The Jefferson, Washington, DC Draws Inspiration from the Life and Travels of Thomas Jefferson
06-04-2009
The Jefferson, Washington, DC Draws Inspiration from the Life and Travels of Thomas Jefferson
WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 4, 2009 – Just four blocks south of The Jefferson, Washington, DC, and within view of the hotel’s aptly named Presidential Suite, stands the White House, where Thomas Jefferson resided for eight years in the early days of our nation. It is this Thomas Jefferson who is so often celebrated in the capital: the third President of the United States, the founding father, the writer of the Declaration of Independence. But there is another side of Jefferson – one whose personal interests reflected an extraordinary breadth and depth – that has influenced so greatly his namesake hotel.
In its historic renovation of The Jefferson, the results of which will be unveiled August 2009, the award-winning design team of ForrestPerkins drew inspiration from Jefferson’s European travels and his home life at Monticello. Among the original artifacts will be documents signed by Jefferson on display in the lobby. Other, less literal Jeffersonian influences will permeate every aspect of the hotel’s design and culture. Here are a few highlights:
The World Traveler: Guest accommodations are designed to evoke Jefferson’s years in France, down to the draperies fashioned from three original toile patterns. These were inspired by the textiles Jefferson brought back from Paris to enhance his beloved Monticello. Two of the custom creations are pastoral prints of Monticello’s grounds and the other depicts architectural details from five important Jeffersonian buildings. The salon-style living areas of the suites further the European ambience.
Ask the travelled inhabitant of any nation, in what country on earth would you rather live?—Certainly, in my own, where are all my friends, my relations, and the earliest and sweetest affections and recollections of my life. Which would be your second choice? France. – Thomas Jefferson
The Inventor: Monticello, Jefferson’s Charlottesville, Virginia home, was his own design and a labor of love that he filled with his innovations. The parquet pattern that he created for the floor of Monticello’s main salon has been replicated in The Jefferson’s elegant lounge, Quill. Jefferson is also credited with the invention of the dumbwaiter, installing one in his daytime study. In that spirit, the hotel’s private dining room employs a dumbwaiter to convey vintages from the cellar to the table.
I am as happy no where else, and in no other society, and all my wishes end, where I hope my days will end, at Monticello.
The Intellectual: Thomas Jefferson’s love of reading inspired the creation of a Book Room for his namesake hotel. Full-height shelves line the walls of this cozy library, and are stocked with leather-bound books on Jeffersonian subjects. Jefferson’s own private collection of books became the foundation for the Library of Congress, and are today part of its Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
I cannot live without books.
The Epicurean: Thomas Jefferson’s passion for wine extended beyond his impressive collection of vintages to an attempt to establish a domestic vineyard from European cuttings. This passion takes center stage in the Private Cellar, the hotel’s private dining room, with its walls lined with wine display cabinets and private wine lockers. A collection of 18th-century maps on the walls of Quill follow Jefferson’s travels through the wine regions of France, Germany and Italy. Even the Spa at The Jefferson reflects Jefferson’s interest in wine in an exclusive selection of vinotherapy treatments.
My measure is a perfectly sober one of 3 or 4 glasses at dinner, and not a drop at any other time. But as to these 3 or 4 glasses Je suis bien friand [I am very fond].
The Gardener: Jefferson spent a great deal of time in his gardens at Monticello, cultivating a wide variety of crops that at one point included 15 varieties of English peas. For Plume, The Jefferson’s fine dining restaurant, Executive Chef Damon Gordon blends European classicism with American innovation in seasonal menus inspired by Monticello’s gardens and crafted from the freshest, locally sourced produce. Treatments at The Spa at The Jefferson also incorporate herbs and botanicals that evoke those once grown at Monticello.
No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden.
About The Jefferson
A 99-room Beaux Arts gem, The Jefferson, Washington, DC has an illustrious history catering to Washington’s elite. It enjoys one of the city’s most prestigious and strategic locations, at the corner of 16th and M Streets – just four blocks from the White House and within a short walk of museums, monuments and embassies. It is convenient to the dining, shops and nightlife of Georgetown and Penn Quarter, as well as the downtown business district and Dupont Circle.
The Je
[Back to Press Releases Main]
