Hamilton Hotel
The Hamilton Hotel looms large in the history of the labor movement in DC from the 1920s through the 1960s.
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Designed by noted local architect Jules Henri de Sibour (1872-1938), the Beaux Arts Hamilton Hotel opened in 1922. The eleven-story limestone and terra cotta building offered out-of-town guests and locals meeting rooms, a gracious dining room, and a cocktail lounge known as the Rainbow Room. The generous public spaces became important gathering places for a larger community of union labor leaders, such as William Green (1873-1952), president of the American Federation of Labor from 1924 to 1952, who lived at the Hamilton.
The Hamilton Hotel has undergone several major renovations to keep with the demands of a modern hotel. Despite the hotel’s numerous renovations, the building maintains its architectural integrity and historical significance.
DC Inventory: November 29, 2012
National Register: April 17, 2013
