CALL GIGI WINSTON Principal Broker
WINSTON REAL ESTATE
Watergate - The Beginning
The Watergate is a historic apartment complex with three luxury residential buildings situated on 10 acres of prime real estate on the edge of Washington, DC. Watergate South, East and West together account for over 600 luxury residences, some of which feature penthouse and townhouse-style floor plans, private balconies and sweeping panoramic views of the Potomac River and historic Washington landmarks.
A ten-acre luxury complex, The Watergate is a city within a city, designed to be a complete environment in which people could live, work, shop and relax. Watergate’s unique landscape design features 7 gardens, tri-level park, fountains, promenades, and an open-air shopping area. Along with the building’s graceful architectural elements, they incorporate Architect Luigi Moretti’s innovative idea of bringing the country to the city. This creates a natural flow from the building’s singular style to the expansive banks of the Potomac, and makes all of Watergate’s amenities easily accessible via carefully planned walkways, both above and below ground.
Watergate Residences & Amenities
The Watergate features first class conveniences and amenities. Each of the residential buildings offers a separate garden with fountains and an outdoor heated pool. In addition, residents enjoy 24-hour concierge service, Post Office, and a selection of restaurants, shops and salons. The Kennedy Performing Arts Center, Whole Foods Market, and Foggy Bottom Metro stop are just few blocks away.
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The Watergate's proximity to the renowned Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts brings a myriad of cultural events to its doorstep. The Watergate is a cooperative apartment complex and is conveniently located within minutes of the newly reconstructed, beautiful Georgetown Waterfront, where you can enjoy a fine meal or share a few drinks at one of several waterfront restaurants, grab a coffee at the Swedish Embassy or just sit back by the fountain, which is converted into a public ice rink in the winter. The Foggy Bottom Metro station provides quick access to government, business and financial centers, and the Reagan National Airport.
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The Watergate residences are located on the edge of Northwest DC, bordering the Potomac River and overlooking Key Bridge, Washington Harbour, Roosevelt Island and beyond. Watergate's unique landscape design features seven gardens, tri-level park, several fountains and promenades, and open air-shopping area. Along with the building’s graceful architectural elements, they incorporate Architect Luigi Moretti's innovative idea of bringing the country to the city. This creates a natural flow from the building’s singular style to the expansive banks of the Potomac River, and makes all of Watergate’s amenities easily accessible by means of carefully planned walkways, both above and below ground.
Forward From Colette and Gigi Winston About Life on the River
The first residential complex to be built along the river, Watergate got its name from the canal - situated on 10 acres along the Potomac River. The area’s first multi-use complex and first on the river -we would like to share a little of its history as well as our own.
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What was it like for out father to manage what was to become the most famous complex in the world?
What was it like for our mother to open her boutique on the riverfront,
for them to create this destination on the Potomac?
What was it like to live there, to make Watergate on the Potomac a home?
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Out fluent in Italian mother Tina worked for the Italian developer long before Watergate was conceived, which, added to his real estate career, led our father Henry to become the manager of the entire Watergate complex. Our mother and her sister opened stores named after me, Colette, and along with our grandmother, Watergate became not just our workplace but our homes for four generations. My daughter Danielle grew up at the Watergate like Eloise at The Plaza!
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For our parents it was a culmination of hard work, ethics, creativity and the strong values of caring about their neighbors.
Our father made sure the umbrellas were colorful, that every fountain was frothy, trees were plentiful, that a colorful path was designed in the garage.
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He orchestrated all the moving parts- the offices, the retail, the residences, the community, the hotel and the restaurants -all working in harmony to create a place where today people want to meet, where people want to stay, to work, where people want to live. My father went to Paris to recruit Jean Louis- one of the first nouvelle cuisine restaurants. Our parents inaugurated Les Champs mall with the first ever salad bar. They set the stage. Today people enjoy the hotel restaurants and meet their friends at the nearby cafe before a Kennedy Center concert.
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Countless weddings including my own continue to offer the popular Watergate bakery white chocolate mousse cake and show off the amazing river views. Memorable birthday parties are held at the swimming pools.
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Everyone wanted to be part of this main attraction along the Potomac river, which is now a superb way of life. Then the scandal- and Watergate was catapulted into the world's most famous address - whose second syllable "gate” named for the canal lock now stood for a turning point in history.
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Our parents were humble, and farsighted. With my father's foresight, he kept the infamous taped door from the “break-in” secure storage for many years. It eventually ended up in a museum.
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Around the dinner table we heard names like Martha and John Mitchell or met famous actors like Lucille Ball. To this day Watergate attracts celebrities from around the world.
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Yet, it is foremost a home on the river. It is also a place where lifelong friend are frequently made—where neighbors both residential and commercial count on each other to become a community. Where you can walk along the river to a concert or stroll in the park to enjoy the day.
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Both as realtors with our family legacy and as Watergate residents we can share wonderful moments- the day our mother was called on her day off at the Watergate pool when a desperate Phyllis Diller lost her luggage and needed a dress for the Bob Hope Honors at The Kennedy Center, Placido Domingo humming in the elevator on the way to see the apartment that would become his home, and Condoleezza Rice becoming our neighbor.
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Watergate is a unique and tremendous endeavor and we have a wonderful architect talk about building a complex on the riverfront on our website for those of you interested. But the treasure of Watergate is life along the river the hundreds of wonderful extraordinary ordinary people who live and work and have lived and worked there, the people and their stories that flowed through the Watergate like the river, a complex more than an architectural feat, more than a scandal but a landmark of life on the river.​
