�President John F. Kennedy opened The Madison 40 years ago in 1962, and we felt it fitting to create a special event to mark the hotel�s temporary cessation of service,� said  Dave Pollin, president of The Buccini Pollin Group, the hotel�s developer.  �The Madison has long been an integral part of the history of the District, having played a role in every inauguration, hosted innumerable world dignitaries and acted as the site for countless social and family events.  Today, we mark the first step in a return to the glory that this wonderful hotel has enjoyed in the past.�

The Grand Closing ceremonies, attended by guests and hotel staff, began with the lowering of an Austrian crystal chandelier that has overlooked every Presidential inauguration since 1964.  The 1,400-pound electrical fixture with more than 500 light bulbs was lowered and crated for shipment to an antique restoration specialist. 

Highlight of the ceremony was a special presentation to the hotel�s �last and first guest,� King Pound, who has regularly stayed at the hotel for more than 15 years. 

�Mr. Pound will be the last guest to check out of the hotel on Sunday and has already booked the first room for when the hotel opens next June,� said Greg Miller, president of PMHS, the hotel�s management company.  To express their appreciation, hotel officials named his regular room, 1527, the King Pound Suite and presented him with a key and historic key fob mounted on an engraved plaque. 
 �I�ve stayed at the Madison several times a month since the 1980s and have become personal friends with many of the staff members here,� Pound said.  �They have done such a wonderful job making the Madison feel like a home away from home to me.  It truly is an honor to become part of the history of this magnificent hotel that has hosted so many memorable events.�

The hotel will be completely restored to meet the needs of 21st century travelers.  The lobby will be reconfigured, and two new restaurants and a clubby lounge will be created.  Meeting space for up to 700 people will be completely enhanced, and all rooms will receive everything from new carpet and wall coverings to high speed Internet connectivity.

Finally, to commemorate the evening, a winner was drawn for the hotel�s �Two Times a Lady� contest.  Dr. & Mrs. Melvin Williams of Washington, D.C. won $10,000 towards a reception to be held at the hotel upon re-opening.  The couple was at the hotel celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary.

Located in the heart of Washington�s central business district at the intersection of 15th and M Streets, the Madison Hotel and Office Building features 353 luxury hotel rooms/suites with more than 16,000 square feet of meeting and function space.  Attached to the hotel is an office building with nearly 95,000 square feet of rentable space to be redeveloped and managed by Monument Realty.  The property is four blocks from The White House and is within easy walking distance of the new Washington Convention Center, which is scheduled to open in March 2003.

Washington-based Monument Realty LLC, founded in 1998 by Jeffrey T. Neal and Michael J. Darby, has developed more than 3.5 million square feet of office space in the Washington, D.C. area.

PM Hospitality Strategies, an affiliate of The Buccini/Pollin Group, currently operates seven hotels and is overseeing the construction of three additional upscale hotels, all on the Eastern Seaboard.

In addition to its 10 hotel holdings, The Buccini/Pollin Group, founded in 1992, has acquired or developed 17 office, industrial, retail or parking garage facilities.