Restaurateur and Orphanage Founder
Marjory was the daughter of John P. HENDRICKS and Lucy May "Luta" POYNEER. She was a 1918 graduate of University of Wisconsin.
With her sister Genevieve, Marjory founded the Normandy Farm Restaurant in Potomac, Maryland, in 1931 and the Water Gate Inn restaurant in Washington, D.C., in 1941.
In the spring of 1931, Marjory had just returned from cooking school in Normandy, France. One afternoon, she passed by some rural property and saw a sign: "For sale by mortgage holders." Within 45 minutes, she had negotiated the purchase of what became the Normandy Farm Restaurant (later known as "Normandie Farm").
She and her sister Genevieve had worked as high-society decorators, having decorated homes for the likes of President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge. The Hendricks sisters decorated their new restaurant in the rural French tradition. During the time that they were operating the restaurant, among their most frequent visitors was Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.
In 1941, Marjory and her sister purchased a riding academy along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. They transformed the property into the Water Gate Inn. The Water Gate Inn became known as the "in-town" branch of their original restaurant, the Normandy Farm Restaurant. However, unlike their first restaurant, their second restaurant specialized in Pennsylvania Dutch cooking and had a Pennsylvania Dutch decor.
At the start of World War II, Marjory closed her Normandy Farm Restaurant and joined the American Red Cross. She served in New Zealand, Austria, and Italy. During her service with the Red Cross, Marjory was instrumental in the founding of Casa Materna, an orphanage near Pompeii, Italy.
When she returned to Maryland, she reopened Normandy Farm. She sold the property in 1958 and continued with only the Water Gate Inn.
An architectural drawing at the Library of Congress suggests that Marjory was considering developing her land into a waterfront hotel. There is a drawing made in 1959 or 1960 called "Watergate Apartment Hotel," which was drawn by architect Donald H. DRAYER. The drawing was done for Marjory Hendricks and was a proposed building for New Hampshire Avenue and F Street, which was the location of her Water Gate Inn restaurant.
Marjory's plans for an apartment hotel were scuttled by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Marjory's property was part of the real estate that was assembled for the Kennedy Center. In 1964, Marjory was paid $650,000 for her quarter-acre of land. It was $250,000 less than the offer that Marjory had accepted from land developers on November 18, 1963, but she was forced to take the lesser amount.
Marjory had a son from a brief marriage that ended in divorce. She married in 1923 and divorced in 1928. And she had an even briefer marriage from 1935 to 1937 that produced no children. She was known as Marjory Hendricks.
Marjory's son, Roger Todd DAVIS, was born in February 1926 in Baltimore, Maryland.
Marjory was the daughter of John P. HENDRICKS and Lucy May "Luta" POYNEER. She was a 1918 graduate of University of Wisconsin.
With her sister Genevieve, Marjory founded the Normandy Farm Restaurant in Potomac, Maryland, in 1931 and the Water Gate Inn restaurant in Washington, D.C., in 1941.
In the spring of 1931, Marjory had just returned from cooking school in Normandy, France. One afternoon, she passed by some rural property and saw a sign: "For sale by mortgage holders." Within 45 minutes, she had negotiated the purchase of what became the Normandy Farm Restaurant (later known as "Normandie Farm").
She and her sister Genevieve had worked as high-society decorators, having decorated homes for the likes of President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge. The Hendricks sisters decorated their new restaurant in the rural French tradition. During the time that they were operating the restaurant, among their most frequent visitors was Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.
In 1941, Marjory and her sister purchased a riding academy along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. They transformed the property into the Water Gate Inn. The Water Gate Inn became known as the "in-town" branch of their original restaurant, the Normandy Farm Restaurant. However, unlike their first restaurant, their second restaurant specialized in Pennsylvania Dutch cooking and had a Pennsylvania Dutch decor.
At the start of World War II, Marjory closed her Normandy Farm Restaurant and joined the American Red Cross. She served in New Zealand, Austria, and Italy. During her service with the Red Cross, Marjory was instrumental in the founding of Casa Materna, an orphanage near Pompeii, Italy.
When she returned to Maryland, she reopened Normandy Farm. She sold the property in 1958 and continued with only the Water Gate Inn.
An architectural drawing at the Library of Congress suggests that Marjory was considering developing her land into a waterfront hotel. There is a drawing made in 1959 or 1960 called "Watergate Apartment Hotel," which was drawn by architect Donald H. DRAYER. The drawing was done for Marjory Hendricks and was a proposed building for New Hampshire Avenue and F Street, which was the location of her Water Gate Inn restaurant.
Marjory's plans for an apartment hotel were scuttled by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Marjory's property was part of the real estate that was assembled for the Kennedy Center. In 1964, Marjory was paid $650,000 for her quarter-acre of land. It was $250,000 less than the offer that Marjory had accepted from land developers on November 18, 1963, but she was forced to take the lesser amount.
Marjory had a son from a brief marriage that ended in divorce. She married in 1923 and divorced in 1928. And she had an even briefer marriage from 1935 to 1937 that produced no children. She was known as Marjory Hendricks.
Marjory's son, Roger Todd DAVIS, was born in February 1926 in Baltimore, Maryland.
Restaurateur and Orphanage Founder
Marjory was the daughter of John P. HENDRICKS and Lucy May "Luta" POYNEER. She was a 1918 graduate of University of Wisconsin.
With her sister Genevieve, Marjory founded the Normandy Farm Restaurant in Potomac, Maryland, in 1931 and the Water Gate Inn restaurant in Washington, D.C., in 1941.
In the spring of 1931, Marjory had just returned from cooking school in Normandy, France. One afternoon, she passed by some rural property and saw a sign: "For sale by mortgage holders." Within 45 minutes, she had negotiated the purchase of what became the Normandy Farm Restaurant (later known as "Normandie Farm").
She and her sister Genevieve had worked as high-society decorators, having decorated homes for the likes of President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge. The Hendricks sisters decorated their new restaurant in the rural French tradition. During the time that they were operating the restaurant, among their most frequent visitors was Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.
In 1941, Marjory and her sister purchased a riding academy along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. They transformed the property into the Water Gate Inn. The Water Gate Inn became known as the "in-town" branch of their original restaurant, the Normandy Farm Restaurant. However, unlike their first restaurant, their second restaurant specialized in Pennsylvania Dutch cooking and had a Pennsylvania Dutch decor.
At the start of World War II, Marjory closed her Normandy Farm Restaurant and joined the American Red Cross. She served in New Zealand, Austria, and Italy. During her service with the Red Cross, Marjory was instrumental in the founding of Casa Materna, an orphanage near Pompeii, Italy.
When she returned to Maryland, she reopened Normandy Farm. She sold the property in 1958 and continued with only the Water Gate Inn.
An architectural drawing at the Library of Congress suggests that Marjory was considering developing her land into a waterfront hotel. There is a drawing made in 1959 or 1960 called "Watergate Apartment Hotel," which was drawn by architect Donald H. DRAYER. The drawing was done for Marjory Hendricks and was a proposed building for New Hampshire Avenue and F Street, which was the location of her Water Gate Inn restaurant.
Marjory's plans for an apartment hotel were scuttled by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Marjory's property was part of the real estate that was assembled for the Kennedy Center. In 1964, Marjory was paid $650,000 for her quarter-acre of land. It was $250,000 less than the offer that Marjory had accepted from land developers on November 18, 1963, but she was forced to take the lesser amount.
Marjory had a son from a brief marriage that ended in divorce. She married in 1923 and divorced in 1928. And she had an even briefer marriage from 1935 to 1937 that produced no children. She was known as Marjory Hendricks.
Marjory's son, Roger Todd DAVIS, was born in February 1926 in Baltimore, Maryland.
Marjory was the daughter of John P. HENDRICKS and Lucy May "Luta" POYNEER. She was a 1918 graduate of University of Wisconsin.
With her sister Genevieve, Marjory founded the Normandy Farm Restaurant in Potomac, Maryland, in 1931 and the Water Gate Inn restaurant in Washington, D.C., in 1941.
In the spring of 1931, Marjory had just returned from cooking school in Normandy, France. One afternoon, she passed by some rural property and saw a sign: "For sale by mortgage holders." Within 45 minutes, she had negotiated the purchase of what became the Normandy Farm Restaurant (later known as "Normandie Farm").
She and her sister Genevieve had worked as high-society decorators, having decorated homes for the likes of President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge. The Hendricks sisters decorated their new restaurant in the rural French tradition. During the time that they were operating the restaurant, among their most frequent visitors was Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.
In 1941, Marjory and her sister purchased a riding academy along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. They transformed the property into the Water Gate Inn. The Water Gate Inn became known as the "in-town" branch of their original restaurant, the Normandy Farm Restaurant. However, unlike their first restaurant, their second restaurant specialized in Pennsylvania Dutch cooking and had a Pennsylvania Dutch decor.
At the start of World War II, Marjory closed her Normandy Farm Restaurant and joined the American Red Cross. She served in New Zealand, Austria, and Italy. During her service with the Red Cross, Marjory was instrumental in the founding of Casa Materna, an orphanage near Pompeii, Italy.
When she returned to Maryland, she reopened Normandy Farm. She sold the property in 1958 and continued with only the Water Gate Inn.
An architectural drawing at the Library of Congress suggests that Marjory was considering developing her land into a waterfront hotel. There is a drawing made in 1959 or 1960 called "Watergate Apartment Hotel," which was drawn by architect Donald H. DRAYER. The drawing was done for Marjory Hendricks and was a proposed building for New Hampshire Avenue and F Street, which was the location of her Water Gate Inn restaurant.
Marjory's plans for an apartment hotel were scuttled by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Marjory's property was part of the real estate that was assembled for the Kennedy Center. In 1964, Marjory was paid $650,000 for her quarter-acre of land. It was $250,000 less than the offer that Marjory had accepted from land developers on November 18, 1963, but she was forced to take the lesser amount.
Marjory had a son from a brief marriage that ended in divorce. She married in 1923 and divorced in 1928. And she had an even briefer marriage from 1935 to 1937 that produced no children. She was known as Marjory Hendricks.
Marjory's son, Roger Todd DAVIS, was born in February 1926 in Baltimore, Maryland.
