Walter Washington - Later Life

Later Life

After ending his term as mayor, Washington joined the New York-based law firm of Burns, Jackson, Miller & Summit, becoming a partner there and opening the firm's Washington, D.C. office. He went into semi-retirement in the mid 1990s, finally taking full retirement at the end of the decade by which time he was in his early eighties.

Washington remained a beloved public figure in the District and was much sought after for his political advice. In 2002 he endorsed Anthony A. Williams for a second term as mayor despite a petitioning scandal that had made Williams a write-in candidate. Washington's endorsement was still of sufficient weight that it was carried in all local news outlets.

Washington died on October 27, 2003, at Howard University Hospital. Hundreds of mourners came to see him lying in state at the John A. Wilson Building, then attended his funeral at Washington National Cathedral. 13½ Street, the short alley running alongside the Wilson Building, was designated Walter E. Washington Way in his honor; additionally, a new housing development in D.C.'s Ward 8 was named the Walter E. Washington Estates.

In 2006, the Council of the District of Columbia approved legislation renaming the Washington Convention Center in Washington's honor. The building, at 801 Mt. Vernon Place NW, is now known as the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.