Since 1818, The Willard has been an essential part of the social and political scene in Washington DC, visited by US Presidents and foreign dignitaries, and it is now an Intercontinental Hotel.

The cover of this coffee shop menu features a lovely image of the historic hotel and The Rotunda, the large domed and circular room located in the center of the US Capitol.

The Capitol Rotunda is the result of two distinct building campaigns – the first by Dr William Thornton, who won the competition for the design of the building in 1793 with his idea of a central rotunda.

Due to a shortage of funds and materials, sporadic construction phases, and a fire lit by the British in 1814, building work did not start until 1818.

The Rotunda was completed under the direction of Charles Bulfinch, one of America’s earliest professional architects, in 1824. Conceived in the age of neoclassicism, it was intended to recall the Pantheon, the ancient Roman temple.

Though this was a Willard coffee house menu, dated 1969, cocktails were served and cost only 70 cents!

Courtesy Private Collection.