A court dismissed the suit in May 1947. Over the next decade, Hilton Hotels spent about $1 million refurbishing the guest rooms and public spaces. Hilton Hotels purchased the Statler Hotels chain in 1954, and as a result owned multiple large hotels in many major cities, as in Washington, where they now owned the Mayflower and the Statler Hotel. Soon after, the federal government filed an antitrust action against Hilton. To resolve the suit, Hilton agreed to sell a number of their hotels, including the Mayflower Hotel. Hotel Corporation of America Hilton Hotels sold the Mayflower to the Hotel Corporation of America (HCA) on April 1, 1956, for $12.8 million. HCA renovated the Mayflower's old Garden Terrace, renaming it the Rib Room. The hotel's occupancy rates were lower than average, however. In 1963, for example, the Mayflower lost $450,000. HCA privately expressed interest in selling the property. May-Wash Associates On October 28, 1965, the locally owned May-Wash Associates offered to buy the Mayflower for $14 million. May-Wash Associates consisted of William Cohen, a local real estate developer and banker who owned 50 percent of the company; Kingdon Gould Jr. and his son, Kingdon Gould III, local real estate developers who owned 35 percent; Ulysses "Blackie" Augur, a local restaurateur who owned 10 percent; and Dominic F. Antonelli, owner of a string of parking lots in the area who owned 1 percent. HCA's board of directors approved the deal on November 11, 1965. HCA continued to manage the hotel for the new owners. The Mayflower Hotel underwent a $2.5 million refurbishment of its common rooms in 1966 and 1967. The renovation got rid of the Presidential Restaurant and renamed it Le Chatelaine. HCA was renamed Sonesta Hotels in 1970. May-Wash Associates considered closing the Mayflower Hotel in 1971 after it lost $485,000 the previous year. Lead May-Wash investor William Cohen said that if Congress weakened the restrictions of the Height of Buildings Act of 1910, the company would tear down the Mayflower and erect a 20-story office and retail skyscraper with of office space and of retail space. If the Height Act remained in force, Cohen said the hotel's first two floors would be transformed into a shopping mall accommodating 40 to 50 small businesses. But the plan was abandoned later that fall when the Mayflower announced a five-year, $2.5 million renovation that would refurbish the retail stores on the Connecticut