Washington, July 22 (DPA) Washington’s Watergate Hotel, site of the 1972 burglary that led to the downfall of a president, was sold Tuesday to a subsidiary of Deutsche Postbank after an auction failed to attract much interest.
The subsidiary, PB Capital, bought the Watergate from Monument Realty for $25 million with the only bid for the hotel, David Astrove, an attorney for PB Capital, confirmed.
The Watergate complex opened in 1967 at a prestigious address overlooking the Potomac River and was frequented by dozens of big names but is best known for the break-in that brought down former president Richard Nixon.
Seeking to plant listening bugs ahead of the 1972 presidential election, a team of burglars attempted to break into Democratic Party headquarters, which were housed in the Watergate complex. Nixon’s subsequent attempt to cover up a White House role in the burglary led to his August 1974 resignation.
The Watergate Hotel has been closed since 2007. Monument Realty bought the facility in 2004 hoping to renovate the facility but was forced into foreclosure on the property last week, after it was unable to repay a $40-million loan controlled by PB Capital.
Astrove said in a telephone interview that PB Capital plans to sell the Watergate.
