This is an old image of the Mayflower Hotel on Connecticut Ave., some time in the mid to late 1920s.
A Look at the Mayflower Hotel on Connecticut Avenue in the 1920s
3 thoughts on “A Look at the Mayflower Hotel on Connecticut Avenue in the 1920s”
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Cool! Look how some of the windows appear to have awnings over them. I wonder if patrons could open their windows and somehow pull those down in some fashion. I’d imagine that none of the windows can open now.
Boy that Hotel was huge.
A bit of footnote here to the query by Ms. Franklin.
The awning has an ancient history. http://www.canvascraftinc.com/blog/a-bbrief-history-of-awnings-and-canopies/ Awnings were common in D.C. in buildings of all sizes and ages until the use of air conditioners became widespread following WW2. http://herbofdc.blogspot.com/2008/08/surviving-washington-dc-summers-before.html Their sole purpose is to provide a sun shield, http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/use-awnings-to-block-suns-heat-20150825
Although awnings must always operate independently from windows, they can be opened and closed only when the lower sash of a window is opened sufficiently to allow hands to pass through the opening to be able to grasp the control cordage anchored to the exterior metal frame of the awning.
With the common disuse of the awning in D.C. following its displacement by mechanical air conditioning, the awning is infrequently seen now only as a decorative appurtenance. https://www.google.com/search?q=window+treatments+awning&biw=1024&bih=611&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiWgPLykOfKAhXJfhoKHSzXCIAQ7AkIXw