Once upon a time, this noble façade at 1839 13th Street, Northwest belonged to the District’s first luxury hotel, the Whitelaw Hotel aka “The Embassy,” which opened in 1919. From its birth, the Whitelaw was a community effort, built and financed by black investors and entrepreneurs and designed by prominent black architect, Isaiah T. Hatton.
In the 1930s and 40s, Duke Ellington played at the high society functions hosted at this sophisticated hotel and was a frequent guest when he returned to his hometown to perform. Many residents of this Shaw community used to say it was named for the "white laws," which segregated Washington's hospitality industry. “The Embassy” was actually named for its builder, John Whitelaw Lewis, a black businessman who began construction of the hotel after World War I.
In its short heyday, the Whitelaw, also attracted the likes of the Hi De Ho Man, Cab Calloway and the Brown Bomber, Joe Louis and played host to debutante balls and many black tie occasions attended by Washington's black elite. Sadly, during the 1960s, it deteriorated into a drug den, and in 1977 District officials condemned the Whitelaw.
In 1991, it was restored to its original elegance and today it still serves as a symbol of community pride and houses subsidized, low-cost apartments. The building’s lobby retains a display of the Whitelaw's past heydays, decline, and its restoration, including documents showing that Ellington and other famous African Americans were its clients.
Hipsters, our “Duke’s Washington” tour continues just up the block from here. We’ll drop by two homes where Ellington lived as a teen.
Duke Soundscape: "Hot and Bothered" (Public Domain)
