Center Market, Washington, D.C.

A young boy tending freshly stocked fruit and vegetable stand at Center Market, 18 February 1915

Center Market was a market hall in Washington D.C. designed by the architect Adolph Cluss. At the time of its construction in 1872, it was the largest market hall in the country (57,500 square feet)—large enough to supply the rapidly growing urban population of D.C. with fresh groceries.[1] However, by 1931, when it was demolished to make room for the new National Archives Building, Center Market was regarded as superfluous following the rise of supermarkets.

The privately owned market building housed hundreds of permanent stalls. (For a small fee, street dealers could place their stands outside, under the market canopy.) Cluss unconventionally designed the market building without alleys or driveways for traffic; by doing so, he hoped to encourage customers to stroll leisurely around the market. The Center Market was nevertheless a hub for public transportation, since the D.C.’s trolley lines converged there.[2][3][4][5]

References

  1. ↑ "Center Market (1871-78)," adolph-cluss.org, retrieved 29 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Goode, James W. Capital Losses: A Cultural History of Washington's Destroyed Buildings. 2d ed. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 2003. ISBN 1-58834-105-4.
  3. ↑ "A Streetcar City". America on the Move. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Center Market's Chaotic Exuberance". Streets of Washington. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Boese, Kent. "Lost Washington: Center Market". Greater Greater Washington. Retrieved 29 January 2016.

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