The Thomas Jefferson Hotel and its Mooring Mast was built in 1929 by the Union Realty Company. The 19-story building featured an ornate marble lobby, a large ballroom, and a rooftop mast intended for mooring airships. In the 1920s and 30s, dirigibles were all the rage. Airships provided some of the earliest commercial transatlantic flights. They were a quicker and cheaper way to travel compared to long voyages by sea. During this era, a number of buildings around the United States installed zeppelin mooring masts, hoping to capitalize on the popularity of…
