The stately elegance and rich history of the Omni Shoreham Hotel, a historic hotel in Washington, D.C., has made it a favorite destination of presidents, dignitaries and world travelers since the 1930s.

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1929: Real estate developer Harry M. Bralove commissioned the creation of a luxurious hotel in Washington, D.C., getting the idea while out on a walk near Rock Creek Park. Bralove hired the renowned architect Joseph Abel to design the building, which he did using a combination of Renaissance Revival and Art Deco-style aesthetics. The project took around a year to complete at a cost of $4 million.

1930: The Shoreham Hotel opened its doors for the first time on October 30. Some 5,000 people purchased tickets to attend the event, in part to see famous bandleader Rudy Vallee perform. Unfortunately, a violent storm impeded Vallee and his orchestra from leaving New Jersey on schedule. The performers did not show up until 3:45 in the morning and only played for about 15 minutes.

1933: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife, First Lade Eleanor Roosevelt, hosted the presidential inaugural ball at the Shoreham Hotel. Staff at the hotel installed a special ramp and elevator to accommodate the president, who was bound to a wheelchair as a result of his bout with polio. The next 11 presidents would then host inaugural balls at the hotel.

1941: Joe McCarthy, then Manager of the New York Yankees, surprised Joe DiMaggio with a massive party in Room 609D in honor of the baseball player’s 56-game hitting streak. No one has since come close to eclipsing that record set by the legendary “Yankee Clipper.”

1942: On November 18, Jack Taylor and several other members of the Office of Strategic Services—the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency—tested the Lambertsen Amphibious Respiratory Unit Mark II at the Shoreham Hotel’s pool. A medicine specialist named Dr. Chris Lambertsen developed the machine, which was designed to enable soldiers to breath underwater. The Lambertsen Amphibious Respiratory Unit enabled the U.S. military to eventually create the Navy SEALs.

1944: Ed Heinemann of Douglas Aircraft drew up the final plans for his company’s AD-1 Skyraider one night while staying at the hotel. He specifically drew the schematics on the back of an envelope when he learned that the U.S. Navy had requested last minute changes to his proposal. The AD-1 Skyraider would go on to have one of the most successful careers as an attack plane, staying in service for more than 50 years.

1964: The Beatles booked every room on the Shoreham Hotel’s 7th floor on the eve of their concert at the Washington Coliseum. “Beatlemania” had firmly gripped the nation by this point, as the band was currently in the middle of its first historic tour of the United States.

1979: Dunfey Hotel Corporation purchased the Shoreham Hotel, adding it to its budding luxury brand called the “Classic Hotel Division.” This part of the Dunfey Hotel Corporation later evolved into Omni Hotels and Resorts when it was combined with Omni International Hotels in 1983. The hotel then became the, “Omni Shoreham Hotel.”

1987: Director Roger Donaldson filmed portions of his movie, No Way Out, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. Starring Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, and Mary Sean Young, the movie involves a complicated love triangle between two military officers and a young woman that results in murder and deceit.

2007: The Omni Shoreham Hotel became a full-fledged member of Historic Hotels of America, joining the Omni Mount Washington Resort, the Omni Bretton Arms Inn, The Omni Homestead Resort, and The Omni Grove Park Inn.