Watergate Hotel Up for Auction

It was late summer of 2007 when the old Watergate Hotel sold off all its contents amid a massive renovation effort, with plans to reopen as something fancier, newer, or at least less shabby. But then, of course, the bottom fell out of the financial markets, and it seems the long-delayed plans for construction are finally abandoned. The hotel is going on the auction block on Tuesday, the Post reports. The hotel's owner, Monument Realty, was financed mainly be Lehman Brothers, so you can guess what happened. Alex Cooper Auctioneers will start the bidding at $1 million at their Wisconsin Ave. offices.