Is the Watergate historic? That’s the question that faces the District’s Preservation Review Board on Thursday. Certainly the building that redefined the art of political scandal has a place in American history, but its residents are locked in a pitched battle that mixes property rights with history. The West End Guide reminds us what’s at stake.

A group of residents opposed to the conversion of the complex’s hotel into new condos want the building declared historic. Others say the historic status will do little to stop the project. The District’s zoning board has already approved Monument Realty‘s move to convert 251 hotel rooms into 133 luxury condos.

Some of the Watergate’s famous residents include former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and his wife, Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

For more on the condo controversy, check out the West End Guide’s July article.

Across Virginia Avenue, Room 723 of the former Howard Johnson Motor Inn (where the bugging operation’s listening post was set up) sits among a bunch of dorm rooms for George Washington University, which converted the old hotel into residential use for its undergrads.

So, do you think the Watergate deserves historic status?

Filed Under: art, Bob Dole, Condoleezza Rice, district, george washington, george washington university, history, Howard Johnson, Monument Realty, monumentrealty, national security, real estate, review, rice, The District, university, virginia, washington, Washington University, west end, West End Guide,