Editing Watergate complex (section)

===History===
[[File:Washington Gas service-pnp-hec-14600-14697v 02.jpg|thumb|A 1905 photo of natural gas tanks at 26th & G Streets, NW, the future site of the Watergate complex]]
For over a century, the land now occupied by the Watergate complex belonged to the Gas Works of the [[WGL Holdings|Washington Gas Light Company]], which produced "[[Coal gas|manufactured gas]]", a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, and other flammable and nonflammable gases, for heating, cooking, and lighting throughout Washington, D.C.<ref name="Penczer">Penczer, Peter R. ''Washington, D. C., Past and Present.'' Arlington, Va.: Oneonta Press, 1998. {{ISBN|978-0-9629841-1-2}}</ref><ref name="Spot">Evelyn, Douglas E.; Dickson, Paul; and Ackerman, S.J. ''On This Spot: Pinpointing the Past in Washington, D.C.'' 3rd ed. Sterling, Va.: Capital Books, 2008. {{ISBN|1-933102-70-5}}</ref><ref name="Sanchez" /> Gas production ceased at the site in 1947, and the plant was demolished shortly thereafter.<ref name="Penczer" />

During the 1950s, the [[World Bank]] considered building its international headquarters here and on the adjacent site (which now houses the Kennedy Center), but rejected the site for unspecified reasons. It constructed its headquarters at its current location at 1818 [[H Street (Washington, D.C.)#H Street NW|H Street NW]] in Washington, D.C.<ref>[http://go.worldbank.org/KQAESG7SP0 "World Bank History: The Bank's Headquarters Building."] International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. February 14, 2003. Accessed July 19, 2009.</ref>

Built between 1963 and 1971, the Watergate became one of the most desirable living spaces in [[Washington, D.C.]], popular with members of [[United States Congress|Congress]] and political appointees of the [[Federal government of the United States|executive branch]].<ref name="MacPhersonStatus"/><ref name="Livingston"/> The complex has been sold several times since the 1980s. During the 1990s, it was subdivided and its component buildings and parts of buildings were sold to various owners.<ref name="Haggerty"/><ref name="Sale"/>

In 1972, the headquarters of the [[Democratic National Committee]], then located on the sixth floor of the Watergate Office Building, was [[Burglary|burgled]]; private campaign documents were photographed and telephones were wiretapped.<ref name="LewisPlot" /> The [[United States Senate Watergate Committee|U.S. Senate investigation]] into the burglary revealed that high officials in the administration of President [[Richard Nixon]] had ordered the break-in and later tried to cover up their involvement. Additional crimes were also uncovered. The [[Watergate scandal]], named after the complex, resulted in [[Richard Nixon's resignation speech|Nixon's resignation]] on August 9, 1974.<ref name=Kilpatrick1974>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2002/06/03/AR2005033108821.html |last=Kilpatrick |first=Carroll |title=Nixon Resigns |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 9, 1974 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219083311/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2002/06/03/AR2005033108821.html |archive-date=December 19, 2016 }}</ref><ref name=WoodwardBernstein2005>{{cite book |last1=Woodward |first1=Bob |last2=Bernstein |first2=Carl |title=The Final Days |location=New York |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=2005 |isbn=0-7432-7406-7}}</ref><ref name=Genovese1999>{{cite book |last=Genovese |first=Michael |title=The Watergate Crisis |location=Santa Barbara, California |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=1999 |isbn=0-313-29878-5}}</ref><ref name="Kutler">{{cite book |last=Kutler |first=Stanley I. |title=The Wars of Watergate: The Last Crisis of Richard Nixon |edition=Reprint |location=New York |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |year=1992 |isbn=0-393-30827-8}}</ref>

The name "Watergate" and the [[suffix]] "[[List of -gate scandals and controversies|-gate]]" have since become synonymous with and applied by journalists to controversial topics and scandals in the United States and elsewhere, even extending to contexts where English is not a major language.<ref name="Trahair1994" /><ref name="SmithRichter1993" /><ref name="LullHinerman1997" /><ref name="Hamilton1992" /><ref name="Marirrodriga2008" />

The Watergate [[city block#Superblock|area]] is bounded on the north by [[Virginia Avenue]], on the east by [[New Hampshire Avenue]], on the south by F Street, and on the west by the [[Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway]] which is along the Potomac River.<ref name="Wheeler">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/counties/dc/longterm/wwlive/wtrgate.htm |last=Wheeler |first=Linda |title=Watergate: Urban Village With a View |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 25, 1995 |access-date=July 19, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019204830/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/counties/dc/longterm/wwlive/wtrgate.htm |archive-date=October 19, 2017 }}</ref> It is in the [[Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C.|Foggy Bottom]] neighborhood, next to the [[John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts|Kennedy Center]] and the embassy of [[Saudi Arabia]]. The nearest [[Washington Metro|Metro]] station, 0.4 miles (650 m) away, is [[Foggy Bottom–GWU station]].