The Washington times., 1911-06-01
.HOSP|TALITYOF THE
!. OLD RIGGS HOUSE IS
/. ONLY MEMORY, NOW
End of Hotel Comes Just a
Minute After Mid
iS-~-
BE night.

''Flnis'' was written on the old RiggE
House at one minute past midnight
when OrTin G. Staples, the proprietor
turned a rusty key in the front door
That key had been found after Ions
hunt. So far as any one knows, 1t hac
never been used before
The jauggernaut wheels of city growth
and modern progress have run down the
Riggs House, and its site is soon to. be
occupied by new office and theater
building. The end really came at dinner
last night. In the dining room, a
spacious affair, fifty tables had been set
out as though full 200 diners were to
attend. There came to the meal just
seven persons.
Three Statesmen Stick.
Three Representatives stayed until the
finish. Hull and Burns of Tennessee
and Stanley of Kentucky were the law
makers who refused to move out until
the end. A number of other Represen-
tatives have remained until the last
day or two, but the three named stuck
for the very last meal. and then sat
chatting in the lobby until midnight
when the hotel was locked up.
The other diners in the lonesome hall
were Orrin G. Staples. the proprietor,
and two young people. guests OF his,
and Chief Clerk Charles H Lambert.
Mr.. Lambert has been chief clerk Of the
Riggs House since 1856. a quarter Of a
century ago
Mr. Staples has conducted the Riggs
House since 1891. but Mr.. Lambert
deems him really a novice about the
place.
The last dinner was not merry one.
Consciousness of the impending close
dominated guests and walters alike, and,
although the former have arranged for
new quarters and the latter for new
jobs, no one felt very cheerful, and all
spoke in low tones. 1t was about as
cheerful as a Christmas day dinner in
a hotel when every one wishes he were
somewhere else.
Chef Stays to the Last.
Somewhere within the recesses Of the
building, the chef. August Boyer. had
prepared good dinner as ever he had.
Boyer has presided over the culinary
destinies of the Riggs House for twenty
years. and, like all the rest Of the
help" remained at his post until doom
finally cracked. One exception only
can be noted. The head waiter. a rec
reant soul deserted two weeks ago.
Excuse for him may be found in the
fact that a good place awaited him,
then and then only.
Miss Kate Cummings, the housekeep-
er of the Riggs. went solemnly through
her duties yesterday. She has beer
housekeeper for eighteen years. and
she, too, feels keenly the separation
from the old associations.
A number of unnamed men also fee
badly For years they have been drop
ping casually into the lobby Of the no
tel and warming the chairs. the while
they speculated on their chances of
clerkship under this or that Admins
tration.
Mindful to the end of hotel supersti'
tion, the register remained an open book
until the doors were hooked, although nc
names were written in 1t. In the bill
Hard room, no one sent the ivory balls
clicking around the tables, which PTesi
dent James Garfield was wont to ire
ouent during his brief career as heac
Of the Nation. One stranger commander
ed the writing room and wrote half
dozen letters.
.sHe isn't a guest of the hotel. bu
let him write his head off" said Mr.