Washington -
The parking garage where Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward famously met his Watergate informant “Deep Throat” is facing the wrecking ball.
The Arlington County Board has approved plans by a real estate developer to demolish the 1960s office block that houses the indoor garage to make way for a pair of commercial and residential high-rise buildings.
It's situated at 1401 Wilson Boulevard in the Rosslyn section of Arlington, across the Potomac River from Washington, where a sidewalk historical marker signals its significance.
Woodward, working alongside Post colleague Carl Bernstein, met “Deep Throat” at night six times at parking spot 32D within the otherwise unassuming garage to learn more about the scandal that led to Richard Nixon's resignation as president in 1974.
Deep Throat's name was inspired by a 1970s porn film, but it wasn't until 2005 that his identity was revealed as Mark Felt, associate director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at the time. Felt died in 2008.
In a statement, the Arlington County Board said the new development - approved on Saturday - would incorporate a historic marker “to commemorate the location's significance in the Watergate scandal”.
The Post reported that demolition would begin no sooner than January 2017 - and that the new project will have six levels of underground parking. - Sapa-AFP