MIRIAM LAGOA - Madrid - 03/01/2009

Hasta el 15 de enero, cinco días antes del comienzo de la nueva presidencia, la familia del futuro presidente de EE UU instalará su residencia temporal en el lujoso hotel Hay-Adams, situado en un edificio de estilo renacentista y donde vive también, según cuenta la leyenda, un fantasma del siglo XIX.

El Hay-Adams está a solo una manzana del futuro hogar de la primera familia afroamericana que vivirá en el 1600 avenida de Pensilvania y toma su nombre de John Hay, secretario de Estado con Abraham Lincoln, y Henry Adams, escritor y pariente de los presidentes John Adams y John Quince Adams.

Located in Lafayette Square across from the White House, The Hay-Adams is one of Washington D.C.’s most revered landmarks. This classic hotel is named after the distinguished residents who previously lived on its site: John Hay, Private Assistant to President Abraham Lincoln and later Secretary of State, and Henry Adams, an acclaimed author and descendant of U.S. Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

The site where The Hay-Adams is now located has long been a favorite gathering place in the nation’s capital. In 1884, renowned architect Henry Hobson Richardson designed elaborate, Romanesque homes at 16th and H Streets that became Washington’s leading salons for years. The stimulating discussions of politics, literature, science and art attracted the era’s leading artists, writers and politicians, including sculptor August Saint-Gaudens, Henry James, Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain.

Hay, Adams, their wives, Clara and Marian and geologist Clarence King formed a close group of friends who dubbed themselves “The Five of Hearts.” They even had china and letterhead made that featured moniker.

Hay died in 1905, and after Clara died in 1914, ownership of the Hay house passed to their daughter Alice Wadsworth and her husband, Senator James Wadsworth. After Adams died in 1918, the Wadsworths bought his house, which they leased to the Brazilian Embassy.

The Hay-Adams Hotel

Washington developer Harry Wardman bought and razed both homes in 1927. In their place, he constructed an Italian Renaissance-style apartment-hotel designed by architect Mirhan Mesrobian. The 138-room Hay-Adams House cost $900,000. It featured a dazzling array of architectural elements, many of which have been preserved to this day including Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders, walnut wainscoting and intricate ceiling treatments with Tudor, Elizabethan and Italian motifs. Wood paneling from the Hay residence found a new home in the grand public space now known as the John Hay Room.

The Hay-Adams House opened in 1928 and quickly attracted prominent Washingtonians and elite travelers, including Ethel Barrymore, Amelia Earhart, Sinclair Lewis and Charles Lindbergh. Guests were drawn to the hotel by its unparalleled views of the White House, Lafayette Square and St. John’s Church, as well as such amenities as large suites, kitchens, steam heat, elevators, circulating ice water, and, in 1930, Washington’s first air-conditioned dining room.

Rebirth of a Washington Classic

In 2001, the hotel closed its doors for a major renovation. In the spring of 2002, the Hay-Adams re-emerged, stunningly restored with its unique ambiance enhanced with distinctive luxury features orchestrated by widely acclaimed Washington designer, Thomas Pheasant.

The spirit of hospitality originated by the John Hay and Henry Adams households lives on at the Hay-Adams today. The stability and strength of its management and staff combined with distinctive luxury features create the residence of choice for discriminating visitors and an elegant oasis for the citizens of Washington.

The Hay-Adams has maintained its reputation over the years due to the dedication and sensitivities of its private owners and its dedicated staff.

Located in Lafayette Square across from the White House, The Hay-Adams is a revered landmark in Washington, DC. This classic hotel is named after the distinguished residents who previously lived on its site: John Hay, Private Assistant to President Abraham Lincoln and later Secretary of State, and Henry Adams, an acclaimed author and descendant of U.S. Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

http://www.hayadams.com/historic-washington-dc-hotels.php

Precisamente el espíritu de Marian Hooper Adams , esposa de Henry Thomas, es el fantasma que se dice deambula por las instalaciones del hotel.

Tumba de

Marian se suicidó en 1885 en la vivienda que años más tarde se convirtió en el actual hotel. Según la leyenda, el fantasma se manifiesta a principios de diciembre, mes de su muerte: abre puertas, se escuchan susurros y hay quien cuenta que se le puede oir preguntar, entre llantos, “¿Qué quieres?”.

In the Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C., a tombstone from over 120 years ago sparks a ghost story. Marian Hooper Adams was found by her husband dead in front of her fireplace. Now, her lifelike tombstone is said to have eyes that appear alive. The entire statue does look a bit creepy; however, it is a marvelous work of art.

Marian Hooper Adams on horseback at Beverly Farms

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La mudanza de la familia Obama a este hotel de Washington tiene su origen en la negativa de George W. Bush a que el futuro mandatario, su mujer Michelle y sus dos hijas Sasha y Malia se instalaran en la Casa Blair, una residencia oficial de invitados situada enfrente de la Casa Blanca, porque la vivienda sólo se podía utilizar a partir del 15 enero ya que hasta entonces está reservada para “recepciones y reuniones” del todavía Gobierno de EE UU.

Marian “Clover” Hooper Adams (September 13, 1843 – December 6, 1885) was an American socialiste, active society hostess and arbiter of Washington, D.C., and an accomplished amateur photographer.

Clover, who has been cited as the inspiration for writer Henry James’s Daisy Miller (1878) and The Portrait of a Lady (1881), was married to writer Henry Adams. After her suicide, he commissioned the famous Adams Memorial, which features a mysterious androgynous bronze sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to stand at the site of her, and his, grave.

After her death, Adams destroyed all the letters that she had ever written to him and never spoke her name or referred to her publicly again. She was also omitted from his The Education of Henry Adams

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Últimos preparativos en Washington

Con la llegada de la futura familia presidencial a Washington , los preparativos de la ceremonia de toma de poder de Barack Obama entran en la fase final. El acto del 20 de enero ha generado una gran expectación en todo el país y se prevé una gran afluencia de público.

Siguiendo en la línea de todo el halo histórico que arropa la llegada de Obama a la Casa Blanca, el Comité Presidencial de Investidura (PIC) anunció hace unos días que el futuro presidente jurará su cargo sobre la Biblia que empleó Abraham Lincoln en su primera investidura el 4 de marzo de 1861. Será la primera ocasión desde entonces en la que un presidente jure su cargo sobre ese histórico ejemplar, encuadernado en terciopelo púrpura y con los bordes metalizados bañados en oro, que se conserva en la Biblioteca del Congreso.

La ceremonia de investidura que se celebrará el mediodía del 20 de enero en la escalinata del Capitolio será la culminación de cuatro días de celebraciones a los que se prevén que acudan la cifra récord de cinco millones de personas y más de 60.000 voluntarios por lo que las autoridades extreman las medidas de seguridad en las que intervienen el servicio secreto, la Policía del Capitolio y el Comité Presidencial de Investidura.