The Washington Hilton’s decades-long history with D.C. politics

Washington — Inside the kitchen at the Washington Hilton ahead of Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner are frenetic dinner preparations for about 2,600 people.  

“So, if it’s a three-course, you multiply that by three, we could walk away doing almost 10,000 plates in the kitchen as a whole,” Daniel Bennett, the hotel’s executive chef, tells CBS News.

The correspondents’ dinner has been an annual tradition since 1921, bringing together presidential comedy and the press corps, and the Hilton has been its home for 57 years.

The Washington Hilton is also known for one of the darkest moments in presidential history. On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan had just finished speaking at a union convention and was emerging from the hotel when he was struck by a bullet from would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr. .

Reagan survived and returned to the hotel less than six months later.

Now, there is a plaque that commemorates the assassination attempt. Shortly thereafter, a garage was constructed with a secure door so the presidential limousine can enter and exit with absolute security.
 
The garage entrance leads to a long hallway adorned with photos of each president and first lady.

Every president since Lyndon Johnson has spoken here, often making several trips a year for fundraisers, conferences, and the National Prayer Breakfast.

President Richard Nixon attended an inaugural ball at the Hilton in 1969, as did President Barack Obama 40 years later.

When the hotel opened in 1965, its double-arc design was an architectural anomaly in a staid capital city. Its 30,000-square-foot ballroom is one of the largest indoor gathering spaces in D.C.

It’s big enough to host concerts, including the likes of The Doors in 1967 and Jimi Hendrix a year later.

Saturday night’s correspondents’ dinner will look a bit different. There will be no featured comedian, and President Trump, who skipped every correspondents’ dinner in his first term, will not attend. Writer and performer Amber Ruffin had been announced as the night’s entertainment in February. However, Ruffin who has been critical of Mr. Trump, was pulled from the event in March.

Despite the controversy, for the Hilton, that doesn’t change the imperative to serve.

“Pretty much, the day the event ends, we’re already planning for the next event,” hotel general manager Ken Jarka said.

And what will define a successful correspondents’ dinner for the Hilton?

“No one is writing about us the next morning. How’s that?” quipped Jarka.
 
Not an easy feat in a roomful of journalists.

Major Garrett

Major Garrett is CBS News’ chief Washington correspondent. He’s also the host of “The Takeout,” a weekly multi-platform interview show on politics, policy and pop culture.