1981.
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The president was very much against a lot of pomp and circumstance for his inauguration.
He wanted everything to be very bare bones and economical so he wouldn't be criticized like a
former president had been. He wasn't opposed to there being some sort of celebration but he
didn't want to be directly associated with it or use government funds to pay for it. I like this guy.
So the inaugural committee withdrew their plans for an official ball but the citizens inaugural
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committee substituted an unofficial charity ball held at the Mayflower. 6,000 people attended
Coolidge's inaugural ball and they raised $30,000 for children's charity. Whoa that's amazing. This
is 1925 that's a lot of money. Damn. Yeah that's before the crash. The Coolidge's didn't have a
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ball but they were patrons of the ball. The vice president and his wife attended as the guests of
honor in their place and the next day the Times headline read great charity ball a colorful affair
jazz and bob take the places of stately dances and cofiers of the past. Oh so it sounded pretty hip.
So another reason the president didn't want to have a lot of celebrating is because the prior
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year in July of 1924 they lost their 16 year old son Calvin Jr. He was playing tennis with his brother
when he developed a blister on top of his toe from not wearing socks. The blister got infected
with staph and a week later he died. He died of staph infection. This was before antibiotics right?
Yes. Oh my god can you imagine? Yeah penicillin was discovered like four years ago.
(33:22):
But it wasn't like viable until like the 40s or 50s to be used for medicine. So yeah like so many
things killed you back then just because there were no antibiotics. You would think you'd be more
careful then wear some socks don't get a blister. I know I guess they're just not thinking like oh
bacteria lives on my foot and if my foot gets a blister I'm gonna get infected. I'm sure you're not
(33:44):
the only one. I'm gonna use 16. I'm gonna use 16. I'm gonna use 16. I'm gonna use 16. I'm gonna use
I'm gonna use 16. So that's horrible. You know how 16 year olds don't think about consequences. Yeah
oh it's so sad. That's really sad. So yeah he really his inauguration he did not want a big affair
at all because also like the whole family was still in mourning. This was yeah you know just
(34:09):
nine months after his son died. The fact that the Coolidge's didn't attend their ball has led to the
Mayflower's famous ghost story. Apparently on January 20th every year the lights in the grand
ballroom flicker and dim at 10 p.m. when the Coolidge's would have been announced had they
come. One of the elevator's stalls at the eighth floor for 15 minutes which is when the president
(34:33):
would have left his room and headed to the lobby to arrive at the ball. Sometimes a plate of hors d'oeuvres
and wine have been found on the balcony but they aren't the hors d'oeuvres that were served that day.
Creepy. Yeah. So we heard about this when we were there. They said that there was some weird things
happening with the elevator around that time. So it could be that the ghost of president Coolidge
(35:00):
wants to attend his inaugural ball. I think it's weird. I mean most of the inaugural balls that
happened at the Mayflower did would have happened on January 20th but not his. His would have
happened in March. So I feel like it's a case of mistaken identity. I think it's somebody else
wanting to attend. Maybe or the ghost of Coolidge is like I've upgraded and I know when that is happening.
(35:28):
I'm hip to the amendments to the constitution. He's like I know I know this is the time for you guys.
Yeah or yeah maybe he's attending everybody else's inaugural ball since he didn't get to go to his own.
Exactly. But we have heard like from staff that the elevators. Yeah this is legitimate.
That year after year this is a problem that happens and they have to warn guests about it.
(35:52):
Like oh hey if the elevator holds like just use a different one. Ghosts are so funny.
Like I don't think they're scary. No they're pretty funny. Everything we read about they're
just like really dumb. They just want a little attention. They want attention. They just want
to be acknowledged. You just have to like open the door for them. Be like okay. Yeah they just
(36:12):
want you to knock before you come in the room. Listen to our hotel superstitions episode for that one.
They're so funny. So starting in the late 1920s and continuing for more than two decades,
society hostess Mrs. Lawrence Townsend hosted what came to be known as musical mornings at the Mayflower
which were virtuoso concert recitals held in the grand ballroom. An article from a February 1937
(36:38):
New York Times read quote Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt attended Mrs. Lawrence Townsend's 96th
musical morning at the Mayflower today entertaining in her box Mrs. Fulvio Suvich, wife of the Italian
ambassador, Mrs. Fernando de Ios Rios, wife of the Spanish ambassador, Mrs. Cordell Hull, wife of the
(36:58):
secretary of state, and Miss Nancy Cook who is her guest at the White House. So lots of very important
yeah first ladies heading to these concerts. Frances Parkinson Keys, a writer socialite and
senator's wife said you had to allow a little more time for your toilet feeling thankful that
you had a Lucrenz frock and a Camille Rodger hat to wear for everyone goes and everyone wears her
(37:23):
best bib and tucker so this was like a social event yeah but what a little more time for your
toilet yeah your your vanity like getting ready okay okay yeah they used to call just getting
ready in general your toilet or your toilette if you were French quite the uh the ladies affair
these musical concerts were and apparently they were a big deal like they had some really top
(37:47):
notch famous talent of the day yeah doing these in June 1927 Charles Lindbergh came to DC to be
awarded the Hubbard medal by the National Geographic Society for his historic non-stop flight from New
York to Paris he stayed at the Mayflower while in town and celebrated there with a breakfast for a
(38:08):
thousand guests wait so he had a thousand guests come to celebrate with him for breakfast yeah
where did they eat in one of the ballrooms i'm gonna guess oh oh okay yeah the ball where they
said it that's insane that's insane after Herbert Hoover was elected president in 1928 he declared
(38:29):
the Mayflower the temporary headquarters for his administration and lived there for 90 days before
his 1929 presidential inauguration he of course held his inaugural ball there as well his vice
president Charles Curtis what's with the alliteration men okay relax lease the vice
(38:49):
presidential suite on the 10th floor from 1929 to 1932 he shared the suite with his sister and
her husband Mr and Mrs Edward Everett Gann Gann or Gann Gann looks good to me cool yeah since
Curtis was a widower his sister served as the hostess of her brother's apartment which became
(39:10):
the unofficial social gathering place of the Hoover administration so parties in the in the hotel room
yeah parties at the vice presidential suite um i really really hate that so many of the women
that we mentioned are listed by their husband's name i know that was like a thing back then but
i just hate that their identity gets erased and i have to spend so much more time if i want to try
(39:35):
to find what their name was who was Mrs Edward Everett Gann i don't know that's her husband's
name that's her husband's name what is up with that it's a patriarchy yeah
so now we're heading into the 1930s which everybody knows was not a super good time
(39:57):
for the country or hotels for the world on march 31st 1928 the Mayflower hotels bonds were
refinanced by the American Bond and Mortgage Company which is the company that controlled the hotel
most of the time companies refinance or restructure their debt like this when they are in financial
difficulty and are unable to meet their obligations usually before filing for a chapter 11 bankruptcy
(40:23):
protection so the fact that they were doing this means the hotels seem to be having some financial
difficulties before the stock market even crashed a year and a half later yeah so the great depression
had a significant impact on the Mayflower it lost money as much as seven hundred sixty thousand
dollars over two years and that's 1920s money and in 1929 its affairs were placed in the hands of
(40:50):
a special committee established by the bond company in the fall of 1929 American Bond and Mortgage
and its president William J Moore began to be investigated by the Department of Justice for
fraud and predatory lending thousands of investors complained the company took their money and showed
no returns on investment accusations in court alleged that the company financed a new building
(41:14):
let it slip close to bankruptcy then William J Moore emerged as its sole owner yeah this happened
to a hotel that I want us to do an episode on in the future in New York like he did this a lot I
feel like this is very common yeah I wonder why I wonder why corporate regulations and things needed
(41:35):
to be put in place there was a crash so uh there was a June 1931 time article that actually talked about this
and a quote from it says Lurid's stories have got into tabloid print as to how he and his associates
talking about William J Moore how he and his associates gave whoopee parties with show girls
(41:56):
to dazzle public officials and promote their questionable bond sales their inflation of real
estate value was denounced in the senate I just love that the term whoopee party was used in a time
magazine article so they wined and dined yeah they hoarded up yeah yeah yeah for the officials to look
(42:18):
the other way I think whoopee party and showgirl was nice euphemisms for prostitutes so meanwhile
the main flower continued to lose money and on May 22nd 1931 the holders of the hotel's original bonds
secured a ruling that the hotel was bankrupt it was later alleged that the hotel had lost more than
(42:39):
two million dollars since it opened and that American bond had issued a large amount of bonds
with the hotel as security which worsens the hotel's financial status the bond company got
the bankruptcy ruling dismissed on June 26th so yeah this bond American bond was like no everything
we're doing is fine and normal like it's fine so they got this ruling by the minority shareholders
(43:04):
dismissed but a second bankruptcy was declared by the court on July 28th a month later and hotel
management was taken over by court appointed receivers man this is drama that same time article
wrote about how vice president Charles Curtis who we just mentioned got himself mixed up in the
(43:26):
whole mess I wonder why with the whoopee parties yeah so as we mentioned before he was staying in
the 11-room vice presidential suite at the Mayflower at this time that would normally cost someone
150 dollars per day but he was getting it for five dollars and 53 cents a day so this led to
(43:48):
the suspicion that William J Moore who was the president of the American bond company
was giving Curtis a cut rate for political protection it's not been proven but it was
making people go hmm why would the vice president get who has the money get to have this room for
five dollars a day can you imagine yeah so apparently Curtis got a little touchy on the
(44:12):
subject of living at the Mayflower after that and would quote fly into a blazing rage anytime
someone questioned his connection to more guilty much right you want to prove that you're guilty
get really mad about it yeah get a little defensive why don't you so fraud charges were later levied
against officials of American bond and mortgage and the company finally admitted the hotel was
(44:35):
bankrupt in October of 1931 well yeah so depression and bankruptcy couldn't bring the Mayflower down
and it continued to be on the cutting edge of fashion and society you know what it doesn't
stop a lot of people yeah people bounce back from the depression in 1930 it had two major art
(44:57):
exhibitions simultaneously one featuring 30 sculptures and paintings by Auguste Rodin and
the other showing the work of Swiss sculptor Ernst Dürig one of Rodin's students Dürig stayed at the
hotel during this period so some artists were living it up there too yeah it also became
(45:20):
famous ones yeah yeah it also continued hosting incredible parties as it would right so one thing
that happened there a lot was debutante balls that was a big deal yeah in those days and I
guess Helen Doherty had some of the most notorious and famous debutante balls at this time I love
(45:41):
looking at the pictures of those things from back in the day all the girls in their white dresses
yeah yeah what the hell is it that we don't well but yeah I didn't grow up hearing these things
it's words it's when the the young ladies are presented to society and basically yeah they're
on they're on the love market can I tell you the close the not love wedding yeah they're on the
(46:04):
meat market yeah the only thing I know is um Gilmore girls yes like it's a very old you know
yeah she had a coming out party but it means something totally different today when you have
a coming out party yeah in March 1931 the grand ballroom converted into a polo field with goal
posts at each end spectator boxes and authentic horse stalls with one even housing a famous US
(46:30):
army polo pony polo accessories saddles feed boxes and other necessities were placed around the field
and many guests were polo wore polo outfits do you think they would do this today do you think
they would turn their grand ballroom into a polo field I want to know how I also want to see
pictures when was astroturf invented did they just like pluck grass from outside um that sounds like
(46:56):
a lot of fun but oh so why and also why would you allow a pony into the grand ballroom ponies just
poop I know but but is there not land outside at this time well what was the reason I have to know
more about this I'm very curious but also I love that everyone was like for it yeah let's get dressed
up and also the amount of stuff that was there for the ponies the saddles feed boxes and uh just you
(47:21):
know I mean they had goal posts and everything yeah so did they did somebody take the pony out
for a little ride I got questions oh so how did you get the pony in just let him through the lobby
yeah yeah in 1932 the Mayflower Garden was transformed into a Spanish cantina with colorful
(47:43):
awnings live parakeets and other tropical birds live latin music for dancing tangos and the rumba
the dance crazes at that time a mock bullfight and all 300 guests in Spanish costumes one word
cultural appropriation that sounds really fun though it does sound really fun so wait what
what was this idea that you should take the outside and bring it inside and cause mayhem
(48:08):
with animals pooping everywhere a party given for President Hoover by Secretary of the Interior
Ray Lyman Wilbur transformed the Chinese Room which is another uh gathering room in the Mayflower
into an Alaskan environment with the help of museum pieces including a huge stuffed polar bear
on a block of imitation ice in front of two brightly colored totem poles evergreen trees covered the
(48:33):
walls of the room with stuffed animals like white foxes caribou and the american eagle hidden among
the trees a replica of Mount McKinley was the centerpiece of the head table and the foothills
were an Alaskan village with Inuit figures a miniature railroad running to and from copper
mines and several airplanes holy crap they took their parties seriously they loved a good thing
(48:57):
no wonder the hotel was leeching money for the first years it opened how much also with stuffed
animals this wasn't like you know toys rs stuff yeah no i'm sure this was that belonged in a museum
they're calling them stuffed animals but yeah they they were probably taxidermies they were
taxidermies for sure but that that sounds wild the george washington bicentennial celebration
(49:17):
was held in the ballroom on february 22nd 1932 and the main event there was a pageant that's also
a theme they loved pageants back then patch it for what um just like i guess mrs george washington
like i guess i think of um toddlers and tierras that's all i think about when i hear the word
(49:40):
pageant i'm like what little we put makeup on a little girl make her way with a crowd no normally
it was like people's wives entering i think like the female guests and so this was probably for
miss george washington bicentennial oh i wonder if they made her wear a george washington wig i
would love that's a fun patch see that would be great yeah that's the kind of pageant i'm i'm here
(50:00):
for yeah and the mayflower continued to host all kinds of celebrities in july 1932 amelia airheart
stayed in a suite where she posed for a photo before being awarded the special gold medal of
the national geographic society from president herbert hoover she was awarded the medal following
her solo flight from newfoundland to the british isles amelia airheart got around and not in a
(50:24):
dirty way i mean obviously but no she like got around hotels like she i mean she obviously was
a celebrity but like she hung out in so many hotels mention her in 1932 franklin d roosevelt
was elected and stayed in the mayflower on the eve of his inaugural address in room 776 not
(50:47):
1776 no uh i'm just saying they should have done on march 3rd 1933 it was in this room that he
wrote one of the most famous quotes in u.s presidential history the only thing we have to
fear is fear itself over 250 radio stations broadcast his message the next day fdr celebrated
(51:07):
his birthday on january 30th every year at the mayflower with charity galas that's really sweet
yeah that's a great i love that they all did so much for charity the birthday events raised money
for children with polio of course yeah yeah that makes sense which of course the president had
experienced that's that's nice he he gave back to his community the mayflower played a role in
(51:30):
ending prohibition in a couple of ways first it was the meeting place for the women's organization
of national prohibition reform we talk about this a lot hotels and women's rights yes and like women's
movements yeah women's movement second it was the site of a critical meeting of the democratic
national committee which was the turning point in the repeal process in 1931 in 1934 prohibition
(51:56):
was finally over and the mayflower paid its thousand dollar fee for a liquor license on
february 6 yeah like immediately like prohibition ended mayflower was like boom check for a thousand
dollars of course i gotta make money off that um the palm court was renovated and turned into the
mayflower lounge which opened on april 2nd 1934 during world war ii it was washington's most
(52:20):
famous meeting place for allied government and military officials the mayflower even put out
table tents to remind guests to discuss confidential military matters quietly in case someone was
listening who shouldn't be listening i love that it only took them two months to open their cocktail
lounge they were like it had been in the works obviously planning obviously where did they get
(52:47):
because they were like here's your thousand dollars and welcome to our cocktail lounge
wait wait what the hell is a table tent oh it's those little things that they put specials on
on your tables at restaurants oh that are like in an a-frame shape i thought it was a table tent
like keep it keep it hush-hush that's great well they were right because later on they were right
(53:08):
yeah they were right they they had to remind government officials to shut the fuck up yeah so
that's a little um a little peek into the next episode where we're gonna hit the ground running
with world war ii because there was a lot of espionage happening in washington in general
and at the mayflower specifically so those table tents were really important because there were
(53:32):
spies hanging out in the mayflower you really never knew especially in a public place you would
think i mean government officials should not be discussing anything in public no guys come on
like that's crazy that they were the waiters at the time going around and eavesdropping and be like
not again guys like please i'm not a big important person but there's someone here that's gonna take
(53:54):
that information but i'm pretty sure franz over there might care about what you have to say about
allied movements yeah so hotels always coming in for helping out america hotels were so important
during world war ii there's one thing we have learned world war ii and hotels oh my gosh yeah
(54:16):
we could write a book just on that one little subject i know so please come back next week when
we will be talking we're really starting to just now get into the juicy stuff of the mayflower so
we've got so much more history to share with you all month long and uh please also check out the
(54:37):
mayflower on their instagram and websites because they have a lot of cool stuff going on as well
and uh check out our our instagram where we show a lot of videos yes about the mayflower
yeah we share our entire washington trip
(54:59):
thanks for listening to hotel history you can follow us on most social media platforms
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listeners
Hotel history is created for adult audiences.
(00:03):
Content may not be suitable for all listeners. Discretion is advised.
You're listening to Hotel History. We take you with us through the sordid history and scandals
of some of the world's most famous and infamous hotels. I'm D'Etta. And I'm Yael. Let's get started.
(00:23):
We are so excited to introduce this episode about the Mayflower Hotel because D'Etta and I had the
amazing opportunity to go to the Mayflower, stay there, interview their staff, and learn all about
it and its history. And we're really, really excited to tell everyone about our journey and to
(00:49):
go deeper into this very, very long history of this historic hotel.
Yes. So this hotel is celebrating its 100th anniversary on February 18th, 2025. So it is
chock full of just some of the most interesting and a little crazy historical
(01:14):
facts, scandals, political intrigue. I mean, a hotel in the center of DC that's been around for
100 years where politicians hang out is going to have some stories. It's not going to be, you know.
Yeah. If you've never been to DC, this is just a few blocks away from the White House. So literally
everyone is walking through those doors for some reason or another, be it a meeting, a convention,
(01:39):
a press conference, a ball, a gala, everyone who is everyone in DC history has been in that building.
So we'll tell you all how it started. And it's very exciting for us.
We'll take you way back to May of 2024.
Yeah. We got a message from the wonderful Meredith Goldberg. Shout out to her. She
(02:04):
reached out and she works with the Mayflower Hotel and she's like, Hey, we, you know, I love
your podcast. Can we make something happen? Let's collaborate. And that's when it started. And then
we got the opportunity to go to DC and stay at the actual hotel. And it was probably, I'm not
(02:24):
exaggerating and don't think I'm lying. I think it was like one of the best weekends of my life.
Honestly, it was so much fun. I'd never been to DC before. I had no idea what to expect. I had no,
you know, preconceived notions or anything. It was October. So the weather was perfect and the city
was basically empty because Congress wasn't in session. Everybody was out on the campaign trail.
(02:49):
So the traffic and crowds were not a problem. The weather was gorgeous and it just felt like the
city was open to us. Yeah. I felt like everything aligned perfectly. Um, the weather was perfect
because also East coast weather, you never know what you're going to get. It's going to rain or
if it's too hot, it's humid, or if it's cold, it's too cold. But we got like the perfect weather.
(03:15):
It was almost the same weather as in LA. I think like maybe a little warmer. Yeah. It was, it was
perfect. Yeah. And so we, we walked everywhere. We mostly, I think at some point at the end of
some of our walking, we're like, let's take an Uber. We could, you could easily get around without
a car and yeah. And that no one was around even, but it's still a city. So you were, it's not.
(03:38):
Right. Yeah. So there was still plenty of people. It wasn't barren, but it wasn't, but it wasn't
peak tourist season. So it was like very pleasant. And honestly, the energy in the city was really
nice. Like it was just this nice, I don't know. It, every city has a different energy and vibe to it.
(03:59):
And I just really liked Washington DCs. Yeah. I liked it too. So the last time before this,
the last time I was in DC, I was, well, I I've driven through it, but the last time I like was
there to explore was in eighth grade and I could not remember anything. I was like,
(04:20):
I don't know what happened though. I couldn't remember any of the tourists, any like sites,
anything we did. I, I, I vaguely remembered a library. I don't know what I was, my mind,
I wasn't paying attention, but it was nice to go back and actually take everything in and be like,
Oh, Oh, that's where that happens. And that, you know, I feel like we, I could have spent a few
(04:46):
more days there. Oh, absolutely. Yes. Done more touring. I mean, obviously we did spend a
predominant amount of time doing a hotel, historic hotel related things. And we did get to make it to
the national mall and see a lot of the monuments, but not nearly as many things as are on my list.
(05:07):
So no, no, we, we just like stopped by, we hopped, hopped around a lot. We took some pictures and
we're like, Oh, we have to go do this. That's why, okay. In our videos, if anyone watches our
videos, like our tours of hotels and restaurants and not restaurants, but when you see us eating
or drinking, notice the outfits. Some of them, we got the same outfit on cause we're hot. We were
(05:32):
hopping around. We were going from one hotel to the next. Um, we were only there. When did we get
there? We were only there like four days. Yeah. Four days. Yeah. So we landed in the early morning.
Yeah. We took a red eye from LA and, uh, and then I recommend, but it worked out. It did. No, it was
(05:53):
per, I think our trip like was perfect. Like the way we planned it, it's just a lot. We were
exhausted because every day we woke up really early and then we went to bed really late. Cause
we were working the whole time. Yeah. But it was fun work. It's like eating the meal was work too.
But I want to, I want to go back and I want to explore more hotels there. The hotels in DC are
(06:17):
insane. They're insane. Gorgeous. The architecture is just jaw dropping.
Honestly, I mean, the Willard was so beautiful. I would love to go back and spend more time there.
Yeah. I have a whole different appreciation for DC now, um, because it wasn't on my list before.
No, not at all. I want to go to DC. Um, I didn't. Yeah. Like I would have been,
(06:42):
I would have been fine to go. I definitely have always wanted to go to the library of Congress,
which I still haven't gotten to go into. So that's a reason to go back. We need to go to the
spy museum. Um, that too. Oh yeah. Oh, there's so much. Okay. So if another hotel wants to
invite us back to DC, we are ready and willing. Yeah. We know our way around now.
(07:02):
I want to say the Mayflower has this restaurant in it called Edgar. And we need to talk about
this because honestly, hands down, one of the, my favorite restaurants ever. It was so good. It was
every meal we had was fantastic. It was like the most delicious. Were we just really hungry?
(07:23):
I don't think so. I think it was genuinely that good because there were a couple of times where
I was like, I don't know that I'm that hungry. Like I'm just going to get a couple of things.
And then by the end of the meal, I was like, I could have had more. Yeah. We ordered almost
everything off that menu. Like, like literally almost everything off that menu. So we wanted to
try everything. And we also had the cutest waiter. Um, a lot of the wait staff and a lot of the people
(07:47):
that work at the hotel have been working there for like 30, 40 years, decades. And, um, there was
this old sweet waiter. What was his name? I think his name was Dan. Dan. Um, he only works on Fridays
and Saturdays or like something like that. And in the mornings. And of course we had to wake up early.
And so we had him like a few, like twice in a row. Was it Thursday, Friday, Saturdays or something?
(08:08):
We had him only on the days he worked. And he was our fit. He was hilarious. He was our favorite
person. He was so sweet. He recognized us. He always served us. So, um, shout out to Dan.
Yeah. And you know, on the, on the Mayflower, uh, breakfast and brunch menu is a banana bread
that I believe the menu said they have been serving that banana bread since the opening of the Mayflower.
(08:31):
Yeah, I remember that. It was really good. It was really good. It was really, really good.
What was your favorite thing off the menu? Oh my God. I don't know. I don't know. I honestly don't know.
Um, I think that tuna. Oh yeah. The tuna nachos. Yeah. The tower was one of my favorites.
(08:56):
Those pancakes with the blueberries. The French toast was excellent. Yeah. The French toast. Um,
the steak was great. The steak was really, really good. Oh, the Brussels sprouts.
Yeah. The Brussels sprouts. That was really good too. Okay. We're just going to name everything
that we had. So we have to stop. Yeah. What else can we say about our trip? It was, it was wonderful.
(09:18):
We, we got to speak to the manager of the hotel and she was great. She was very helpful.
The, there were two concierge people that were so friendly and so helpful. Shout out to the
concierges at the Mayflower. They were so sweet. And, uh, we also got, um, we got set up with a tour
by, I want to say Steve. Steve. Yeah. He was great. He gave us so much information. It was great. He
(09:46):
was so funny and nice. And the stories were really interesting. Yeah. He knew so many, so informative.
Um, and if something funny happened, so where we meet Steve in the lobby and we're like ready to go
on our tour and this random guy, not from the U S because like he was there like promoting a book
he had written or something about Jesus. Oh, it was about, I thought it was about the UN.
(10:10):
It was, I thought it was about Jesus or, or Christian something. It was nothing to do with
what we were doing, but he kind of just like leached onto our tour. Yeah. And I didn't have
a problem. Like it's fine, but he was also weird and really like in the way. Yeah. Asked the
stupidest questions and he asked us if it was okay. And we being the people pleasers, we are like,
(10:36):
polite. We should have, we should have said it. Yes. Because it really like distracted from our
tour and he kept getting in our shots. He kept getting in our shots. He asked stupid questions.
Um, and maybe his questions weren't stupid and we were just annoyed, but either way, they were stupid.
I want to say they were stupid. Uh, but, but it was really our time and we were already on a time
(10:59):
limit. Yeah. I think he also was bit, so it was kind of like, man, you should have just.
Yeah. But you never know. Maybe to this day, he talks about how nice the people were that let him
join their tour last minute. That's why it was like, he was like about to leave for the airport
and he had just like a little bit of time. So I felt bad for him because I was like, all right.
I know. Of course. Like, what are you going to say? No, it's hard to say. It's so hard to say no.
(11:23):
Uh, we also want to shout out to Logan and McCauley who we interviewed and Catherine,
Catherine or from historic hotels of America. We interviewed all three of them and they came in
on their day off or their time or their lunch break. It was so nice. Yeah. And so we really
appreciate it. They were amazing. Um, they gave us such good information. They were just so sweet
(11:49):
and supportive and, um, both Logan and McCauley gave us private tours of places. So even though
we got that main tour, it was great. Logan showed us the presidential suite, which is really nice.
Yes. Uh, and then we got a, another tour. We went to go see McCauley who wants to say hi to him
(12:09):
and he's like, you know what, I'm going to give you a tour. And we're like, yes. So we got,
we got even another tour. Yeah. We had to go through some like back areas of the ball room and
there's a whole, um, what's it called? Like labyrinth that exists underneath the hotel.
We got to see just a touch a piece of that. Yeah. And, uh, it's, it is really old. When you go behind
(12:30):
the scenes, you're like, Oh, I can see how old this is. Oh, and also, uh, we are going to be
dropping pieces of our interview with Catherine into, uh, these episodes about the Mayflower.
So, um, she had a lot to say about the history and significance of, uh, historic hotels in general
and the Mayflower specifically. So we wanted to let you guys hear some of that. Yeah. So we're
(12:57):
very thankful for everyone who spoke to us and who helped us and the Mayflower for letting us stay
there and not haunting our rooms. We want to start with some excerpts from our interview with
Catherine back in October. She really puts into context why we find historic hotels so fascinating
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and significant. Hi, I'm Catherine Orr. I'm the marketing, uh, strategist and communications
professional at Historic Hotels of America, which is a program of the National Trust for
Historic Preservation. So how did you get started in the hotel industry? Uh, well, Historic Hotels of
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America is really my first foray into hotels and hospitality. I have degrees in journalism and
history, and so I would call myself a public historian or a history communicator. I've worked
as a historian for big institutions like the National Park Service, the National Archives Museum,
as well as a communications manager for a history nonprofit. But I've always loved travel, and I've
(14:06):
always stayed in historic hotels around the world. So when this opportunity arose, I thought it was
a really good fit. And as a public historian, I believe in the cultural and social impact and
value of historic hotels, what they offer travelers, as well as being great for the environment and for
the economy of local communities. What really grabs you about Historic Hotels? Um, there's so
(14:34):
many different ways that Historic Hotels matter. They're more environmentally friendly than a new
hotel, for instance. So they add value to their community and they drive tourism. They're also
authentic, and they add personality to a main street or a city. And I think people are tired
of cookie cutter hotels. But personally, I believe that Historic Hotels, like all historic buildings,
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teach us empathy. When I walk into a historic building like the Mayflower, I like to think that
I'm standing where people stood a hundred years ago. It gives me perspective and humility, and
it makes me think those deeper thoughts about life. And Historic Hotels are also primary sources of
evidence about the past. And it's really those two things, the empathy and the evidence. And I think
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that's the power of place at Historic Hotels. Oh, that's such a good way to put that. Excellent
answer. So what's it like behind the scenes of a like a old historic hotel? And what does it take
to run a successful luxury hotel? Behind the scenes, I think there's a lot of pride amongst
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the staff. I think that they feel like they're part of something bigger, kind of in the same way
that a visitor might, but with more pride in creating this experience for people and being
part of this institution that's been so important throughout its history. And I believe that
owners and managers of Historic Hotels, to make it succeed, they need to come with creativity
(16:08):
and this sort of understanding that they're stewards of something that is going to exist
after they've moved on to another project or they've sold the building or, you know,
I think that it's a mission. It's something bigger than just an investment. You have to approach it
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as a steward. We hear that a lot. Whenever we research Historic Hotels, that it's never just
an investment or a hotel. It's like, this is, you have to appreciate its beauty, its history. You
have to care for it. You have to love it. The most successful ones, there's a passion for
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having that hotel. What makes the Mayflower stand out from other Historic Hotels in the DC area?
The Mayflower is truly one of Washington's grand dames. So there, I would say, you know,
on my one hand, maybe going into two hands, I could count how many fantastic grand dames there
(17:15):
are in Washington, DC. I think the Mayflower is one of those special places here in the city that
really respects and honors its history. It invests in itself. It invests in its community. It brings
in local artists to create art for the hotel, for the key cards, for the spaces. I think that
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the Mayflower, it gives the city a sense of constancy. It's a touch point in like a changing
environment where there's a lot of buildings that are demolished. There's always construction going
on in Washington, DC, but new buildings are always going up, new shopping centers, new hotels.
So the Mayflower, as a Historic Hotel, gives the city a sense of place, a sense of time.
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And I don't know if it stands out from its cohort in DC, but certainly it stands out from the rest
of the city.
The Mayflower is the largest luxury hotel in DC and the longest continuously operated in the
(18:23):
Washington area. And its nicknames include the Grand Dom of Washington, the Hotel of Presidents,
and the second best address in Washington, DC. The area where the Mayflower now sits actually began
as the Visitation Convent and School. A group of seven nuns came to Washington in 1850 to open a
(18:44):
Catholic grammar school, and in 1876 they purchased seven acres of land for $53,000. The School of
Washington ran until 1919, but the nuns had to sell pieces of it off throughout the years to keep
the school open and support themselves. So probably not the best investment. But despite their
(19:05):
monetary struggle, the neighborhood around them became one of the most exclusive residential
neighborhoods in the city thanks to the British Legation, which was built there in 1872 at End
Street and Connecticut Avenue. In 1919, the nuns sold their remaining land for the site of the
Mayflower and were able to move their convent over to Bethsaida. So the Mayflower was built by
(19:29):
Alan E. Walker. It was originally called the Walker Hotel and Apartments. The architecture firm
chosen for the project was Warren and Wetmore, which was based in New York and considered the
premier hotel designers in America. Their previous projects included famous New York names like the
Plaza, the Vanderbilt, the Ritz-Carlton, the Biltmore, and the Commodore hotels. I'm really
(19:51):
surprised we've only managed to do an episode on the Plaza out of all of those super famous hotels.
We have a lot more to do. So much to do. We have a lot. Yeah, but that makes sense. Okay, so you
know, when you have a go-to style, very nice. That's true. Yeah, obviously these architects
knew what they were doing. Yeah, I mean, it's still gorgeous to this day. That's timeless. You have to
(20:17):
be a really good architect to make it work. And especially in DC because DC has weird shapes and
corners and intersections. And it was actually quite a challenge to design a building that was
going to look good and also make sense. And they did a really, really good job with the shape that
(20:38):
they chose for the Mayflower. They broke ground in July 1922 and workers uncovered stumps of
massive cypress trees, some of the trunks nearly eight feet in diameter. Oh my god, that's huge.
Wow. Yeah. What were they doing there? Geologists estimated the stumps at 100,000 years old.
(20:59):
Holy crap. Did they just like, gut them out? As workers dug deeper, they discovered that an
underground branch of Rock Creek ran below the site, which forced the foundation to be dug
to bedrock 40 feet below ground. DC used to be a swamp. So I think anytime they do major construction,
they probably find things that still exist deep down. Oh, that could explain the cypress tree.
(21:23):
Because they say they plant trees in swamps to absorb the water. Well, except these trees are
100,000 years old. So I don't think anybody planted them. They were just there. They just grew. Yeah.
I think they were just natural to the area. Holy shit. So they just like dug them out. Yeah. And
it cost so much money. They were not expecting to find this and it cost way more money to the project
(21:48):
because of that. That's crazy. I thought they were going to find like a dinosaur in there or something.
That would have been cool. The hotel was scheduled to open January 1st of 1924, but the investment
company was running short on funds because of all this extra construction they had to do. So the
hotel remained unfinished and nearing bankruptcy, Walker Investment Company had to sell its interest
(22:12):
in the hotel to its biggest financial backer, C.C. Mitchell and Company for 5.7 million. The hotel's
final building cost was close to 11 million dollars and that's in 1924. That's a lot of money. So
that's almost 200 million dollars. That's a lot of money. Wow. The new owners changed the name to the
(22:33):
Mayflower Hotel in honor of the 300th anniversary that had just been celebrated in 1920 of the
landing of the Mayflower and the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. The finished hotel had a dazzling
array of rooms, decor, and amenities. The hotel had wainscoting and floors in the public rooms
that were made of a battuccino marble and featured walnut moldings. The use of gold
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gilt to trim decorations was extensive and you can see that when you go through the hotel, by the way,
to this day. Newspapers said the hotel contained more gold trim than any other building except the
Library of Congress. The lobby had a mezzanine on the northwest and south sides, a small cocktail
lounge along the north wall. The lobby received light from the coffered skylight and it had four
(23:24):
great bronze torches or torches. I'm not sure. Torsheres. Torsheres. I think that's French for torches.
Okay. Hand wrought and trimmed with gold. It was all over the lobby. So this place was
fancy. A lot of gold. Yes. Very luxurious. It's really, really pretty and it's not overwhelming
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at all. It's just beautiful details and yeah, there's a lot. I think now when they repainted
some of the, because they had to, you know, over the years, fix up the gold. I don't think it's made
with the same gold that it was. Probably not. It's probably made with like a paint mixed with gold.
Yeah. Not actual 24 karat gold everywhere. The main lobby entrance on Connecticut Avenue had a
(24:17):
stairway that led down to the below ground level where public restrooms and a barber shop and a
marble shoeshine stand were located. And then a second 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 and the four elevators to the east of the lobby joining it to the promenade
(24:43):
had bronze doors with images of the Mayflower vessel on them. The promenade was 26 feet wide
and 300 feet long. This is how it was set up at the time it was opening. It's set up differently
now. There are some obviously similarities and things that they can't change. But yeah, but when
it opened it had so much going on. So several heating oil furnaces and one of the world's
(25:10):
largest air conditioning units kept the hotel in the public areas at an even 70 degrees year round.
So this is 1924. Air conditioning is not a staple of life for most people. So the fact that they had
this was extremely luxurious. Yeah. The hotel had 440 guest rooms each with its own shower bath which
(25:33):
was also extremely unusual. Usually in hotels people had to share bathroom facilities. Guest suites had
a sitting room, dining room, bath and up to seven bedrooms. The hotel's 500 guest apartments each had
its own kitchenette, dining room and drawing room with fireplace. So this is another one of those
hotels that had both guest rooms as like the hotel and then also had a section for apartments
(25:59):
because so many people chose to live in hotels as residences at this time. Some of these apartments
had as many as 11 rooms and up to five baths. Wow. The Mayflower featured three restaurants.
The Palm Court featured a glass dome supported by iron latticework, palm trees and a marble fountain
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and pool with water lilies growing in it. It was used for tea dances and concerts during Prohibition.
The Presidential Restaurant was decorated with the seals of the 13 colonies. Both were located on the
main floor and the garden terrace was located on the first below ground floor and featured a
coffered ceiling done in copper, a marble fountain, plaster walls in warm pastel tents, alcoves designed
(26:42):
to look like arbors and murals of early Washington DC and nearby Mount Vernon. This was like a,
it was almost like its own little city at that point. A good hotel is. Yeah it's true. It makes
it, you never want to leave. 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
(27:08):
a million dollar addition. Construction began in October 1924 and within six weeks the 40 foot deep
foundation had been dug. The addition opened on May 31st 1925. The most prominent features of the
annex were the Presidential Suite on the 10th floor and the Vice Presidential Suite on the 9th floor.
(27:29):
Each suite had 13 rooms which included a foyer, drawing room, library, secretary's room, dining
room and five bedrooms. Each with its own bath and kitchenette. Damn. Wow no wonder they needed a
whole other addition. Each suite also had a maid's room with an attached bath. Oh my god. Even the
maid gets her own bathroom? That's pretty. Oh honestly maybe they were living better than we were.
(27:54):
I know right. The second through eighth floors of the annex contained a guest, contained guest
suites. Each suite had five bedrooms and each bedroom had its own bath. Wow. The first floor of
the annex was occupied by the Mayflower coffee shop and an expanded version of the very small cafe in
(28:14):
the main lobby. So they did, they did a lot and that only cost a million dollars. It's pretty
impressive that they could already tell before the hotel proper even opened that they were gonna need
more. Probably because of the location and the lack of hotels around. They were like they must
have already been having a lot of inquiries for people being able to stay. On February 17th 1925,
(28:45):
the night before the Mayflower opened to the public, the hotel held a gala for 750 guests
including those who had designed, constructed, and decorated the hotel. Lots of well-known people
also attended from various political and social circles. Secretary of Labor James J. Davis was
the principal speaker of the night and he called the hotel a quote symbol of individual initiative.
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The hotel officially opened on February 18th 1925 and the first person to sign the guest register
was Major H.R. Limley, a retired U.S. soldier. He was also a scholar and polyglot who spoke French,
German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and some Japanese and Chinese. Wow. He was fluent in
Russian which he learned when he lived in St. Petersburg. I bet he had some interesting stories.
(29:31):
I want to say who is this man? We need to find out more about him. A biography on this man. Stat.
The morning it opened, the Washington star called the Mayflower quote one of the most magnificent
hotels in the country. And that's before it's anyone's even stayed there. It's the morning
that it opened. That night 1500 people attended the official opening festivities. So that just
(29:51):
tells you how big it is that they can hold 1500 people for a party. It's really big. Yeah. They
had all received invitations mailed with a special stamp reissued specially for the hotel's opening.
The one cent stamp from 1920 celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Mayflower landing at Plymouth
Rock. They got a stamp. They got their own stamp reissued. I want a stamp made for me. Can you do that?
(30:15):
I'll make some calls. Do you think they still have those stamps? Surely somewhere in their
archive they do. That's so cool. Shortly after opening the hotel booked a convention for the
International Parliamentary Union which was attended by delegates from foreign countries.
The IPU guests put their shoes out in the hall that first night so they would be shined and returned
(30:38):
in the morning which was standard practice at hotels in Europe. The Mayflower staff was unaware
of this practice so the bell boys and valets collected all the shoes and dropped them into
the laundry bags. The next morning the manager had to tell all the delegates that they could find
their shoes in the grand ballroom. They all had to shuffle to the ballroom in their stocking feet
(30:58):
to find their shoes. To make it worse the shoes were no longer paired together.
That's a big blunder. That's a pretty big snafu. Yeah but that also sounds hilarious.
That went down. So only two weeks after the Mayflower opened it held an event that established it as a
leader among Washington hotels. President Calvin Coolidge's charity inaugural ball which was held
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March 4th 1925 in the grand ballroom. So for those that don't know the president's inauguration
used to happen in March which was set by the 12th amendment in the constitution but Congress
changed that in 1933 with the 20th amendment moving it to January 20th which we're all familiar with.
But every single inaugural ball was held at the Mayflower until the last one that it held in 1981.
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The president was very much against a lot of pomp and circumstance for his inauguration.
He wanted everything to be very bare bones and economical so he wouldn't be criticized like a
former president had been. He wasn't opposed to there being some sort of celebration but he
didn't want to be directly associated with it or use government funds to pay for it. I like this guy.
So the inaugural committee withdrew their plans for an official ball but the citizens inaugural
(32:13):
committee substituted an unofficial charity ball held at the Mayflower. 6,000 people attended
Coolidge's inaugural ball and they raised $30,000 for children's charity. Whoa that's amazing. This
is 1925 that's a lot of money. Damn. Yeah that's before the crash. The Coolidge's didn't have a
(32:33):
ball but they were patrons of the ball. The vice president and his wife attended as the guests of
honor in their place and the next day the Times headline read great charity ball a colorful affair
jazz and bob take the places of stately dances and cofiers of the past. Oh so it sounded pretty hip.
So another reason the president didn't want to have a lot of celebrating is because the prior
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year in July of 1924 they lost their 16 year old son Calvin Jr. He was playing tennis with his brother
when he developed a blister on top of his toe from not wearing socks. The blister got infected
with staph and a week later he died. He died of staph infection. This was before antibiotics right?
Yes. Oh my god can you imagine? Yeah penicillin was discovered like four years ago.
(33:22):
But it wasn't like viable until like the 40s or 50s to be used for medicine. So yeah like so many
things killed you back then just because there were no antibiotics. You would think you'd be more
careful then wear some socks don't get a blister. I know I guess they're just not thinking like oh
bacteria lives on my foot and if my foot gets a blister I'm gonna get infected. I'm sure you're not
(33:44):
the only one. I'm gonna use 16. I'm gonna use 16. I'm gonna use 16. I'm gonna use 16. I'm gonna use
I'm gonna use 16. So that's horrible. You know how 16 year olds don't think about consequences. Yeah
oh it's so sad. That's really sad. So yeah he really his inauguration he did not want a big affair
at all because also like the whole family was still in mourning. This was yeah you know just
(34:09):
nine months after his son died. The fact that the Coolidge's didn't attend their ball has led to the
Mayflower's famous ghost story. Apparently on January 20th every year the lights in the grand
ballroom flicker and dim at 10 p.m. when the Coolidge's would have been announced had they
come. One of the elevator's stalls at the eighth floor for 15 minutes which is when the president
(34:33):
would have left his room and headed to the lobby to arrive at the ball. Sometimes a plate of hors d'oeuvres
and wine have been found on the balcony but they aren't the hors d'oeuvres that were served that day.
Creepy. Yeah. So we heard about this when we were there. They said that there was some weird things
happening with the elevator around that time. So it could be that the ghost of president Coolidge
(35:00):
wants to attend his inaugural ball. I think it's weird. I mean most of the inaugural balls that
happened at the Mayflower did would have happened on January 20th but not his. His would have
happened in March. So I feel like it's a case of mistaken identity. I think it's somebody else
wanting to attend. Maybe or the ghost of Coolidge is like I've upgraded and I know when that is happening.
(35:28):
I'm hip to the amendments to the constitution. He's like I know I know this is the time for you guys.
Yeah or yeah maybe he's attending everybody else's inaugural ball since he didn't get to go to his own.
Exactly. But we have heard like from staff that the elevators. Yeah this is legitimate.
That year after year this is a problem that happens and they have to warn guests about it.
(35:52):
Like oh hey if the elevator holds like just use a different one. Ghosts are so funny.
Like I don't think they're scary. No they're pretty funny. Everything we read about they're
just like really dumb. They just want a little attention. They want attention. They just want
to be acknowledged. You just have to like open the door for them. Be like okay. Yeah they just
(36:12):
want you to knock before you come in the room. Listen to our hotel superstitions episode for that one.
They're so funny. So starting in the late 1920s and continuing for more than two decades,
society hostess Mrs. Lawrence Townsend hosted what came to be known as musical mornings at the Mayflower
which were virtuoso concert recitals held in the grand ballroom. An article from a February 1937
(36:38):
New York Times read quote Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt attended Mrs. Lawrence Townsend's 96th
musical morning at the Mayflower today entertaining in her box Mrs. Fulvio Suvich, wife of the Italian
ambassador, Mrs. Fernando de Ios Rios, wife of the Spanish ambassador, Mrs. Cordell Hull, wife of the
(36:58):
secretary of state, and Miss Nancy Cook who is her guest at the White House. So lots of very important
yeah first ladies heading to these concerts. Frances Parkinson Keys, a writer socialite and
senator's wife said you had to allow a little more time for your toilet feeling thankful that
you had a Lucrenz frock and a Camille Rodger hat to wear for everyone goes and everyone wears her
(37:23):
best bib and tucker so this was like a social event yeah but what a little more time for your
toilet yeah your your vanity like getting ready okay okay yeah they used to call just getting
ready in general your toilet or your toilette if you were French quite the uh the ladies affair
these musical concerts were and apparently they were a big deal like they had some really top
(37:47):
notch famous talent of the day yeah doing these in June 1927 Charles Lindbergh came to DC to be
awarded the Hubbard medal by the National Geographic Society for his historic non-stop flight from New
York to Paris he stayed at the Mayflower while in town and celebrated there with a breakfast for a
(38:08):
thousand guests wait so he had a thousand guests come to celebrate with him for breakfast yeah
where did they eat in one of the ballrooms i'm gonna guess oh oh okay yeah the ball where they
said it that's insane that's insane after Herbert Hoover was elected president in 1928 he declared
(38:29):
the Mayflower the temporary headquarters for his administration and lived there for 90 days before
his 1929 presidential inauguration he of course held his inaugural ball there as well his vice
president Charles Curtis what's with the alliteration men okay relax lease the vice
(38:49):
presidential suite on the 10th floor from 1929 to 1932 he shared the suite with his sister and
her husband Mr and Mrs Edward Everett Gann Gann or Gann Gann looks good to me cool yeah since
Curtis was a widower his sister served as the hostess of her brother's apartment which became
(39:10):
the unofficial social gathering place of the Hoover administration so parties in the in the hotel room
yeah parties at the vice presidential suite um i really really hate that so many of the women
that we mentioned are listed by their husband's name i know that was like a thing back then but
i just hate that their identity gets erased and i have to spend so much more time if i want to try
(39:35):
to find what their name was who was Mrs Edward Everett Gann i don't know that's her husband's
name that's her husband's name what is up with that it's a patriarchy yeah
so now we're heading into the 1930s which everybody knows was not a super good time
(39:57):
for the country or hotels for the world on march 31st 1928 the Mayflower hotels bonds were
refinanced by the American Bond and Mortgage Company which is the company that controlled the hotel
most of the time companies refinance or restructure their debt like this when they are in financial
difficulty and are unable to meet their obligations usually before filing for a chapter 11 bankruptcy
(40:23):
protection so the fact that they were doing this means the hotels seem to be having some financial
difficulties before the stock market even crashed a year and a half later yeah so the great depression
had a significant impact on the Mayflower it lost money as much as seven hundred sixty thousand
dollars over two years and that's 1920s money and in 1929 its affairs were placed in the hands of
(40:50):
a special committee established by the bond company in the fall of 1929 American Bond and Mortgage
and its president William J Moore began to be investigated by the Department of Justice for
fraud and predatory lending thousands of investors complained the company took their money and showed
no returns on investment accusations in court alleged that the company financed a new building
(41:14):
let it slip close to bankruptcy then William J Moore emerged as its sole owner yeah this happened
to a hotel that I want us to do an episode on in the future in New York like he did this a lot I
feel like this is very common yeah I wonder why I wonder why corporate regulations and things needed
(41:35):
to be put in place there was a crash so uh there was a June 1931 time article that actually talked about this
and a quote from it says Lurid's stories have got into tabloid print as to how he and his associates
talking about William J Moore how he and his associates gave whoopee parties with show girls
(41:56):
to dazzle public officials and promote their questionable bond sales their inflation of real
estate value was denounced in the senate I just love that the term whoopee party was used in a time
magazine article so they wined and dined yeah they hoarded up yeah yeah yeah for the officials to look
(42:18):
the other way I think whoopee party and showgirl was nice euphemisms for prostitutes so meanwhile
the main flower continued to lose money and on May 22nd 1931 the holders of the hotel's original bonds
secured a ruling that the hotel was bankrupt it was later alleged that the hotel had lost more than
(42:39):
two million dollars since it opened and that American bond had issued a large amount of bonds
with the hotel as security which worsens the hotel's financial status the bond company got
the bankruptcy ruling dismissed on June 26th so yeah this bond American bond was like no everything
we're doing is fine and normal like it's fine so they got this ruling by the minority shareholders
(43:04):
dismissed but a second bankruptcy was declared by the court on July 28th a month later and hotel
management was taken over by court appointed receivers man this is drama that same time article
wrote about how vice president Charles Curtis who we just mentioned got himself mixed up in the
(43:26):
whole mess I wonder why with the whoopee parties yeah so as we mentioned before he was staying in
the 11-room vice presidential suite at the Mayflower at this time that would normally cost someone
150 dollars per day but he was getting it for five dollars and 53 cents a day so this led to
(43:48):
the suspicion that William J Moore who was the president of the American bond company
was giving Curtis a cut rate for political protection it's not been proven but it was
making people go hmm why would the vice president get who has the money get to have this room for
five dollars a day can you imagine yeah so apparently Curtis got a little touchy on the
(44:12):
subject of living at the Mayflower after that and would quote fly into a blazing rage anytime
someone questioned his connection to more guilty much right you want to prove that you're guilty
get really mad about it yeah get a little defensive why don't you so fraud charges were later levied
against officials of American bond and mortgage and the company finally admitted the hotel was
(44:35):
bankrupt in October of 1931 well yeah so depression and bankruptcy couldn't bring the Mayflower down
and it continued to be on the cutting edge of fashion and society you know what it doesn't
stop a lot of people yeah people bounce back from the depression in 1930 it had two major art
(44:57):
exhibitions simultaneously one featuring 30 sculptures and paintings by Auguste Rodin and
the other showing the work of Swiss sculptor Ernst Dürig one of Rodin's students Dürig stayed at the
hotel during this period so some artists were living it up there too yeah it also became
(45:20):
famous ones yeah yeah it also continued hosting incredible parties as it would right so one thing
that happened there a lot was debutante balls that was a big deal yeah in those days and I
guess Helen Doherty had some of the most notorious and famous debutante balls at this time I love
(45:41):
looking at the pictures of those things from back in the day all the girls in their white dresses
yeah yeah what the hell is it that we don't well but yeah I didn't grow up hearing these things
it's words it's when the the young ladies are presented to society and basically yeah they're
on they're on the love market can I tell you the close the not love wedding yeah they're on the
(46:04):
meat market yeah the only thing I know is um Gilmore girls yes like it's a very old you know
yeah she had a coming out party but it means something totally different today when you have
a coming out party yeah in March 1931 the grand ballroom converted into a polo field with goal
posts at each end spectator boxes and authentic horse stalls with one even housing a famous US
(46:30):
army polo pony polo accessories saddles feed boxes and other necessities were placed around the field
and many guests were polo wore polo outfits do you think they would do this today do you think
they would turn their grand ballroom into a polo field I want to know how I also want to see
pictures when was astroturf invented did they just like pluck grass from outside um that sounds like
(46:56):
a lot of fun but oh so why and also why would you allow a pony into the grand ballroom ponies just
poop I know but but is there not land outside at this time well what was the reason I have to know
more about this I'm very curious but also I love that everyone was like for it yeah let's get dressed
up and also the amount of stuff that was there for the ponies the saddles feed boxes and uh just you
(47:21):
know I mean they had goal posts and everything yeah so did they did somebody take the pony out
for a little ride I got questions oh so how did you get the pony in just let him through the lobby
yeah yeah in 1932 the Mayflower Garden was transformed into a Spanish cantina with colorful
(47:43):
awnings live parakeets and other tropical birds live latin music for dancing tangos and the rumba
the dance crazes at that time a mock bullfight and all 300 guests in Spanish costumes one word
cultural appropriation that sounds really fun though it does sound really fun so wait what
what was this idea that you should take the outside and bring it inside and cause mayhem
(48:08):
with animals pooping everywhere a party given for President Hoover by Secretary of the Interior
Ray Lyman Wilbur transformed the Chinese Room which is another uh gathering room in the Mayflower
into an Alaskan environment with the help of museum pieces including a huge stuffed polar bear
on a block of imitation ice in front of two brightly colored totem poles evergreen trees covered the
(48:33):
walls of the room with stuffed animals like white foxes caribou and the american eagle hidden among
the trees a replica of Mount McKinley was the centerpiece of the head table and the foothills
were an Alaskan village with Inuit figures a miniature railroad running to and from copper
mines and several airplanes holy crap they took their parties seriously they loved a good thing
(48:57):
no wonder the hotel was leeching money for the first years it opened how much also with stuffed
animals this wasn't like you know toys rs stuff yeah no i'm sure this was that belonged in a museum
they're calling them stuffed animals but yeah they they were probably taxidermies they were
taxidermies for sure but that that sounds wild the george washington bicentennial celebration
(49:17):
was held in the ballroom on february 22nd 1932 and the main event there was a pageant that's also
a theme they loved pageants back then patch it for what um just like i guess mrs george washington
like i guess i think of um toddlers and tierras that's all i think about when i hear the word
(49:40):
pageant i'm like what little we put makeup on a little girl make her way with a crowd no normally
it was like people's wives entering i think like the female guests and so this was probably for
miss george washington bicentennial oh i wonder if they made her wear a george washington wig i
would love that's a fun patch see that would be great yeah that's the kind of pageant i'm i'm here
(50:00):
for yeah and the mayflower continued to host all kinds of celebrities in july 1932 amelia airheart
stayed in a suite where she posed for a photo before being awarded the special gold medal of
the national geographic society from president herbert hoover she was awarded the medal following
her solo flight from newfoundland to the british isles amelia airheart got around and not in a
(50:24):
dirty way i mean obviously but no she like got around hotels like she i mean she obviously was
a celebrity but like she hung out in so many hotels mention her in 1932 franklin d roosevelt
was elected and stayed in the mayflower on the eve of his inaugural address in room 776 not
(50:47):
1776 no uh i'm just saying they should have done on march 3rd 1933 it was in this room that he
wrote one of the most famous quotes in u.s presidential history the only thing we have to
fear is fear itself over 250 radio stations broadcast his message the next day fdr celebrated
(51:07):
his birthday on january 30th every year at the mayflower with charity galas that's really sweet
yeah that's a great i love that they all did so much for charity the birthday events raised money
for children with polio of course yeah yeah that makes sense which of course the president had
experienced that's that's nice he he gave back to his community the mayflower played a role in
(51:30):
ending prohibition in a couple of ways first it was the meeting place for the women's organization
of national prohibition reform we talk about this a lot hotels and women's rights yes and like women's
movements yeah women's movement second it was the site of a critical meeting of the democratic
national committee which was the turning point in the repeal process in 1931 in 1934 prohibition
(51:56):
was finally over and the mayflower paid its thousand dollar fee for a liquor license on
february 6 yeah like immediately like prohibition ended mayflower was like boom check for a thousand
dollars of course i gotta make money off that um the palm court was renovated and turned into the
mayflower lounge which opened on april 2nd 1934 during world war ii it was washington's most
(52:20):
famous meeting place for allied government and military officials the mayflower even put out
table tents to remind guests to discuss confidential military matters quietly in case someone was
listening who shouldn't be listening i love that it only took them two months to open their cocktail
lounge they were like it had been in the works obviously planning obviously where did they get
(52:47):
because they were like here's your thousand dollars and welcome to our cocktail lounge
wait wait what the hell is a table tent oh it's those little things that they put specials on
on your tables at restaurants oh that are like in an a-frame shape i thought it was a table tent
like keep it keep it hush-hush that's great well they were right because later on they were right
(53:08):
yeah they were right they they had to remind government officials to shut the fuck up yeah so
that's a little um a little peek into the next episode where we're gonna hit the ground running
with world war ii because there was a lot of espionage happening in washington in general
and at the mayflower specifically so those table tents were really important because there were
(53:32):
spies hanging out in the mayflower you really never knew especially in a public place you would
think i mean government officials should not be discussing anything in public no guys come on
like that's crazy that they were the waiters at the time going around and eavesdropping and be like
not again guys like please i'm not a big important person but there's someone here that's gonna take
(53:54):
that information but i'm pretty sure franz over there might care about what you have to say about
allied movements yeah so hotels always coming in for helping out america hotels were so important
during world war ii there's one thing we have learned world war ii and hotels oh my gosh yeah
(54:16):
we could write a book just on that one little subject i know so please come back next week when
we will be talking we're really starting to just now get into the juicy stuff of the mayflower so
we've got so much more history to share with you all month long and uh please also check out the
(54:37):
mayflower on their instagram and websites because they have a lot of cool stuff going on as well
and uh check out our our instagram where we show a lot of videos yes about the mayflower
yeah we share our entire washington trip
(54:59):
thanks for listening to hotel history you can follow us on most social media platforms
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