The Hilton Washington DC National Mall The Wharf, previously known as the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, is a 367-room hotel located on the top four floors of a 12-story mixed-use building at the L'Enfant Plaza complex in the Southwest Federal Center neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. It was designed by architect Vlastimil Koubek, and was opened on May 31, 1973, as the Loews L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, named after Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the first surveyor and designer of the street layout of the city.
The hotel sits atop L'Enfant Plaza, an esplanade and plaza structure erected above a highway and a parking garage. The plaza and hotel were approved in 1955, but construction did not begin on the plaza (on which the hotel sits) until 1965. The plaza and esplanade were completed in 1968. The start of construction on the hotel was delayed three years, and was completed in May 1973. The construction led to a lawsuit after it was found that the foundation of an adjoining structure had encroached on the hotel's property. The hotel suffered a serious fire in 1975 that claimed the lives of two people.
L'Enfant Plaza Corp., which owned the hotel, sold the structure to Sarakreek Holdings in 1998, which in turn sold it to the JBG Companies in 2003. A legal battle ensued over the hotel's ownership. The hotel's original operator, Loews Hotels, was replaced after thirty-two years by Crestline Hotels & Resorts in 2005, which was in turn replaced by the Davidson Hotel Company in 2010. The hotel closed on December 3, 2013, for what was originally intended to be a year-long overhaul and upgrade of the entire property. It reopened on April 1, 2019, as the Hilton Washington DC National Mall.
History Construction Building L'Enfant Plaza In 1946, the United States Congress passed the District of Columbia Redevelopment Act, which established the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency and provided for clearance of land and redevelopment funds in the capital.Committee on the District of Columbia, 1978, p. 112. After a decade of discussion, public comment, legal battles, and negotiations with landowners and developers, the Southwest Urban Renewal Plan was approved in November 1956.Committee on the District of Columbia, 1978, p. 46. New York City developer William Zeckendorf proposed a grand mall along 10th Street SW, extending from Independence Avenue SW to end at a traffic circle at G Street SW.Gutheim and Lee, 2006, pp. 271–272. Zeckendorf named this mall L'Enfant Plaza after Pierre Charles L'Enfant,Yenckel and Frommer, p. 7. an architect responsible for planning the city of Washington.Resnick, p. 78 L'Enfant Plaza was approved for construction in April 1955."2 Projects Promise Aid to Southwest." Washington Post. October 3, 1954; Allbrook, Robert C. "Zeckendorf Mall Plan Approved." Washington Post. April 9, 1955. In December 1959, Zeckendorf won approval to build a 1,000-room hotel and five privately owned office buildings on L'Enfant Plaza.Eisen, Jack. "Hotel and 5 Office Buildings Approved for New Southwest." Washington Post. December 9, 1959. The Redevelopment Land Agency also approved the condemnation and razing of 14 city blocks for construction of the plaza, hotel, and office buildings. Construction was to have begun on January 1, 1961, but was delayed due to unresolved design issues with L'Enfant Promenade, the short time-frame to prepare detailed construction plans, and because Congress had not granted air rights above 9th Street SW to the developers.
Construction of L'Enfant Plaza and the hotel were then delayed another decade. Zeckendorf agreed to build the promenade, plaza, and all surrounding buildings as a single project in April 1961 and to pay $20 per .Eisen, Jack. "Building of Entire Southwest Plaza As One Job Offered by Zeckendorf." Washington Post. April 20, 1961; "Zeckendorf to Pay $20 Per Sq. Ft." Washington Post. May 7, 1961. These pledges led the Redevelopment Land Agency to award the 14-block area to Zeckendorf in October 1961 for $7 million."SW Tract Allotted to Zeckendorf." Washington Post. October 28, 1961.Jackson, Luther P. "$7 Million in Webb & Knapp Pacts Signed to Build Hub of New Southwest." Washington Post. November 7, 1961. By this time, although the hotel had retained its size, the number of office buildings had shrunk from eight to three. Zeckendorf added an underground shopping mall of shops and restaurants to the project in November 1962,"Zeckendorf Plans Shops In SW Plaza." Washington Post. November 13, 1962. and construction on the promenade and plaza was to have begun in April 1963.Clopton, Willard. "April Start Pledged On L'Enfant Plaza." Washington Post. January 16, 1963. But Zeckendorf's vast real estate empire began to suffer severe financial difficulties in 1964, eventually going bankrupt the following year.Reich, 1997, pp. 143–144. With Zeckendorf unable to make good on his construction pledges, the Redevelopment Land Agency forced him to withdraw and sell his interest in L'Enfant Plaza in November 1964.Lardner, George. "Renewal Agency Sets Conditions For Withdrawal of Zeckendorf." Washington Post. November 13, 1964.Lardner, George and Eisen, Jack. "Webb-Knapp Sells Last SW Parcel." Washington Post. November 3, 1964.
The buyer of Zeckendorf's property and leases was the L'Enfant Plaza Corp. (also known as L'Enfant Properties). L'Enfant Plaza Corp. was a syndicate led by former United States Air Force Lieutenant General Elwood R. Quesada, and included Chase Manhattan Bank president David Rockefeller, D.C., businessman David A. Garrett, investment banker André Meyer, and the real estate investment firm Gerry Brothers & Co. Quesada said that if the Redevelopment Land Agency approved the sale, it would begin immediate construction of the promenade, the 1,400-car parking garage beneath it, and the plaza. The agency gave its approval on January 21, 1965."L'Enfant Plaza Corp. Gets Southwest Tract." Washington Post. January 22, 1965. The sale was final on August 30.Eisen, Jack. "L'Enfant Plaza Sold to Quesada." Washington Post. September 1, 1965.
Site preparation for L'Enfant promenade and plaza began in November 1965.Richard, Paul. "Gen. Quesada's Syndicate Will Start Building L'Enfant Plaza Next Month." Washington Post. October 21, 1965. Air rights over 9th Street SW were granted for a rent of $500 per year for 99 years on November 23, 1965.Morgan, Dan. "D.C. Approves SW Air Space Lease Plan." Washington Post. November 24, 1965. The actual groundbreaking for L'Enfant Plaza occurred on December 9Eisen, Jack. "Ground Is Broken For L'Enfant Plaza." Washington Post. December 10, 1965, but the project was still hindered by delays. The federal government was building the James V. Forrestal Building at the northern end of L'Enfant promenade, and the whole northern end of the promenade and the associated roadway was a year behind its construction schedule by June 1967."Delay on Forrestal Building Stalls SE Mall Construction." Washington Post. June 8, 1967. Meanwhile, over-optimistic construction schedules and labor shortages meant L'Enfant Plaza Corp's building of the North and South buildings were six months behind projected schedules. The $23 million complex neared completion in January 1968,"L'Enfant Plaza Nears Completion." Washington Post. January 20, 1968. and the office buildings, plaza, and promenade opened to the public and businesses in June 1968.Von Eckardt, Wolf. "L' Enfant Plaza Is a Triumph." Washington Post. June 9, 1968. The plaza was formally dedicated on Saturday, November 16, 1968.Koprowski, Claude. "Formal Opening Set For L'Enfant Plaza." Washington Post. November 15, 1968.
The west office building and the hotel remained to be built, at a cost of $40 million. Construction on the West Building and 730-car parking garage (designed by D.C. architect Vlastimil Koubek) began on February 18, 1969."New L'Enfant Plaza Unit Underway." Washington Post. February 19, 1969.
Building the hotel
Construction on the Modernist hotel was to have started in the spring of 1970.Rich, William. "South by West: Renovations Underway at L'Enfant Plaza." Hill Rag. January 2010. Accessed July 18, 2012. However, construction on the , $23 million hotel and office building did not begin until June 1971.Jones, William H. "New Hotel Planned." Washington Post. June 23, 1971. The Loews Hotels chain agreed to co-finance construction of the property with L'Enfant Plaza Corp., although details of the agreement were not provided. The hotel would occupy the top four floors and lobby of the 12-story building, with separate elevators for office tenants and hotel guests. The 378-room hotel, designed by Koubek,"Architect Vlastimil Koubek Dies at 75." Washington Post. February 18, 2003; Hodges and Hodges, 1980, p. 38; Williams, 2005, p. 120; Moeller and Weeks, 2006, p. 59; Scott and Lee, 1993, p. 237; Kousoulas and Kousoulas, 1995, p. 213. had a rooftop swimming pool, two restaurants, a cocktail lounge, and meeting rooms. The general contractor for the building was George Hyman Construction Co. (now Clark Construction Group).
A major problem emerged during the hotel's construction. The Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, headquarters of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), had been constructed on a Redevelopment Land Agency site in November 1965.L'Enfant Plaza Properties, Inc. v. United States, 645 F.2d 886. John McShain, Inc., one of the largest federal building contractors in the Washington metro area, was the lead construction contractor. During the HUD building's construction, the footings for the western portion of the building were accidentally built over the property line.L'Enfant Plaza East, Inc. v. John McShain, Inc. 359 A.2d 5. The -thick footings for the HUD building were underground. L'Enfant Plaza Corp. sued John McShain, Inc. and the Redevelopment Land Agency for removal of the footings, stabilization of the HUD structure, and associated costs. The action spawned several lengthy court battles which lasted through the 1970s.
The Loews L'Enfant Plaza Hotel opened with a three-day gala ending with its dedication on May 31, 1973.Rosenfeld, Megan. "Hoopla Over a Hotel." Washington Post. June 1, 1973. The festivities began on May 29 with a birthday party for author Anita Loos attended by 260 Loews' executives, celebrities, and press—including actress Carol Channing singing "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" while seated on top of a tall cake. More than 1,500 people including Senator J. William Fulbright, Senator Jacob Javits, former Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford, and numerous business people, bankers, merchants, and construction company executives attended a reception at the hotel on May 30, and were permitted to roam freely throughout the facility throughout the evening. On May 31, Mayor of the District of Columbia Walter Washington, flanked by the Thomas Jefferson High School marching band and 40 high-kicking high school majorettes, cut the ribbon formally opening the hotel. The finished hotel had 372 rooms and occupied the bottom two "lobby floors" and the top four floors of the building. The building's final cost was $30 million.Meyer, Eugene L. "Rockefellers Big Investors in D.C." Washington Post. September 22, 1974.
Operation Quesada and the Rockefeller family each owned about 39 percent of L'Enfant Plaza Corp. Major Rockefeller investors included David Rockefeller, David Rockefeller, Jr., and Abby Rockefeller Mauzé.
The hotel suffered a serious fire in 1975. On February 10, a fire broke out in a 12th floor storeroom which killed a hotel maid and injured three others.Smith, J.Y. "1 Killed, 3 Injured in D.C. Hotel Blaze." Washington Post. February 11, 1975. A hotel waiter died the following day.Mann, Judy Luce and Lyons, Douglas C. "Hotel Fire Claims 2d Victim." Washington Post. February 12, 1975.