Tony Bennet
Great guy and cool as good be but his manager was pretty uptight. Tony was an absolute class act. We talked quite a bit as I escorted him to his room and I loved it.
Bon Jovi
In the early 90's when they still had all the hair and the screaming girls waiting for them. We had to move from one door to the other with the limo and yet the girls still found out where they would be leaving from and showed up in mass.
Garth Brooks
He had attended an ASCAP award program which he was honored at. Brian Romkee and myself had the pleasure of escorting him from the ballroom to his limo via the red carpet. It should have lasted for a couple of minutes but he had so many fans lined up wanting pictures and autographs. He took his time to give autographs and to take pictures
Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash
Really nice people
Bill Monroe
Very nice man and was honored to know that generations of my family had enjoyed his music.
Bill Clinton
Incredibly dynamic and charming. Coworkers that didn't like him before meeting him, liked him afterwards. Truly one of a kind.
Ralph Nader
I met him in D.C. when he stopped to ask me where he would be speaking in our hotel.
Kofi Annan
Escorted him to a meeting in our hotel in Washington D.C.
Bill Marriott
Truly a gentle giant who cares about his company and the people around him. The reason why his company is so strong and large.
Bob Baffert
The "rock star" of horse trainers. Always has his sunglasses on and swagger.
Willie Shoemaker
Small man in size but a warrior on a horse tracks. The greatest jockey in history.
D. Wayne Lukas
A legend in horse racing and training. Always a presence in the lobby or at the track.
I've met many more... So who have you met and where?
Showing posts with label Wardman Park Hotel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wardman Park Hotel. Show all posts
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Wardman Park Hotel in Washington D.C.
This was where I spent many, many hours during my time in Washington D.C.. A great hotel with lots of history and elegance. The old Wardman Tower was once a place of residence and the rest of the facility was the hotel. That changed a few months after I started and I remember the stories of Dwight Eisenhower living there for a time.
Truly a remarkable place to stay during a visit to Washington and with the upper rooms you get a great view of the city.
They also have an amazing variety of foods on the same block which also has a Metro stop. Very convenient and elegant.
Wardman Park hotel
2660 Woodley Road, NW
Washington, District Of Columbia 20008
202-328-2000
Truly a remarkable place to stay during a visit to Washington and with the upper rooms you get a great view of the city.
They also have an amazing variety of foods on the same block which also has a Metro stop. Very convenient and elegant.
Wardman Park hotel
2660 Woodley Road, NW
Washington, District Of Columbia 20008
202-328-2000
Build It and They Will Come
The Life and Times of Harry Wardman (1872-1938)
When real estate agents describe their listings in Northwest Washington, they are always happy to add "It's a Wardman", if the house or apartment building was built by Harry Wardman. He was one of the greatest of all Washington real estate developers, and his name is associated with a high quality of design and materials. So great is his legacy that some houses are "Wardman Wannabe's", who’s past owners pretended they were built by Wardman, when in fact they weren't. Since Harry Wardman was responsible for building some 80,000 housing units from the early 1900's to 1938, the real thing can be found all over the city, in neighborhoods such as Columbia Heights, Brightwood, Woodley and Kalorama.
Born in England, Harry Wardman came to this country by accident. At he age of 17, he stowed away on a ship bound from London to Australia. When he was discovered, he was put off the ship in the nearest port, which happened to be New York City. He worked his way to Philadelphia, then on to Washington, DC, where he began to work for construction companies. From these modest beginnings, he became the biggest, most influential builder in the District of Columbia. His work spanned three decades, including over 4000 single-family houses, 12 office buildings, 2 embassies, 1 parking garage, 8 hotels, 2 clubs, 2 hospital annexes and 400 apartment buildings!
He built the Northumberland, the Dresden, the Hay-Adams Hotel, the Jefferson Hotel, the St. Regis, and the British Embassy. He built elaborate, expensive buildings and he built low cost housing. Harry Wardman wasn't shy about his talent or his success. When he built seven buildings on R street, between 14th and 15th, he had the first letter of each building spell out his name: W-A-R-D-M-A-N. Ten years later, Morris Cafritz followed suit with seven buildings on Spring Street NW that spelled out C-A-F-R-I-T-Z. Wardman was responsible, more than any other developer, for turning Washington from a city of rooming houses to a city of apartment buildings, most of which were later converted to condominiums in the 1970's.
Of all the things he built, Harry Wardman considered his crowning glory to be the Wardman Park Hotel and the Wardman Tower, at the corner of Connecticut and Woodley. The hotel, which is now owned by Marriott, was called "Wardman's Folly" in 1916, while it was under construction. Critics said it was too far out of the city to be successful, but they were wrong. The hotel was soon filled to capacity. At the end of World War I, Washington's population increased greatly, and at that time, people lived in hotels much as they live in apartments today.
It was the largest and grandest hotel to be built in Washington, and one of the 10 largest in the country. Designed by Frank R. White, the building was patterned after "The Homestead" resort hotel in Hot Springs, Virginia. Among the special features were 1200 rooms, a 200' by 45' lobby, a dining room for 500, a Turkish bath, billiards room, drugstore and grocery.
In his book,"Capital Losses", James Goode describes just how far Wardman would go to pursue a project. When he decided to add a luxury apartment tower to the hotel, he tore down his own house, while his wife was visiting in Paris! He moved all the furniture out in 48 hours, tore down the elegant stucco manor house, and quickly set to work on the dream tower.
Over time, the Wardman Tower turned out to be everything Harry Wardman envisioned. No other place in Washington was home to as many famous people; a partial roster of resident s over the years includes Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Adlai Stevenson, John Foster Dulles, Perle Mesta, Clare Booth Luce, Dean Rusk, Barry Goldwater and Lyndon Johnson and Casper Weinberger.
Harry Wardman finished the apartment tower in 1928. Unfortunately, he paid more attention to the construction and design of his buildings than to his finances. The Depression found him cash-short and overextended. He lost all his vast real estate empire worth $30,000,000, and only managed to keep on building houses, because some of the land he owned had been deeded in his wife's name. He built more than 1000 houses in the 1930's, and was on his way to creating a second real estate empire, when he died of cancer in 1938. At the time of his death, he estimated that 10% of Washington's population lived in a "Wardman".
The Life and Times of Harry Wardman (1872-1938)
When real estate agents describe their listings in Northwest Washington, they are always happy to add "It's a Wardman", if the house or apartment building was built by Harry Wardman. He was one of the greatest of all Washington real estate developers, and his name is associated with a high quality of design and materials. So great is his legacy that some houses are "Wardman Wannabe's", who’s past owners pretended they were built by Wardman, when in fact they weren't. Since Harry Wardman was responsible for building some 80,000 housing units from the early 1900's to 1938, the real thing can be found all over the city, in neighborhoods such as Columbia Heights, Brightwood, Woodley and Kalorama.
Born in England, Harry Wardman came to this country by accident. At he age of 17, he stowed away on a ship bound from London to Australia. When he was discovered, he was put off the ship in the nearest port, which happened to be New York City. He worked his way to Philadelphia, then on to Washington, DC, where he began to work for construction companies. From these modest beginnings, he became the biggest, most influential builder in the District of Columbia. His work spanned three decades, including over 4000 single-family houses, 12 office buildings, 2 embassies, 1 parking garage, 8 hotels, 2 clubs, 2 hospital annexes and 400 apartment buildings!
He built the Northumberland, the Dresden, the Hay-Adams Hotel, the Jefferson Hotel, the St. Regis, and the British Embassy. He built elaborate, expensive buildings and he built low cost housing. Harry Wardman wasn't shy about his talent or his success. When he built seven buildings on R street, between 14th and 15th, he had the first letter of each building spell out his name: W-A-R-D-M-A-N. Ten years later, Morris Cafritz followed suit with seven buildings on Spring Street NW that spelled out C-A-F-R-I-T-Z. Wardman was responsible, more than any other developer, for turning Washington from a city of rooming houses to a city of apartment buildings, most of which were later converted to condominiums in the 1970's.
Of all the things he built, Harry Wardman considered his crowning glory to be the Wardman Park Hotel and the Wardman Tower, at the corner of Connecticut and Woodley. The hotel, which is now owned by Marriott, was called "Wardman's Folly" in 1916, while it was under construction. Critics said it was too far out of the city to be successful, but they were wrong. The hotel was soon filled to capacity. At the end of World War I, Washington's population increased greatly, and at that time, people lived in hotels much as they live in apartments today.
It was the largest and grandest hotel to be built in Washington, and one of the 10 largest in the country. Designed by Frank R. White, the building was patterned after "The Homestead" resort hotel in Hot Springs, Virginia. Among the special features were 1200 rooms, a 200' by 45' lobby, a dining room for 500, a Turkish bath, billiards room, drugstore and grocery.
In his book,"Capital Losses", James Goode describes just how far Wardman would go to pursue a project. When he decided to add a luxury apartment tower to the hotel, he tore down his own house, while his wife was visiting in Paris! He moved all the furniture out in 48 hours, tore down the elegant stucco manor house, and quickly set to work on the dream tower.
Over time, the Wardman Tower turned out to be everything Harry Wardman envisioned. No other place in Washington was home to as many famous people; a partial roster of resident s over the years includes Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Adlai Stevenson, John Foster Dulles, Perle Mesta, Clare Booth Luce, Dean Rusk, Barry Goldwater and Lyndon Johnson and Casper Weinberger.
Harry Wardman finished the apartment tower in 1928. Unfortunately, he paid more attention to the construction and design of his buildings than to his finances. The Depression found him cash-short and overextended. He lost all his vast real estate empire worth $30,000,000, and only managed to keep on building houses, because some of the land he owned had been deeded in his wife's name. He built more than 1000 houses in the 1930's, and was on his way to creating a second real estate empire, when he died of cancer in 1938. At the time of his death, he estimated that 10% of Washington's population lived in a "Wardman".
I found this story at
Real Estate Inc.
Washington D.C. Metro- Red Line compilation
I rode the red line all the time when I lived in D.C. and I loved it so much. It was so nice to be able to read the paper or a book, listen to music or just watch people. There was no stress of trying to drive during rush hour which is insane up there.
I love that city and I miss so much about it but rush hour I don't miss. I miss the history, the food, the people and the one of a kind city that Washington D.C.
I lived in Rockville, Maryland and would either walk or ride my bike to the Metro stop. I got rid of my car after a short time in D.C. because of the convenience of the Metro and I almost never missed it.
I worked at the Wardman Park hotel while living there. It was right off the Red Line as well and easy to get onto or out of when going to or from work. What a great hotel and we had so many good times there. I love to go back and visit and I hope to someday soon again.
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