Life magazine, August 8, 1969
Photographed by Michael Rougier
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In the wintertime, Dr. Sam Johnson believed, swallows "conglobulate together" at the bottom of rivers. In this he was mistaken, but there is no mistaking the tendency of political leaders in Washington to conglobulate in mutually agreeable spots, depending not on the season but the Administration. Under Kennedy, Georgetown was the right address. Under Nixon, it is the toothy structure shown here, a $70 million cooperative apartment complex called the Watergate, which has a view of the Potomac, several swimming pools, spectacular archiecture with a nautical flavor, and a proximity (eight blocks) to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Any American who comes under the heading of "forgotten" may as well not apply. Membership in Watergate, which presently includes (on the G.O.P. side alone) three Cabinet members, two senators, Nixon's chief of protocol and more than a dozen White House aides, is sharply restricted both socially and financially. A typical resident is aged about 50 and arrives with more dogs than children. If he has a car, no problem, there is a garage underground. The annual parking charge is $3,500. |
 |  | The choice apartments at left and below face the grassy banks of the Potomac, but those on the opposite side have a commanding view of the Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge and lower price tags. |
 | | Lifeguard Linda Fox contemplates one of Watergate's three pools. |