Evening star., 1939-06-11
Washington
Made Plans
At Tavern
Hotel Week Turns
Attention to Old
Events of Town
By John Ciaeen Proctor.

Since We have been celebrating so
many anniversaries in Washington
this year, the Commissioners of the
District of Columbia, feeling that
we might overlook the hotels of the
city, have issued an order proclaim
ing the week beginning today as
National Hotel Week, the idea being
to obtain the cooperation of the
citizens in the effort of this great
industry to bring to public atten-
ton its Importance and the value
of its contributions to the many
and various phases of American
life.
In addition, this week has been
designated for the purposes stated
by the American Hotel Association.
OF course, Washington is known
for its up-to-date hotels, and few,
indeed, who visit the city ever go
away complaining of this particular
public service. But, like so many
of the big cities of the United States,
the Capital of the Nation was not
always capable of taking care of
large crowds to the extent it can
today. Indeed, in the very early
days it was city of many boarding
houses and few taverns or hotels
both being public houses for trav-
elers.
In 1928 one hotel had it's charges
reduced to 81 day, with no extra
charges for wine, and just for a
nights lodging, 25 cents, and some
of the hotels had stabling for as
many as 100 horses, which was more
than the guests they could care for.
Before the general use of bath
tubs when people took baths only
on Saturday nights, and then in the
family washtub) the Mansion House
was charging 25 cents a bath to
dodgers and 37l2 cents to others.
Another hotel charged so cents for
similar service. Between 1925 and
1929 Browns (the Metropolitan
charged $175 day for board and
lodging, $40 week and S35 a
month; just for breakfast and sup
per, so cents each, and for dinner
IS cents. Decanters of brandy and
whisky were placed on the table and
were free with all meals. Mint
juleps wers 1879 cents each, extra
II you happened to get sick in
Washington in 1866 a private room
IN hospital cost 81 to $40 week,
depending on the nature of the
disease and the attendance re-
CURED. A bed in a general ward
was 81 week.
Hotel Capacity
OF course, the Washington hotels
today are capable of taking care of
most any size crowd that might
come here at this or any other
season of the year, though this was
not always the case. The writer
recalls that, few decades back,
prior to the Inauguration of a Presi-
dent, when huge crowd was eX-
pected to come here, it was always
a question just where we would put
them. But now, barring an influx
OF visitors that no one could an
tlclpate, tle hotels of the District,
helped OFT if necessary by the loyal
citizens, can now well take care of
the ordinary run of crowds.
In Washingtons early days, or for
quarter of century subsequent
to the laying of the corner stone of
the Ten Mile Square, hotel accom-
modations were very meager, and
when Congress convened here in
1900, there was probably but one
-hostelry worthy of the name hotel
In the entire District of Columbia,
and that one was the Union Hotel in
Georgetown, which stood on the
northeast corner of Thirtieth and
M streets. Its corner store was laid
July 4, 1893. 1t was destroyed by
fire in 1882 and rebuilt In 1886.
The original building was of brick,
60. feet front by So feet deep and
three stories in height 1t cost
$4,000. There was then an as
sembly room on the second floor,
80 by go feet, 13 lodging rooms on