Welcome to OPO Redevelopment

Welcome to OPO Redevelopment, an independent history of the Old Post Office, the granite landmark on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in the heart of the Federal Triangle in Washington, DC. Built between 1892 and 1899 for the Post Office Department, the building offers a remarkable story: historic character, unique architecture and one of the finest positions on the avenue.

Twice marked for demolition, rescued by citizens in the 1970s, reopened as a food court in 1983 and converted into a luxury hotel in 2016, the Old Post Office was sold by the federal government to its leaseholder in June 2026. These pages follow the whole journey: the history and architecture, the redevelopment, and the planning reviews under NEPA and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Alongside the history, a section called Casinos & Wagers follows the gambling thread that runs through the story.

The Old Post Office tower seen from street level, black and white

What you will find here

  • The building: an overview of the Old Post Office, its historical significance and its architecture
  • News: the redevelopment from the 2008 Act of Congress to the 2026 sale, with stories on the building's history and its life today
  • NEPA and NHPA: how the environmental and historic preservation reviews shaped the hotel conversion
  • Documents: a reader's guide to the public record of the 2011 to 2014 review
  • Gallery: the building in photographs, from the 1890s to the hotel years
Workers on a platform beside a clock face of the Old Post Office tower, black and white archive photograph

A partnership to save a landmark

The redevelopment was designed as a partnership between the private sector and the federal government, meant to turn an underused federally owned building into a working asset. The Old Post Office Building Redevelopment Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-359) directed the General Services Administration to proceed, using Section 111 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which allows federal agencies to lease properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

In February 2012 the Trump Organization was selected to convert the building into a luxury hotel and conference centre. The hotel opened in 2016, was renamed the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC in 2022, and in June 2026 the building itself was sold to the company holding the lease. Unlike the developer's earlier ventures on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, the hotel never had a casino floor: the District has never licensed one.

The colonnade of the Kurhaus in Baden-Baden, home of one of Europe's oldest casinos, in black and white

Kurhaus, Baden-Baden. Photo: Txllxt TxllxT, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Casinos & Wagers

The story starts early. Washington's first post office building was the top prize in a lottery of 1793, and from the 1890s the Post Office Department enforced the federal ban on sending such tickets by mail.

The section collects those stories alongside practical guides: the District's sports betting rules, a night out at MGM National Harbor across the river, historic hotels that became casino resorts, and how Americans have bet on their own elections.

The building at a glance

Address1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC
Built1892–1899
Designed in the office ofWilloughby J. Edbrooke, Supervising Architect of the Treasury
StyleRomanesque Revival
Clock towerAbout 315 feet; observation level at about 270 feet
National RegisterListed 1973
HotelSince 2016; Waldorf Astoria Washington DC since 2022

Browse the stories

  • History & Architecture 5 storiesThe architect, the Federal Triangle, the postal headquarters and the fight to save the building.
  • The Building Today 4 storiesThe Congress Bells, the Pavilion years, the hotel era and visiting the clock tower.
  • Casinos & Wagers 6 storiesAtlantic City, National Harbor and two centuries of Washington history.

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