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Willard InterContinental Hotel Washington

 

A grand historic landmark hotel, the Willard InterContinental Washington was built in 1850 and is known as the “Grand Dame of American Hotels”. It is located two blocks from the White House and contains numerous luxurious guest rooms, several restaurants, the famed Round Robin Bar, and voluminous function rooms. Significant events in American history have occurred there. Most notably in 1861, amid several assassination threats, detective Allan Pinkerton smuggled Abraham Lincoln into the Willard during the weeks before his inauguration; there Lincoln lived until his inauguration on March 4, holding meetings in the lobby and carrying on business from his room. Many United States presidents have frequented the Willard and every president since Franklin Pierce has either slept in or attended an event at the hotel at least once. It was the habit of Ulysses S. Grant to drink brandy and smoke a cigar while relaxing in the lobby. Folklore, additionally promulgated by publicists for the hotel, holds that this is the origin of the term “lobbying”. The hotel’s Round Robin Bar is a favored meeting place today.

1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, District of Columbia 20004

202 628 9100

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