On the end of the peninsula that defines the city of Colon, between two small high-rises is the coral-coloured New Washington Hotel.

The Panama Railway Company opened a hotel on this site in 1870 for the workers. As the Panama Canal started to attract attention from tourists, hotel beds were running short in Colon. The Railroad Company moved the first hotel and opened this upmarket one on March 23rd, 1913. It rivaled any hotel in the New World at the time.

The Hotel Washington is currently run by a consortium of Arabs, and has been turned into a gambling casino. They have also built a condominium next door at the former Fort De Lesseps.

More information can be found at the Washington Hotel website

These photos are from a visit in February 2017: