When Mary Jane and I were in Washington for the IACP Conference and Awards Ceremony, we were fortunate enough to stay at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel on Connecticut Avenue. It opened in 1925 and has hosted the Inaugural Balls of nine presidents, including Ronald Reagan and Calvin Coolidge. The lobby in the photo extends from Connecticut Avenue to 17th Street, a full city block or 475 feet. The restaurant is called Edgar’s after J. Edgar Hoover, the first director of the F.B.I., who ate lunch there every working day for 20 years. He always ate the same meal: chicken soup, buttered toast, and a salad of lettuce, cottage cheese, and grapefruit. I had eggs Benedict with crab cakes, and a Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwich with Spanish chorizo substituted for the steak. The service was wonderful and we loved our stay at this historic hotel.
The Mayflower Hotel
