For nearly 110 years, the Hotel Harrington has stood as perhaps one of the most famous (and infamous) hotels in D.C., just blocks from the White House.
But the hotel closed its doors Tuesday. We spoke with their last customer as he checked out, and he did not leave empty handed.
The hotel at the corner of 11th and E streets NW opened in 1914 and would later boast of being the first hotel in the nation’s capital to have air conditioning. The Harrington was far from chic like the newer, far more expensive hotels in the neighborhood. Instead, it was a spot the average person could afford, popular among tourists and schools groups wanting to visit D.C. on a budget -- people like Robert Whitfield, who's stayed at the Harrington whenever he's in town on business.
"I always try to find a faded glory hotel," he said. "And this just fit the time capsule segment. So it's always been fun coming here because it's like stepping back in time, but it's very well maintained and very clean, so it felt very comfortable here."
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Whitfield's been visiting the Harrington for the past 20 years, but on Tuesday, he became its final guest. He wasn’t in town on business, though — he came to say goodbye to his home away from home.
"I found out about three months ago that they were closing today," he said. "So I made the reservation. So I wanted to be the very last guest here at the hotel, which I was. I just checked out, so that'll be my only claim to fame, to be the last guest at the Hotel Harrington."
The building is being sold after the death of its owner.
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Inside the Harrington, relics of the past are still on display.
While not as old as the hotel itself, Ollie's Trolley on the ground level has been serving up Ollie burgers and fries for more than 33 years. With the sale of the building, Ollie's is also closing. Staff told News4 it will remain open until March.
"It kind of seems like a throwback to an older Washington that, admittedly, I was not around for. But I also appreciate the fries. They got a nice spice blend on those. And, yeah, it just kind of feels like a little bit of a different scene than the kind of fancy, glitzy, newer Washington."
"A little sad. I wish the workers and wish the management and ownership well. And it's a little piece of Washington, kind of an older era of Washington that is coming to an end, sadly," Tushar Kasal said.
As for Whitfield, he’ll miss his favorite D.C. hotel, but he’ll have something to remember all the nights he spent there. Whitfield asked the hotel manager’s permission to take something from his room.
"'I would love to have a souvenir here because I've stayed here so long. Is there any way I can have the phone in my room?' And I said, 'I'll pay you for it.' She says, 'Honey, why don't you just take it with you?' So in my bag, I've got the phone from my room right by my bed," Whitfield said.
The phone displays the name of the hotel and the room number.
"I mean, this will go in the Smithsonian one day," he said.
The Harrington gained national attention in 2020 when hundreds of Proud Boys members stayed there. The hotel later announced it would not accept guests Jan. 4-6, 2021, ahead of the pro-Trump rally that went on to become an insurrection.
CORRECTION (Tuesday, Dec. 19, 0223, 4:23 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article said Ollie's Trolley was closing immediately.
