A New Haven for Traveling Hipsters

The help-wanted ad for the new Donovan House hotel on 14th Street NW was eye-catching -- "good looking revolutionaries wanted" -- and the Craigslist post last month instructed readers to go to the Thompson Hotels Web site and click on the company's "manifesto":

"Who are our guests? Bohemian chic meets art house wise meets quiet yet radical elegance." Cooler-than-thou people cited: Steve McQueen, Jean-Luc Godard, Edie Sedgwick and the fictional Royal Tenenbaums, from the 2001 movie of the same name. "We collect Hiroshi Sugimoto photographs, vintage zippo lighters, matchbooks from cafes, quotes, and one day, Basquiat."

The Web site goes on to explain that the boutique chain -- with hotels in New York, Beverly Hills, Sonoma and Toronto -- wants "professionals who can quickly apprehend and perpetuate that culture . . . that's the kind of nomad we're looking to join our tribe." Get it? Then applicants could send their résumés for lobby and reception positions.

Too edgy for Washington? Nah, general manager Brett Blass told us yesterday: D.C. is chock-full of arty, well-educated hipsters, and the response to the ad was enthusiastic: "We actually had people tell us stories why they think they are revolutionaries," he said. "It hit a chord."

Alrighty, then. All the positions, by the way, are filled.

HEY, ISN'T THAT . . . ?

· James Gandolfini sipping drinks at the Hay-Adams Wednesday night. A couple of hours later, a fan missed her bus after she saw the "Sopranos" star (in town researching a role) on 16th Street and struck up a chat; Gandolfini (who had changed to jeans and white linen shirt) hailed her a cab, gave the driver some cash and told him to "take mama wherever she wants to go."

· Olivia Newton-John showing off a gold-and-green frog ring while taking in "Frogs! A Chorus of Colors" at the National Geographic Museum before her environment-themed concert Wednesday night. Apparently, she really loves frogs.

LOVE, ETC.

· Adopting: Laura Ingraham announced yesterday that she has brought home Maria Caroline from Guatemala. After trying to adopt for two years, the conservative pundit picked up her 3-year-old daughter Sunday from an orphanage. "That door opened and my life changed," she told her radio audience. Ingraham said she's "already one of those irritating mothers" who brag about how smart and beautiful their kids are -- and yes, the single mom is accepting child-rearing tips.

The Mall, in Need of Some Seed Money

It was rainy and muddy at yesterday's inaugural Trust for the National Mall fundraiser, which -- despite the soaring tent on the grass, the flowers and the Derby-worthy hats -- kind of proved the point. "America's front yard," the Mall itself, has fallen into disrepair and needs a $500 million facelift. "It is shameful," trust Chairman Chip Akridge told the crowd. "It should be the best and it is not."

The real-estate magnate launched the restoration effort -- modeled after Central Park's revival -- after taking a hard look at the Mall's trampled lawns, sinking Tidal Basin wall and lack of tourist facilities (restrooms, anyone?). Yesterday's "carbon neutral" lunch for 500 raised $600,000; everyone went home with flower seeds and umbrellas.

The Source Quote

"Sometimes I'll call hotels in Texas and talk to the people at the front desk just to listen to their accents. And I've been watching a lot of video of Bush walking. It changes over the years, how he walks in his 30s, how he walks in foreign lands, before 9/11 and afterwards. People hold their emotions in their bodies. They can't fake it. Especially him.''

-- Josh Brolin in the new Entertainment Weekly, explaining why he's driving real-life wife Diane Lane crazy while portraying George W. Bush (alongside Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush) in Oliver Stone's presidential biopic, "W."