A local troop of Boy Scouts served as couriers for the conference, which lasted 22 days. In the closing days of World War II, with victory appearing inevitable, some 700 representatives from 44 nations convened at the Mount Washington Hotel. The hotel, which recently had been sold for Boston investors, was selected by the Treasury Department because, in part, of the ease of providing security. Today, the Mount Washington Hotel has preserved the Gold Room, the meeting room off the main lobby where the historic final documents were signed. At the other end of the massive lobby, which is a throwback to the more leisurely days of a century ago, are fascinating photos of the hotel's construction phase.
Historic tours are available daily.
These spotlight not only the monetary conference but golfing lockers used by guests as diverse as Babe Ruth and Thomas Edison, whose nameplates are on the lockers - plus a stop at The Cave, the resort's Prohibition Era speakeasy in the bowels of the building, which still operates. The 200-room hotel, which remains the largest wooden building in New England, has changed little since those days. The heyday of trains has gone by, but the Mount Washington Hotel retains its elegant style, including jackets for dinner each night.