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27-751: Lafayette Square and St. John's Episcopal Church , also known as the Church of the Presidents, are located across the street. The hotel is a contributing property to the Lafayette Square Historic District and Sixteenth Street Historic District and is also a member of the Historic Hotels of America . The hotel occupies the site where the 1885 homes of John Hay and Henry Adams once stood, at 16th and H Streets NW. In 1927, Washington developer Harry Wardman bought

54-649: A crack cocaine purchase in Lafayette Park prior to US President George H. W. Bush 's delivery of a national address that was part of his ongoing effort against drug abuse . Thomas and Concepcion Picciotto are founders of the White House Peace Vigil , which is the longest running anti-nuclear peace vigil in U.S. history, at Lafayette Square. On June 1, 2020, amid mass protests in Washington, DC and nationally , which followed

81-685: A Washington real estate company, in 2006, for $ 100 million. President Obama and his family stayed in the Hay–Adams for two weeks before his inauguration because the Blair House was occupied. Frank Underwood , the main protagonist in the House of Cards television series, stayed in this hotel after resigning the Office of President of the United States until his death in 2017 The Hay–Adams

108-492: A display of police aggression against a largely peaceful crowd. The act, carried out by U.S. Park Police , Arlington County police , Federal Bureau of Prisons officers, and Secret Service officers, was condemned by critics as a violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly . Bureau of Prison officials fired pepper spray munitions, contrary to the instructions of Park Police leadership. Although

135-630: A full seven minutes before any dispersal order was given by the Park Police. The Secret Service apologized for this incident but the OIG for the Department of the Interior and the OIG for the Department of Homeland Security declined to investigate their actions. Similarly, the Park Police also deployed prior to completing dispersal orders. Park Police did not explain why the operation began before

162-420: A widely announced curfew as requested by DC Police. The OIG report further stated that the Park Police's orders to disperse were not heard by all of the crowd and were generally ineffective. The OIG report stated that the evidence obtained by the OIG concerning Park Police "did not support a finding" that Trump's visit was the reason why the park was cleared. The OIG report concluded that the decision to clear

189-699: Is part of the Homeland Security Department . Interior OIG investigators did not interview Secret Service or White House personnel. As a result, the OIG report stated that OIG "cannot assess whether" Barr's visit to the park or any planned movement by Trump "influenced the Secret Service's actions, including its early deployment on to H Street." In 2020, Joseph V. Cuffari , the DHS Inspector General , blocked recommendations from his staff to conduct an investigation into

216-532: Is said to be haunted by Henry Adams 's beloved wife, "Clover" ( Marian Hooper Adams ), who committed suicide on this site in 1885, before the hotel was built. Her spirit is said to be walking the floors, trailed by the scent of almond. Potassium cyanide, the home darkroom chemical she ingested, smells like almonds. The AAA gave the hotel four diamonds out of five in 1984. The hotel has maintained that rating every year, and received four diamonds again for 2016. Forbes Travel Guide (formerly known as Mobil Guide) awarded

243-461: The D.C. Metropolitan Police was not involved in the initial advance of police against the crowd, MPD officers fired tear gas at demonstrators as they moved away from the park toward 17th Street. A report by the U.S. Department of Interior Office of Inspector General (OIG), released in June 2021, was limited to examining the Park Police under its jurisdiction. It concluded that the Park Police action

270-475: The Great Depression era, and her former home became an office building. Today's plan for the park dates from the 1930s. The park has five large statues. In the center stands Clark Mills ' equestrian statue of President Andrew Jackson , erected in 1853; it is the first bronze statue cast in the United States. In the four corners are statues of foreign Revolutionary War heroes: Lafayette Square

297-762: The Treasury Building and grounds. In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson had Pennsylvania Avenue cut through the park and separated what would become Lafayette Square from the White House grounds. In 1824, that north side square including the park was officially renamed in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette , the French general whose involvement was indispensable in securing victory in the American Revolutionary War . Named in honor of

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324-461: The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis ; Lafayette Square and surrounding city streets were forcefully evicted of protesters , reporters, and clergy by police in riot gear using tear gas and clubbing them with batons. A day after the incident, a DOJ official said that U.S. Attorney General William Barr had personally ordered the park and surrounding areas to be cleared which resulted in

351-496: The Secret Service's actions in the clearing of Lafayette Square. On June 22, 2020, demonstrators attempted to tear down the statue of Andrew Jackson at the center of the square. Following this incident, Lafayette Square was closed to the public. It was reopened on May 10, 2021. Jackson Place Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include

378-593: The depression he sought to increase his holdings in Washington, D.C., which he felt was a safe investment. He also purchased the Annapolis and Hamilton hotels in Washington. Manger resided at the Hay-Adams until his death in March 1937. At the time of his death, Manger was the largest independent hotel operator in the United States. The Manger family sold the hotel to Washington developer Sheldon Magazine in 1973, and it

405-580: The early and mid-19th century, the buildings around the square included the homes of Washington's most prominent residents, including William Wilson Corcoran , Martin van Buren , Henry Clay , Dolley Madison , John Hay , and Henry Adams . In 1851, Andrew Jackson Downing was commissioned by President Millard Fillmore to landscape Lafayette Square in the picturesque style. On February 27, 1859, US Representative Daniel Sickles killed Philip Barton Key II in Lafayette Square. Key had come to

432-401: The east and Pennsylvania Avenue on the south. It is named for the general, the Marquis de Lafayette , a French aristocrat, and hero of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and includes several statues of revolutionary heroes from Europe, including Lafayette, while at its center is a famous statue of early 19th century U.S. president and general Andrew Jackson on horseback with both of

459-676: The horse's front hooves raised. Lafayette Square and the surrounding structures were designated the Lafayette Square Historic District in 1970. Planned by Pierre L'Enfant as part of the pleasure grounds surrounding the Executive Mansion, the square is part of President's Park , which is the larger National Park Service unit that also includes the White House grounds, The Ellipse , the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and grounds and

486-514: The hotel four out of five stars as well in 2016. The Hay–Adams' slogan is "Where nothing is overlooked but the White House." Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C. Lafayette Square is a seven-acre (28,327 m ) public park located within President's Park in Washington, D.C. , directly north of the White House on H Street , bounded by Jackson Place on the west, Madison Place on

513-851: The hotel's loans, and it was sold at public auction to the Washington Loan and Trust Company. Hotel magnate Julius Manger purchased the property in 1932 and renamed it the Manger Hay–Adams Hotel . He converted it to a transient hotel, remodeling the guest rooms and adding central air-conditioning. Manger owned 18 hotels in New York City, the Hotel Plaza in Chicago, and the Hotel Manger at North Station in Boston. During

540-554: The naval war hero Commodore Steven Decatur, the Decatur House borders Lafayette Square. Used for slave trading, the house remains as one of few surviving examples of an urban slave market. The land on what is now Lafayette Square was formerly used at various times as "a racetrack, a graveyard, a zoo, a slave market , an encampment for soldiers during the War of 1812 , and the site of many political protests and celebrations." In

567-466: The park for an affair with Sickles's wife, only to be discovered and killed by Sickles. In the 20th century, the area around the square became less residential, with buildings increasingly occupied by offices and professional groups, especially in the 1920s, and the construction of the Treasury Annex . The last resident, Mary Chase Morris of the O'Toole House ( 730 Jackson Place ), died during

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594-486: The park was lawful and consistent with Interior's policy, but made no conclusions on whether the decision to clear the park was a good decision, nor did the OIG report make any conclusions about whether the police use of force was appropriate. The OIG report focused on the role of Park Police (which is part of the Interior Department), and not on the role of other agencies, such as the Secret Service, which

621-536: The park. The squirrels' large numbers were sustained because the public overfed the squirrels and also because nestboxes had been once been installed and maintained by the National Park Service . In 1985 and 1987, the issue was solved by a project in which the nest boxes were removed and many squirrels were captured and relocated away from Lafayette Square, to Fort Dupont Park and elsewhere. In 1989, Drug Enforcement Administration agents arranged

648-556: The property, razed the homes, and built a 138-room residential hotel, designed by architect Mihran Mesrobian in the Italian Renaissance style . The hotel opened in 1928 as The Hay–Adams House . Wardman's fortunes declined with the Great Depression , and he was forced to relinquish most of his hotel and apartment building empire in August 1930, with the exception of The Hay–Adams House. Finally, in 1932, Wardman defaulted on

675-529: Was a popular cruising spot for gay men until the 1950s Lavender scare . In the 1960s, Lafayette Square became more noted for its use as a protest location. Protests related to nuclear weapons, Israel, and the Vietnam War were held there. In the 1970s, the park was overrun with a large Eastern gray squirrel population, possibly "the highest density of squirrels ever recorded in scientific literature," which eventually destroyed many trees and flowers in

702-470: Was part of a plan to install "antiscale fencing" and that these plans were made before Barr arrived on the scene at 6:10 p.m. and before Trump walked to the church. However, Park Police commanders could not agree on who gave the order to deploy or explain why radio transmissions were not recorded. The OIG report found that, contrary to the Park Police operational plan, the Secret Service began their operation at 6:16 p.m., soon after Barr arrived and

729-475: Was renamed The Hay–Adams . Magazine sold the hotel to businessman Jeffrey I. Friedman and French hotelier Georges F. Mosse in 1979 for approximately $ 15 million. Friedman and Mosse sold the hotel to Los Angeles businessman David H. Murdock in 1983 for $ 30 million. Murdock sold the hotel to the Iue Family , founders of Sanyo , in 1989 for $ 54 million. The Iue family sold the hotel to the B. F. Saul Company ,

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