At Campono, the Italian restaurant on the ground floor of Watergate 600, young people bring laptops and have lunch or coffee in a booth or at a table on the patio, facing the Kennedy Center. Conversations are more likely to center on social media metrics or venture capital than on the latest political intrigue.
LUIGI MORETTI’S LIFE AND WORK HAS BEEN REDISCOVERED and embraced by architects and architectural historians. A seminar sponsored by the American Academy in Rome and organized by Corey Brennan, a Rutgers professor in classics, brought twenty-five scholars from Italy and the United States together to discuss Moretti’s career. In 2010, MAXXI, Italy’s national museum of contemporary art, mounted an exhibition of Moretti’s life and work, including models that survived from Studio Moretti. The former fencing academy Moretti designed in Foro Mussolini, now known as Foro Italico, was the site of the trials of the Red Brigade terrorists for a number of crimes, including the assassination of Italian prime minister Aldo Moro in 1978. The building’s dramatic interiors are now used for fashion shoots.
Tommaso Magnifico, Moretti’s nephew, who retrieved his body from the yacht in the Tyrrhenian Sea during the summer of 1973, lives in Rome—a few floors above the apartment Luigi Moretti once shared with his wife, Maria Teresa. Tommaso became an architect, following in the footsteps of Luigi Moretti and his grandfather, Luigi Rolland. “It’s in the DNA,” Tommaso told a recent visitor. Tommaso keeps in his study a framed political cartoon from the early 1960s, by Joaquín de Alba, in which Luigi Moretti presents his original Watergate designs to the befuddled members of the Commission of Fine Arts. The architect’s designs for the Watergate are scattered on the floor. “Well, what would you say to something like this?” Moretti asks, holding up a drawing of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Tommaso remembers his uncle as “a poetic and passionate soul” who believed “one should never lose heart, never get bored.” He also recalls another piece of advice from Luigi Moretti: “Keep going and know more.”
IN 2013, THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTED A BABY BOOM was under way in Washington, DC. According to census figures, the number of children under five grew by almost 20 percent since 2010. New parents were largely in their thirties and early forties. As more millennials reach their early and mid-thirties, the Post predicted, “the number of babies is expected to soar.”
KinderCare, the country’s largest provider of child care and early childhood education services, operated four centers in Washington, each completely full. Jeff Slater, who managed real estate operations for the Portland-based company, began looking for another site in Foggy Bottom, where KinderCare already had two centers. His requirements: easy access to freeways, on-site parking so parents can take their time picking up and dropping off their children, and light-filled, ground-floor space. He found a perfect spot and signed a lease in late 2017, for the space once occupied by the Watergate Safeway.
Shortly after Watergate East opened, the New York Times reported the building had “more dogs than children.”
Anton Obernberger, owner of Watergate Pastry, was especially delighted to learn a day care center would be just a few steps away from his bakery.
“All those birthday parties.”
Acknowledgments
THIS BOOK, LIKE THE UNIQUE BUILDING AT THE CENTER OF the story, would not have come together without the hard work of a small army on two continents.
I am grateful to my principal researchers. Working in Sacramento, California, Kaitlin Bruce tracked down documents and images from around the world, found the least-costly version of dozens of obscure books on Amazon and eBay and managed a voluminous Watergate archive. In Washington, DC, Saman Zomorodi made himself a virtual resident of the National Archives in order to unearth the complex history of the earliest days of the Watergate. And in Rome, Anthony Majanlahti joined me on interviews and took me through the Central State Archives, where together we sifted through the papers of the once-great company Società Generale Immobiliare and pieced together, through the surviving minutes, the tragic end to the Aldo Samaritani era of that legendary firm. Kaitlin, Saman and Anthony share several traits in common—they are brilliant, creative and tireless—and this book would not have come together without them.
Many of the surprises in this book came from remarkable individuals who sat for interviews, answered my questions over the phone or via e-mail and provided documents and photographs whenever I asked. I want to thank the architects, builders and others who brought the Watergate to life, including Warren Adler, Giuseppe Cecchi, Clara and Bill Graff, Sheldon Magazine and Adrian Sheppard. I am especially grateful to Tommaso Magnifico, the nephew of Luigi Moretti, for sharing his recollections about the life and death of his uncle; to John Cecchi, for building upon the information his father shared; to the family of Nicolas Salgo, for making available to me his memoir prior to its publication; and to Regine Palladin, for sharing stories about her late husband, Jean-Louis Palladin, and his legendary restaurant.
I am also grateful to three individuals who steered the Watergate through its compelling and tumultuous history after the 1972 break-in, and shared their stories with me: Michael Darby of Monument Realty; Wendy Luscombe, who added the Watergate to the real estate portfolio of the National Coal Board and worked closely with Nicolas Salgo; and C. Frederick Wehba.
Many current and former residents of the Watergate agreed to be interviewed and shared their memories, documents and photographs, as did their friends and family members. I am grateful to Annelise Anderson, Clark Bason, Noelle Blanchard, Katherine and David Bradley, Shelley and Pat Buchanan, Joaquín de Alba Carmona, Deborah Gore Dean, Senator Bob Dole, Ann Simon Hadley, Marija Hughes, Gayley Knight, Patricia and Arthur Cotton Moore, Jack Olender, Scott O’Connor, Sally Quinn, Carol Radin, Warren Ratner, the Dowager Countess of Romanones, Karl Rove, Fred Schwartz, Doug Wick, Gigi Winston, Tina Winston, Audrey Wolf and Paul Zanecki.
I also want to thank people who worked at the Watergate, at Jean-Louis at the Watergate, or in one of the businesses within the complex: Kioumars “Mr. Que” Aghazadeh, Cathy Arevian, Paula Brenneman, Dean Brenneman, Claudia Buttaro, Bill Caldwell, Larbi Dahrouch, Sara Fabian, Roxie Herbekian, Jean Main, Anton Obernberger, R. Klaus Peters, David Lee Scull, Bobby Shriver, Daniel Singer, Mark Slater, Jimmy Sneed and Lynda Clugston Webster. Two former employees of the Democratic National Committee were especially helpful in describing the events of June 1972: R. Spencer Oliver and Bruce Givner. I also want to thank the family of Bettye Bradley, the Watergate Hotel’s first woman concierge, for making available to me the interviews she recorded.
The following scholars of architecture and politics patiently answered my questions and provided important historical context: Corey Brennan; Carrie Christoffersen, curator of collections, the Newseum; Marco Impiglia; Bob Kapsch; Benoît Lecat at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; Tim Naftali; professors Salvatore Santuccio and Nicolo Sardo; Edwin “E. C.” Schroeder of Yale’s Beinecke library; and Peter Waldman of the University of Virginia.
I benefited greatly from interviews with many people who were part of one or more episodes in the Watergate’s dramatic story, including David Astrove; Paul Cooper, the third generation of the Alex Cooper Auctioneers family; Len de Pas; the architect Frank Durkin; Emily Eig of Traceries, Inc.; Don Elder, cofounder of the Men’s Titanic Society; David Finley Williams, who spoke to me about his grandfather, Commission of Fine Arts chairman David Finley; Frank Greve of the Miami Herald, who covered the “Friendly Models” scandal; Don Hayes, president of National Content Liquidators; Justin Kennedy; Jura Koncius at the Washington Post; Carol Mitten, former chairman of the District Zoning Commission; Jerry Kammer; the auctioneer Stephanie Kenyon; Michael Nannes; former U.S. solicitor general Ted Olson; Paul Leeper; Washington Post food writer Phyllis Richman; James Rosen, the biographer of John Mitchell; James M. Rowe; Bob Scott; Jeff Slater of KinderCare; Sheila Tate, former press secretary to First Lady Nancy Reagan; and Gail Wolpin and Bill Welch from Phoebus Auction Gallery. Special thanks to Clarissa R
owe for tracking down documents from her mother’s personal archives, and to the family of William Walton.
Archivists and curators in Washington, DC, were especially important in bringing this book to life. I want to thank William Creech, Robert Ellis and Joetta Grant at the National Archives; Bruce Kirby and Malea Walker at the Library of Congress; Jessica Richardson at the Historical Society of Washington, DC; Leah Richardson at the Gelman library at George Washington University; Susan Raposa at the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts; Marcella Brown at the National Capital Planning Commission; Elaine Booth at the DC Office of Zoning; Bruce Yarnell at the DC Office of Planning; Bryant Johnson at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; Shawn Dickerson at the DC Court of Appeals; Kurt G. F. Helfrich at the National Gallery of Art and Kate Eig Hurwitz at EHT Traceries.
Thirteen presidential libraries provided valuable material on the Watergate and some of its most famous residents. I want to thank Spencer Howard at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum; Kendra Lightner and Ken Moody at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum; David Clark at the Harry S. Truman Library; Kevin M. Bailey and David Holbrook at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home; Laurie Austin, Dana Bronson, Katherine Crowe, Sara Powell, Katie Rice and Jennifer Roesch at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum; Barbara Cline, Kelly Ellis, Allen Fisher, Margaret Harman, Alexis Percle, Ian Frederick-Rothwell, Liza Talbot and John Wilson at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum; Carla Braswell, Nicholas Herold, Rachel Johnston, Dorissa Martinez, Jonathan Movroydis, Meghan Lee-Parker, Ryan Pettigrew and Phillip Pham at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum; Timothy M. Holtz, James Neel and John J. O’Connell at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum; Alan Houke, Sheila Mayo and Mary Ann McSweeney at the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum; Beth Calleros, Joanne Drake, Gina Risetter, Jennifer Mandel, Shelly Williams and Ray Wilson at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and the Reagan Foundation; Elizabeth Staats at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum; Marshall Yokell at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum; and Malisa Culpepper, Zachary Roberts and Sarah Quick at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
I am also grateful to Sarah D’Antonio at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas; Lee C. Grady at the Wisconsin Historical Society; Cindy Brightenburg at Brigham Young University; Rob Boston at Americans United for Separation of Church and State; Kathy Correia, Suzanne Grimshaw, Laura Kellen, Karen Paige, Garrett Shields and Lisa Wade at the California State Library in Sacramento; Jenny St. Clair Thomas at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah; Kathleen Dickson and Kathleen Luckey at the British Film Institute National Archive in London; Katie O’Connell at the New York Public Library; and Michelle Gullion at the National First Ladies’ Library.
I am indebted to the following friends who provided insight and advice, or helped connect me to others for interviews: Nicholas Accinelli, Kris Anderson, Joshua Altman, Michael J. Bayer, James H. Burnley, Kyle Butts, Janet Cam, Kevin Chaffee, Gia Colombraro, David Davenport, Juanita Duggan, Franco Impalà, Alan Kaden, Charles Kieffer, Katie and Alex Mathews, Renato Miracco, Colleen Moran, Christyne Nasbe, Alma and John Paty, Carlos Reyes, Teresa Rosenberger, Bob Salladay, Greg Schneiders, Martha Sherrill, Karen Skelton, Ben Stein, Jim Strock, Erik Taylor, John Ulrich, Marion Watkins, Mark Weinberg, Rob Wilcox, Bill Whalen, John Yoo and Zachary Young.
The book benefited from a team of researchers, translators and transcribers, including Monique Archuleta, Rachel Binnington, Barbara Cochran, Madeline Court, Eric DeVilliers, Adam G. Erickson, Jackie Foust, Carol Gould, Randall Hahn, Jason Ince, Gordon Li, Elizabeth A. Novara, Gabriel Ozuna, Dr. W. Raymond Palmer, Neerali Patel, Molly Peters, Olivia Shahloup and Huma Utku.
I want to thank my manager and mentor, Chris George, for encouraging me to tackle this subject as my first book, and for his guidance and support as it took shape. I am grateful to my agent, Flip Brophy at Sterling Lord Literistic, for matching this book to the perfect publisher, and for providing much-needed perspective and advice.
Henry Ferris believed in this book from the start and guided me through its initial steps. I am grateful to him for his encouragement and suggestions. My editor, Nick Amphlett, improved the book dramatically, and I wish to thank him and his colleagues at William Morrow, including Lauren Janiec, Tavia Kowalchuk, Owen Corrigan, Tom Pitoniak, Stephanie Vallejo, Liate Stehlik and Lynn Grady, for bringing this book from proposal to publication.
Finally, I want to thank friends and family who listened patiently while I shared my growing pile of “fun facts” about the Watergate or explored potential characters and story lines at length, hijacking what might otherwise have been more wide-ranging dinner conversations.
Notes
PROLOGUE
On the front page of the Post: Washington Post, June 16, 1972.
“mechanical walkers”: Watergate East Anniversary Issue 1964–1992, 61.
213-suite: Watergate press release, April 12, 1967.
fourteen cameras in Watergate East: Washington Star, June 25, 1965.
wrote in his logbook: Records of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force, National Archives 304970.
flirting with ninety degrees: Washington Post, June 16, 1972.
against her wishes: Winzola McLendon, Martha: The Life of Martha Mitchell (New York: Ballantine Books, 1979), 192–193.
“She never got to go anyplace”: Washington Post, June 16, 1974.
At 8:07 A.M.: President Richard Nixon’s Daily Diary, June 16, 1972, Nixon Presidential Library.
Volpe . . . who lived with his wife, Jennie: Life, August 8, 1969.
At 9:30: Daily calendars, Anna Chennault papers, Harvard University Library.
“humane and decent”: Washington Post, June 16, 1972.
boarded a Gulfstream II jet: McLendon, 2.
At noon: Chennault daily calendars.
“If it only had”: New York Times, March 12, 1972.
It had been a long flight: James Rosen, The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate (New York: Doubleday, 2008), 297.
arrived at National Airport: Jim Hougan, Secret Agenda: Watergate, Deep Throat and the CIA (New York: Random House, 1984), 180.
lobster tails: Ibid., 185.
Bruce Givner: Hougan, 189.
pausing only to step onto the balcony: Bruce Givner interview, June 20, 2017.
Shortly after one in the morning: Hougan, 197.
CHAPTER ONE: THE FOGGY BOTTOM PROJECT
was now for sale at $3 million: Washington Post, July 23, 1948.
“thus adding materially”: Ibid.
“were it not for those tanks”: Washington Post, July 24, 1948.
Hotelier Conrad Hilton: Washington Sunday Star, July 20, 1969.
high bidder at $935,000: “$935,000 Top Bid Rejected As Gas Co. Site Sale Fails,” Washington Post, November 10, 1948
formed a syndicate: Time, September 28, 1953.
“high character”: Washington Post, September 13, 1953.
Harrison & Abramovitz: Washington Post, March 9, 1954.
extending the option: Washington Post, June 15, 1955.
“a human computer”: Time, January 25, 1963.
“Many of my colleagues fear”: Fortune, June 1965.
“We once considered Italy’s boundaries”: Ibid.
“Potomac deal”: SGI board minutes, February 1, 1960, Central State Archives, Rome.
Salgo became a partner: Nicolas Salgo, Success Begins After 5:00 P.M (North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017), 105.
endorsed the design unanimously: National Cultural Center, press release, April 1, 1960.
“little short of breath-taking”: Roger Meersman, “The Kennedy Center: From Dream to Reality,” Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, DC, Vol. 50, 1980, 543.
“beautiful but grandiose”: New York Times, Febru
ary 4, 1962.
top consulting architect: Washington Post, February 19, 1963.
like a Renaissance prince: Adrian Sheppard, “Four Essays on Moretti: Luigi Moretti: A Testimony,” April 2, 2008, Luigi Moretti (1907-1973) Razionalismo e transgressivita tra barocco e informale, (Electra Editore, 2010).
fundamentally an introvert: Tommaso Magnifico interview, November 16, 2016.
joined the team: Newark Star-Ledger, November 15, 2009.
walked the site: Federico Bucci and Marco Mulazzani, Luigi Moretti: Works and Writings (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2002), 213.
San Vittore Prison in Milan: Ibid.
Studio Moretti: Sheppard, 2008.
“the connection”: Salvatore Santuccio and Nicolo Sardo interview, November 17, 2016.
“extreme modernism”: Mario Valmarana interview, 2009
He drew inspiration: Adrian Sheppard, “The Watergate Project: A Contrapuntal Multi-Use Urban Complex in Washington, DC,” Luigi Moretti (1907-1973) Razionalismo e transgressivita tra barocco e informale,(Electra Editore, 2010), 7.
“the Roman way”: “Moretti—a lecture,” Mario di Valmarana, December 8, 2005, summarized by George Arnstein. www.watergate50.com.
leaving his mark: Sheppard, 2008.
“sing”: Ibid.
“angry thumb”: Ibid.
“considered satisfactory”: Milton Fischer memorandum to Giuseppe Cecchi, March 10, 1961, Central State Archives, Rome.
“mediocre”: Antonio Cecchi correspondence, March 24, 1961, Central State Archives, Rome.
“I need a real Washingtonian”: Elizabeth Ulman Rowe, Oral History interview, June 16, 1975, LBJ Presidential Library.
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