The words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic were written here.  Martin Luther King finished off his I Have a Dream speech in his guest room.  The city’s first mint julep was mixed here by a Kentucky senator.  Abraham Lincoln racked up a $700 tab while hiding from assassination attempts before his move into the White House.  The modern-day term “lobbyist” was coined from this very hotel lobby, where President Grant would sit and be influenced by local advocates.  Steven Spielberg used the hotel for his movie Minority Report.  Some former guests include Harry Houdini, Charles Dickens, P.T. Barnum, Mark Twain, Mae West, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman.  The Willard Intercontinental truly is an all-American landmark in an all-American landmark kind of town.

The building we see today was erected in 1901, fell on some rough times in the 60s and 70s and took 6 years to renovate to it’s original glory.  It was designed by the same gentleman who designed the Waldorf-Astoria and the Plaza hotels in New York City.  It truly brings you back to a more elegant and proper time in our history.  What a wonderful venue for a wedding!

The entrance to the hotel is at the corner of 14th St. & Pennsylvania Ave.  What a posh address!  This is smack dab in the center of town:

Looking down Pennsylvania Avenue from the front doors, the US Capitol is off in the distance.  The White House is just two blocks down at 16th & Pennsylvania:

Across Pennsylvania we have Pershing Park.  Did you know this turns into a public ice skating rink in the winter months?

Before we step inside, let’s go around the corner.  Between the hotel and the Willard office building there is a beautiful courtyard.  Where there was once a fountain will soon be a flat patio!  This is exciting to me since it means this space can be tented for events.  They hope to use this as ceremony and cocktail space once it’s completed:

Upon entering the hotel, the lobby makes you feel insta-glam.  It’s like you step back into an old classic movie:

The floor is an incredible original mosaic of teeny tiny tiles.  This beautiful W seal is over by the concierge desk.  It’s about 2′ across which helps you see how small those tiles really are:

I love this old-school front desk:

The ceiling of the lobby boasts these beautiful tiles representing each state in the Union:

Just past the lobby is the Peacock Alley.  This famous promenade cuts from the front door to the back entrance of the hotel.  Back in the day, mothers would bring their eligible daughters to strut back and forth for the prominent gentlemen sitting here.  It was truly the place to see and be seen:

Comfy seating is set for small groups all the way down the promenade.  In the afternoon they have a wonderful formal tea service:

I could sit in this hallway all day and adore the details.  These doorknobs caught my eye:

Off of Peacock Alley, the Crystal Room awaits.  This room is elegantly appointed in gold tones and huge crystal chandeliers.  It seats up to about 170 guests for a wedding:

On the second floor there is a small L-shaped room called The Nest.  You can squeeze about 70-80 guests up here.  I think it would be lovely for a rainy day ceremony backup plan.  Here is the crux of the L, set for a small wedding reception:

Here’s one leg of the room set up for the wedding ceremony.  I love the fireplace with the woodworked mantel:

And check out the view!  Across the street is the Ronald Reagan Building:

Downstairs we have The Grand Ballroom.  Here is the lobby/cocktail area with built-in plush seating:

There are even private elevators that go straight to the parking garage so regular hotel guests don’t interfere with your party:

Through the double doors we are treated to the ballroom!  This room is absolutely gorgeous.  It has 18′ ceilings and can seat about 300 guests for a wedding:

My favorite part are these stunning crystal chandeliers.  This photo also shows a track with some built-in lighting.  Their in-house crew can do professional lighting in here or the hotel surprisingly allows you to bring an outside team:

I really enjoyed my visit with Steele at The Willard and can’t wait to go back!  AJ coordinated a wedding in the Crystal Room in 2007 and hopefully we’ll book something in the Grand Ballroom this coming year.  I recently attended a wonderful luncheon here, too — stay tuned for photos from that event soon!

Tags: dc, DC Vendors, venue spotlight, willard

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2008 at 7:46 am and is filed under DC Vendors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.