presley31
01-18-2008, 02:16 PM
Hotel where Elvis once slept holds liquidation.
A view of the Hotel Washington room 506 in which Elvis Presley stayed in 1970.
WASHINGTON -- A historic hotel in Washington, which has hosted celebrities ranging from Marilyn Monroe to Elvis and served as the setting for Hollywood movies, on Thursday began a liquidation sale before it undergoes a makeover.
When the Hotel Washington, which sits in the shadow of the White House, opened its doors at 9:00 a.m. for start of the sale, several dozen people paid five dollars and went inside, ready to work their way through kitchens, ballrooms, restaurants and bedrooms -- including 506, where The King slept in the 1970s -- to snap up deals.
"This is day one and the sale will go on for three weeks until we are sold out," said Frank Long of International Content Liquidations, which is overseeing the sell-off of the hotel's family jewels.
As bargain-seekers wandered around abandoned ballrooms, sifted through sieves and still greasy chopping boards in the ground-floor kitchen, and eyed the appropriate king-size bed in the room Elvis slept in, a demolition crew was ripping out the guts of other parts of the hotel.
"We won't touch the facade, but will replace the windows," said Jarrett Durney of HITT Contracting, which is carrying out the renovation work, at the end of which the hotel will be reborn as part of the upscale W chain.
The Hotel Washington, which sits opposite the U.S. Treasury building and offers unrivalled views of the White House from its rooftop terrace, opened its doors as the National Hotel in 1917.
It changed its name to Hotel Washington in 1940 and, until it closed its doors on December 31 last year, the building with the Italian renaissance inspired facade had been the longest operating hotel in the U.S. capital, with some of the best views.
Elvis would have had a view of the obelisk-style Washington Monument from his king-size bed in room 506, and from the rooftop terrace, dating couples could peer into the White House. s.
None of the historical or architectural details were of interest to Diane Alvin and Darcelle Stephens as they looked for deals in a suite on the sixth floor.
"We're hotel liquidation followers," Alvin told AFP.
"I'm remodeling my home and am here looking for stuff for my family room, my lunch room. This cute thing, I could put my steaks on," she said, unearthing a metal tray in an oven and adding it to her pile of bargains.
"I try to spend no more than half of what I've seen something being sold for somewhere else," Alvin said, adding: "I know a deal when I see a deal."
The king-size bed in The King's room was going for US$250 (170 euros), or well below retail prices even for smaller beds.
Add a US$40 antique replica writing table to that, and a happy shopper would be checking out of the Hotel Washington with a bill 100 times more than the US$2.95 guests would have paid for a room in 1917.
Shoppers who bought furnishings and memorabilia from the Hotel Washington not only snagged bargains but also earned bragging rights: in addition to Elvis, the hotel has hosted crooners Maurice Chevalier and Frank Sinatra, jazz great Duke Ellington, and a bevy of acting celebrities from Mickey Mouse to Marilyn Monroe.
2008/01/18 By Karin Zeitvogel - AFP / www.epgold.com
A view of the Hotel Washington room 506 in which Elvis Presley stayed in 1970.
WASHINGTON -- A historic hotel in Washington, which has hosted celebrities ranging from Marilyn Monroe to Elvis and served as the setting for Hollywood movies, on Thursday began a liquidation sale before it undergoes a makeover.
When the Hotel Washington, which sits in the shadow of the White House, opened its doors at 9:00 a.m. for start of the sale, several dozen people paid five dollars and went inside, ready to work their way through kitchens, ballrooms, restaurants and bedrooms -- including 506, where The King slept in the 1970s -- to snap up deals.
"This is day one and the sale will go on for three weeks until we are sold out," said Frank Long of International Content Liquidations, which is overseeing the sell-off of the hotel's family jewels.
As bargain-seekers wandered around abandoned ballrooms, sifted through sieves and still greasy chopping boards in the ground-floor kitchen, and eyed the appropriate king-size bed in the room Elvis slept in, a demolition crew was ripping out the guts of other parts of the hotel.
"We won't touch the facade, but will replace the windows," said Jarrett Durney of HITT Contracting, which is carrying out the renovation work, at the end of which the hotel will be reborn as part of the upscale W chain.
The Hotel Washington, which sits opposite the U.S. Treasury building and offers unrivalled views of the White House from its rooftop terrace, opened its doors as the National Hotel in 1917.
It changed its name to Hotel Washington in 1940 and, until it closed its doors on December 31 last year, the building with the Italian renaissance inspired facade had been the longest operating hotel in the U.S. capital, with some of the best views.
Elvis would have had a view of the obelisk-style Washington Monument from his king-size bed in room 506, and from the rooftop terrace, dating couples could peer into the White House. s.
None of the historical or architectural details were of interest to Diane Alvin and Darcelle Stephens as they looked for deals in a suite on the sixth floor.
"We're hotel liquidation followers," Alvin told AFP.
"I'm remodeling my home and am here looking for stuff for my family room, my lunch room. This cute thing, I could put my steaks on," she said, unearthing a metal tray in an oven and adding it to her pile of bargains.
"I try to spend no more than half of what I've seen something being sold for somewhere else," Alvin said, adding: "I know a deal when I see a deal."
The king-size bed in The King's room was going for US$250 (170 euros), or well below retail prices even for smaller beds.
Add a US$40 antique replica writing table to that, and a happy shopper would be checking out of the Hotel Washington with a bill 100 times more than the US$2.95 guests would have paid for a room in 1917.
Shoppers who bought furnishings and memorabilia from the Hotel Washington not only snagged bargains but also earned bragging rights: in addition to Elvis, the hotel has hosted crooners Maurice Chevalier and Frank Sinatra, jazz great Duke Ellington, and a bevy of acting celebrities from Mickey Mouse to Marilyn Monroe.
2008/01/18 By Karin Zeitvogel - AFP / www.epgold.com