Washington · Downtown
The Mayflower
Opened in 1925 to Warren & Wetmore's design; the hotel says FDR wrote 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself' in Room 776.
- Built
- 1924–25Building permit April 3, 1923 (Robert F. Beresford; Walker Hotel Corp.; $5 million); D.C. Inventory 'Built 1924 (Warren & Wetmore; Robert Beresford)'; opened 1925.
- Architect
- Warren & Wetmore; Robert F. Beresford
- Type
- Grand hotel
- Rooms
- 581
- Area
- Downtown
- Credentials
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Local landmark; Historic Hotels of America member
The story
The Mayflower opened in 1925 and calls itself D.C.’s longest-operating hotel. On March 3, 1933, in Room 776, Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote the line ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself’ for his inaugural address, and in 1943 Harry Colmery drafted the G.I. Bill here. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover lunched in its restaurant nearly every working day for 20 years, and Harry Truman called it ‘Washington’s Second Best Address.’
Good to know
- Address: 1127 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
Things to do
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Sources (3)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.