Unwanted Watergate: Auction Attracts No Bids For Infamous DC Hotel

The Watergate Hotel, which was made famous by a scandal in the early 1970s that ultimately culminated with a U.S. President’s resignation, failed to attract any bids Tuesday when it went up for auction at the opening price of $25 million. Of the 10 registered bidders present, which included wealthy developers and owners of hotel chains, not one accepted the asking price. By the end of the day the property was still in the hands of PB Capital Corp. Ouch!

Monument Realty, the former hotel owner, purchased the property in 2004 with plans to convert it into expensive cooperative apartments. But after local residents fought off that idea in court, the company decided in 2007 to give the Watergate Hotel a $170 million renovation that would take 18-months to finish.

The Watergate was completely gutted and all items inside from beds to marble columns were sold. But a combination of an economic meltdown in late 2008 and credit issues saw Monument Realty default on their loan with PB Capital. Now the hotel that once saw such famous visitors as John Wayne, Liberace, and Andy Warhol is just an unwanted piece of property.

Opened in 1967, The Watergate Hotel was one of six buildings in the Watergate complex. One of those buildings was involved in a 1972 burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters. This crime led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Four of the burglars involved in the incident were booked at the hotel at the time of the robbery.

Tags: hotel, washington d.c., watergate