Watergate’s ‘Deep Throat’ garage faces the wrecking ball

Reporting from Washington —  A concrete reminder of the Watergate scandal is about to disappear.

The Rosslyn, Va., garage where the source “Deep Throat” passed information to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward will face the wrecking ball.

Arlington County officials have approved plans for construction of a 24-story office building and 28-story residential tower on the site of the 1960s-era garage across the Potomac River from the nation’s capital.

A sign was installed outside the garage in 2011, calling attention to its role in the scandal, which began with the June 17, 1972, burglary of the Democratic Party headquarters in Washington’s Watergate office complex and culminated with President Nixon’s resignation on Aug. 9, 1974.

The anonymous source Deep Throat met with Woodward six times in the garage between October 1972 and November 1973. The late W. Mark Felt, a former FBI official, revealed in 2005 that he was Deep Throat. The meetings were dramatized by a scene in the movie “All the President’s Men” when a shadowy figure played by Hal Holbrook urges Robert Redford to “follow the money.”

“It is important to show folks that history is not always the biggest, or the best — it is something that happens every day, sometimes in the most mundane locations,” Arlington County’s then-historic preservation coordinator Michael Leventhal said at the time the marker was installed.

There didn’t seem to be any public outcry to the planned demolition of the garage to make way for a civic revitalization project that will include, among other things, a garden, outdoor dining, a bocce court and a new supermarket.

“The majority of Rosslyn residents are satisfied that a balance has been reached between the need to allow our community to continue to evolve while taking special steps to acknowledge and commemorate the importance of this historic site,” said Mary-Claire Burick, president of the Rosslyn Business Improvement District.

The developer will be required to reinstall the sign once the project is finished, said Cynthia Liccese-Torres, Arlington County historic preservation program coordinator, and to “design and incorporate additional historical interpretation into the garden space of the site for the purpose of acknowledging the site’s role in the Watergate scandal.”

There’s still time to visit, though. A spokesman for Monday Properties said the garage was unlikely to be razed before 2017.

Woodward, asked on CNN Monday about the planned demolition, said, “History can’t stand in the way of progress.”

Even though the garage’s days are numbered, the Watergate complex still stands.

Tuesday marks the 42nd anniversary of the Watergate break-in.

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