Manufacturer: Scammell China
User: Hotel Harrington, Washington, D.C.
Date of plate: 1928 – circa 1930
Notes: Up until Dec. 12, 2023, the Hotel Harrington was still owned and operated by members of its founding families and had the longest record of continuous operation of any hotel in the city of Washington, D.C.: 109 years. The first section, which opened in 1914, consisted of a six-story building with 80 guest rooms. The original architectural rendering for the first phase of construction, produced by the firm of Richard Fitzsimons, can be found in the lobby.
By 1918, another 12-story addition on E Street was completed which included another 100 guest rooms and a grand ballroom. Twelve more stories were added in 1925 when the hotel was extended to 12th Street. At that time, it was the largest hotel in the city. In 1938 it was the first hotel to offer air conditioning in its rooms in D.C. The hotel had a full-service restaurant which later became a cafeteria called Kitcheteria. Its Pink Elephant Cocktail Lounge was world famous and remained in operation until 1986.
An article in the Dec. 11, 2023, issue of the Washington Post made these comments on the Harrington's more recent history:
"The Harrington's recent announcement that it's closing on Tuesday after 109 years will end its reign as the city's longest continuously operating hotel, an accomplishment inspiring testimonials, as well as wonder that something so profoundly meh could last so long.
"The Harrington also has the distinction of belonging to a subset of Washington hotels that have achieved infamy, a group that includes the Vista, where the FBI videotaped then-Mayor Marion Barry smoking crack, and the Mayflower, where Eliot Spitzer's rendezvous with a prostitute led to his resignation as New York's governor.
"In the case of the Harrington, at 11th and E streets NW, hundreds of Proud Boys turned it into a de facto clubhouse for election-denying Donald Trump supporters in 2020 and camped out at Harry's, the hotel's in-house dive bar."
White body with topmark of castle and lion in blue and orange with Harrington underneath and matching rim stripes.
Source:
Washington Post, Dec. 11, 2023
For related information:
Harrington Hotel (Link might not work now that hotel has closed.)