Washington Comebacks Are Causes to Celebrate

They rejoiced in Washington, D.C., when the city’s old crown jewel, the Willard Hotel, was polished to perfection and gloriously resurrected last August as the Willard Inter-Continental Hotel. But the Willard’s return after standing empty 18 years is merely one small part of a much grander cause to celebrate.

If you haven’t visited the nation’s capital recently, you have some pleasant surprises in store. The Willard is only one of many favorite old landmarks in the immediate neighborhood that have made comebacks or taken dramatic new forms the past few years. Along with the hotel, the entire eastern end of downtown Washington, the section closest to the White House, had suffered a bad case of urban decay.

The neighborhood has once more become a fashionable place to eat, drink, shop and roam about. (That section of town is now so popular that the latest T-shirt shows a world map highlighting major spots such as Moscow, San Francisco and New York City, and 15th Street Northwest.)

Reopened After Fire

One institution that has literally risen from the ashes goes back to 1886. Fans mourned in 1984 when a fire gutted Reeves Restaurant and Bakery at 1208 F St. N.W. They welcomed the reopening with sighs of relief 14 months later.

The bulk of Reeves business comes from shoppers, working people, suburban families. They know what to expect. The menu rarely changes: chicken salad (made from big chunks of “real” chicken), cream cheese and olive sandwiches, ice cream sodas, pie a la mode.

The recipe for the unusual, “world famous” strawberry pie (strawberries baked inside) has been passed down through generations. The same pie was named the best in the nation in a guide to cheap eating spots, “Pigging Out.” It is said that a Vietnam vet who heard about Reeves from a battlefield buddy came in and ate two strawberry pies by himself.

It has always been a family-run restaurant. Rubbing elbows daily with employees are brothers Henry and George Abraham, who bought the business 25 years go from the third generation of Reeves owners. The pre-fire Reeves was famous for its lunch counter, which a writer once described as being as”long as Ohio.”

Stools Survived

The only furnishings that survived the fire were the old trolley-like stools that surround the new U-shaped lunch counter. But most things never change. The same baker has worked there for 20 years. Waitresses don’t quit; they retire or die.

The modest restaurant (nothing priced over $5) makes little effort to promote itself, but its fame continues to spread. Open 6:50 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Down the street from Reeves is another resurrection of sorts--The Shops in the National Place complex at the corner of F and 14th streets. The collection of restaurants, quick-food stands and stores (for the budget-conscious and big spender alike) is Washington’s first downtown shopping mall.

The center’s name is a throwback to the old days. Until the ‘60s, when suburban malls drew shoppers away from the city, there were steady processions in and out of “the shops,” as hometowners called the stores along the F Street corridor.

Upstairs in National Place is an imaginative new version of an institution locals remember from teen years, the Little Tavern. (There are still 20 of them in Washington and its suburbs.)

Little Tavern owners have built a classy distant cousin of the humble little green-and-white ceramic huts that have been providing quick hunger fixes to generations since 1928. They’ve named it Club LT. You can order a 49-cent “death ball,” as loyal LT cultists like to call the wee, thoroughly-cooked burger nestled inside a square, moist wraparound roll. During Happy Hour they’re free.

Most prices are a little on the uptown side ($4 or $5 for a sandwich, and about $8 for hot entrees), and so is the make-believe diner decor in this sit-down restaurant and lounge--black-and-white checked tile floor, shiny chrome, a red neon tube the length of the ceiling that creates a curved ceiling illusion, a handsome, circular, highly polished wooden bar to lure the after-work crowd.

Club LT jogs the memory. Danny and the Juniors sing “Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay” on the vintage jukebox (three plays for a quarter), and the sandwiches are served by bobby-socked waitresses in white nurses’ shoes, frilly white aprons and prim dresses with collars and cuffs. Plans include sock hops.

Burgers for 5 Cents

The walls are lined with black-and-white glossies of young people who must now be grandparents standing in front of Little Taverns, some with curb service, advertising hamburgers for 5 cents.

It’s a campy put-on, with the Now Generation never out of sight. The blue plate special is translated to a strawberry daiquiri or cheese-broccoli omelet. Grey Poupon is in. Ketchup is not as visible. (Open daily 7:30 a.m. to midnight.)

Romantics might want to grab a counter seat at an untouched Little Tavern just around the corner from Club LT at 1344 G St. As always, it welcomes the rich, the poor, the tired, the hungry. All night long.

On the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the National Place (from The Shops go through the lobby of the J. W. Marriott Hotel) is the National Theater, a historic gem that made a comeback after a hair-raising escape from the villainous wrecker’s ball. For 151 years, the theater has been producing shows at the same location.

The theater closed in 1982 for a major renovation (the seventh in its history), which took 18 months. With the $6-million-plus renovation, the lobby space tripled, a mini-stage for free public programs was added and devices for the hearing and visually impaired were added. The theater’s first broadcast booth was installed as well as new carpeting, light fixtures, velvet seat covers and new draperies. The National got back in step in January, 1984, with “42nd Street.”

A couple of blocks east is the Old Ebbitt Grill, which Washington professionals have long embraced as a second home. They had to park their attache cases on other bars for three months in 1983 when the building that housed Old Ebbitt was torn down for renewal. The move from 14th and F streets to the new 15th Street location wasn’t too much of a culture shock, though.

The furnishings are more posh, with touches of velvet, etched glass and an antique gaslight chandelier; its long mahogany bar had grown too fragrant, so was replaced by a new one. But many of its old props have been salvaged--imported steins, animal heads and wooden bears that supposedly once belonged to Alexander Hamilton.

The major happening at Old Ebbitt these days is the pre-business breakfast bull session, commonly known as the Power Breakfast. The food at all meals is nicely prepared and moderately priced (Western Omelet $5.95, marvelous hot fudge sundae $3.50, glorified sandwiches $4 to $6). Open 7 a.m. to 1 a.m., Sundays 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.

New Complex of Shops

Adjoining the Willard Hotel in a new complex of shops is the Occidental restaurant, which opened in the early 1900s and just reopened last October at 1474 Pennsylvania Ave., a few steps away from its original site.

Carried over from the original Occidental is its famous collection of photographs. More than 1,000 pictures(most autographed) of celebs who ate there (Thomas Edison, Charles Lindbergh, Buffalo Bill, Dwight Eisenhower, the Duke of Windsor, Winston Churchill) have been cleaned, reframed and are displayed in the downstairs area, the Grill.

In keeping with the times, prices have changed somewhat since the old days. In the ‘50s the most expensive item on the menu was whole Maine lobster for $1.75. Current prices run from $6 to $10 for lunch and dinner in the casual Grill, and $9 to $22 upstairs in the formal restaurant, which specializes in seafoods.

The most heralded of all the restorations is the Old Post Office at 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. A magnificent 87-year-old Neo-Romanesque treasure, it led the way for the rest of the neighborhood. It was grandly reincarnated in the fall of 1983 as one of the most popular tourist attractions in town, complete with shops, food stands, restaurants, free entertainment in the pavilion area and a clock tower with a view that rivals the Washington Monument’s.

Also new: Two-hour narrated Old Town Trolley tours (buses) take visitors back to the city’s early days. The route covers Capitol Hill, downtown and Georgetown. Guests can get off once and reboard. Cost: $8 adults; $6 children. Still running: The narrated Tourmobile tour includes major attractions and Arlington Cemetery; unlimited reboarding. Cost, $9 adults, $4.50 children.

The Willard Inter-Continental is at 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. For reservations, call (202) 628-9100. Other hotels nearby:

The Hotel Washington, 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, goes back to 1918 and has a rooftop restaurant with a splendid view. There are weekend rates for families (adults must be accompanied by children) of $59 a night for a two-night stay. There’s also a weekend rate of $244 for two, including two nights’ stay and a $95 credit toward food or drinks. Call (800) 424-9540.

The J. W. Marriott at National Place, 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, is bright, modern and has fun touches such as show-biz lights on its steps to tie in with the National Theater next door. Regular double rates are $170 to $190; weekend rates $99. Call (202) 393-2000.

The Harrington Hotel at 436 11th St. (off Pennsylvania Avenue) is not as fancy as its competitors, but its moderate prices make it a favorite with families and students. Nightly rates for doubles are $58, weekends $48. Call (202) 628-8140.