Center Market, Washington, D.C.

{{Infobox retail market

| retail_market_name = Center Market

| image = Grand Central Palace - Central Market.jpg

| image_width = 250px

| caption = Center Market in the 1920s

| location = Washington, D.C.

| coordinates = {{coord|38|53|34|N|77|01|23|W|display=inline,title}}

| address = Constitution Avenue between 7th Street and 9th Street, NW

| opening_date = 1872

| closing_date = 1931

| developer =

| manager = Washington Market Company

| owner =

| architect = Adolph Cluss

| environment_type =

| goods_sold =

| normal_market_days =

| number_of_tenants =

| floor_area =

| parking =

| website =

| belowstyle =

| footnotes =

}}

File:Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC, 1929.jpg (bottom), the National Museum of Natural History in white and the Center Market (right) in 1929, prior to its demolition]]

File:Photograph of the Back of Center Market along B Street Northwest, 04-02-1914 (14383739654).jpg

Center Market was a market hall in Washington, D.C. designed by architect Adolph Cluss which operated in Washington, DC from 1872 to 1931. The building was demolished in 1931 to be replaced by the National Archives Building. A market called Center Market had been in operation on the same block of land since 1802.Records, Volumes 1-2 - Mayor Brent by J.D. Morgan - Columbia Historical Society (Washington, D.C.) - 1897 - page 245 In 1931, the name of Center Market was transferred over to the Northern Liberty Market located a few blocks north.

History

=Early history=

In 1797, President George Washington designated two acres in Washington City to be used as a public marketplace.{{Cite web|url=https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2015/07/08/new-web-exhibit-on-center-market/|title = New Web Exhibit on Center Market|date = 8 July 2015}} On October 6, 1802, a City Council Ordinance is approved by Mayor Robert Brent to establish Center Market south of Pennsylvania Avenue NW, between 7th and 9th Streets NW. Section 5 of the Ordinance states "That no person shall sell or expose for sale in said market any unsound, blown, or unwholesome meat or articles of provision, under the penalty of five dollars for every offence."

File:Partial cadastral map of the district around the Center Market, N.W. Washington D.C.. LOC 88694081.jpg

File:Center Market LCCN2016821511.jpg

File:Center market LCCN2016821797.jpg

The first Center Market opened soon after on this land by the Washington City Canal (now Constitution Avenue). It was a hub of commercial activity for the city and it is said that President Thomas Jefferson visited the market. Until the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia in 1862, slaves were sold at the market. It then became a place of business for African Americans who owned some of the stalls and sold goods.{{cite web|url=http://mallhistory.org/explorations/show/center-market|title=What happened to George Washington's plan for a market near the Mall?|work=Histories of the National Mall|publisher=Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University|accessdate=2018-06-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621231002/http://mallhistory.org/explorations/show/center-market|archive-date=2018-06-21|url-status=dead}}

By 1850, the market was a mixture of frame buildings with no coherence though located in such a prestigious location between the White House and the Capitol.Adolf-Cluss.de, Center Market (1864) - http://www.adolf-cluss.de/index.php?sub=3.5.109&lang=en&content=h&topSub=washington

Despite its popularity and major importance in the local economy, Congress and the public considered the market a health and safety hazard with its 700 vendors in 1870. A new building was needed with better ventilation and drainage.

In 1863, Mayor Richard Wallach had Adolf Cluss and Joseph Wildrich von Kammerhueber design a brick structure on B Street NW (Constitution Avenue). A two-story building was designed and construction started. By June 1864, a unanimous vote from both the members of the House of Representatives District Committee and then the entire House of Representatives stopped the project as Congress had not authorized the building. It was torn down but the walls were already up and showed what a modern market could look like.

= A new building =

A new Center Market building was chartered and the company incorporated by an Act of Congress on May 20, 187041st Congress - Session I - Chapter 108 - May 20, 1870 and opened for business on July 1, 1872. It was designed by the same architect (Adolph Cluss) as the demolished building of 1864.

It was operated by the Washington Market Company with as first principal Officers:

First President: Former 1st Governor of the District of Columbia Henry D. Cooke
Second President: Former Mayor of Washington, DC Matthew G. Emery
Third President: Nehemiah G. OrdwayCenter Market Ad - The Morning Times, November 3, 1895

At the time of its construction, 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.adolf-cluss.org/index.php?sub=3.5.20|title=Center Market (1871-78)|publisher=Adolf-Cluss.org|via=Stimme.net|accessdate=2018-06-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621233335/http://www.adolf-cluss.org/index.php?sub=3.5.20|archive-date=2018-06-21|url-status=dead}}

The 9th Street Wing and Arcade were added in 1888 nearly doubling the capacity of the structure. In the process, it also added mechanical refrigeration with 400,000 cubic feet of cold storage rooms for meats using 10 miles of heavy two-inch brine pipes and electric lighting machinery. A very tall chimney stood above the boiler room.

The architect 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.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}}.{{cite web|title=A Streetcar City|url=http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/exhibition/exhibition_4_2.html|website=America on the Move|accessdate=29 January 2016}}{{cite web|title=Center Market's Chaotic Exuberance|url=http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2010/05/center-markets-chaotic-exuberance.html|website=Streets of Washington|date=24 May 2010 |accessdate=29 January 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Boese|first1=Kent|title=Lost Washington: Center Market|url=http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/3131/lost-washington-center-market/|website=Greater Greater Washington|accessdate=29 January 2016}}

==Layout==

File:Center Market, Washington, D.C. 1924.jpg

File:Photograph of Center Market taken from the Corner of C and 9th Streets Northwest, 04-02-1914 (14198281677).jpg

File:Panoramic view of Washington, D.C.6a36333v.jpg

The building had three wings connected to one another with a total of 666 stalls:

the 7th Street Wing which ran parallel to 7th Street NW (stalls 1 to 155)
the B Street Wing which ran parallel to B Street NW connecting the 7th Street Wing to the 9th Street Wing (stalls 156 to 511)
the 9th Street Wing which ran parallel to 9th Street NW (stalls 512 to 666)

These three wings formed a U. An additional structure stood separate with 12 wholesale stores and a bank in the area left vacant on the lot.

A Plaque posted in front of the building provided extensive details on the building:

7th St. Wing: 200 ft x 78 ft
9th St. Wing: 200 ft x 78 ft
B St. Wing: 344 ft x 84 ft
Arcade building (12 wholesale stores): 274 ft x 40 ft
North Center Wing: 32 ft x 42 ft
Boiler and Pump House connections: 24 ft x 34 ft
Iron buildings for brine tanks: 32 ft x 41 ft and electric light machinery 29 ft x 41 ft
Eight hydraulic elevators for conveying products to and from Cold Storage rooms
Six artesian wells yielding pure cold water
Total number of stalls inside Main Market: 666
Iron booths under awnings: 34
Spaces for farmer's tables on side walls: 100
Wagon spaces for actual producers in interior of Market grounds or on curbs: 200
Total number of spaces when fully occupied by retail dealers: 1000
Area used for market purposes, exclusive of courts and drives: 2 1/4 acres

All the buildings were two stories high and the 7th Street Wing and the 9th Street Wing were both flanked with two towers and a metal awning over the main entrances. Another metal awning ran the entire length of B Street NW and 9th Street NW. These protected shoppers visiting the outdoors stalls. For a small fee, street dealers could place their stands outside, under the market canopy.

A small park with trees stood between the buildings and Pennsylvania and Louisiana Avenue. From 1880 to 1931, the Rawlins Statue stood in the triangular lot where the two avenues intersect.

File:Photograph of National Archives Building Site, Center Market at 7th Street and Pennsylvania, 1928 (3873929921).jpg|The 7th Street Wing - 1928

File:Photograph of the Center Market Tower on 7th Street Northwest.jpg|the Center Market Tower on 7th Street Northwest

File:7th Street Entrance to Center Market 1922.jpg|7th Street Entrance - 1922

File:Front of Center Market 1914.jpg|7th Street entrance and the wholesales stores in 1914

File:Photograph of the Farmers Line Outside of Center Market.jpg|Vendors along the B Street Wing (Constitution Avenue)

File:Center Market, Washington, D.C. 29227v.jpg|The 9th Street entrance

File:Center Market, Ninth Street, Looking to the Southeast, ca. 1928 (13589494824).jpg|the 9th Street Wing around 1928

File:Photograph of the Farmers Line Outside of Center Market - 14361634436.jpg|Photograph of the Farmers Line Outside of Center Market

File:From Brady's Studio, PA. Ave. & 7th St. looking toward Center Market, Wash., D.C.jpg|From Brady's Studio, on Pennsylvania Avenue & 7th Street NW looking toward Center Market in 1880

File:Photograph of the Farmers Line Outside of Center Market - 14384714055.jpg|Photograph of the Farmers Line Outside of Center Market

File:Market scene, Washington, D.C., snow view LCCN90712666.jpg|Photo shows the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue with Center Market forming the backdrop for this snowy shopping scene

File:Photograph of a Ladies' Rest Room in Center Market, 1917.jpg|Photograph of a Ladies' Rest Room in Center Market, 1917

File:Center Market, Wash., D.C. 28017v.jpg|Exterior part of the Market

==Services==

Inside the building, customers could buy all their groceries in Center Market. Stalls of meats, fish, vegetables, condiments as well as flowers were available to serve them. Cold rooms provided storage of meats and other perishables and all dealers had storage on site for their produces. Good for sale were put on display on stands tiled with white subway tiles for cleanliness.

Customers could also use the Cold Storage Department to use the fur room where items such as dressed furs, carpets, rugs and other garments could be stored in order to protect them from moths and other insects that could destroy them.

Artesian wells provided fresh pure water for refrigerating purposes as well as the manufacturing of ice. This was extremely important considering houses did not have refrigerators at the time and used ice to preserve food.

Outside the building, other vendors sold similar produces but did not have access to the same storage facilities as inside.

File:Center Market, interior - Washington, D.C..jpg|Produce section at the Center Market in Washington, D.C. On the left is Louis P. Gatti's fruit and vegetable stand.

File:Center Market 1922.jpg|A fruit and vegetable stand in Center Market in 1922

File:A part of the fruit and vegetable section of Center Market 1915.jpg|A part of the fruit and vegetable section in the B Street Wing in 1915

File:Interior of Center Market 1923.jpg|Interior of Center Market in 1923

File:Young boy tending freshly stocked fruit and vegetable stand at Center Market, 02-18-1915 - NARA - 521049.jpg|Stand 253 (B Street Wing) - Young boy tending freshly stocked fruit and vegetable stand at Center Market on February 18, 1915

File:Combined wholesale and retail stand in Center Market 1915.jpg|A combined wholesale and retail stand in Center Market. Note the great variety and attractiveness of the products. See iced refrigerator box of Florida strawberries in foreground, also Florida celery and tomatoes, and California cauliflower and artichoke

File:Birds-eye view of a part of the fruit and vegetable section of Center Market 1915.jpg|A stand in 1915

File:Dried-Fruit and Condiment Stand in Center Market 1915.jpg|Dried-Fruit and Condiment Stand in Center Market in 1915

File:Center market LCCN2016846209.jpg|Center market stand in 1922

File:Attractive Display of Cured Meats in Center Market 1922.jpg|Attractive Display of Cured Meats in Center Market - 1922

File:Condiment Stand in Center Market (13763631823).jpg|Stand 226 (B Street Wing) - Condiment Stand

File:Attractive Flower Stand in Center Market 1915.jpg|Stand 196 (B Street Wing) - Flower Stand - 1915

File:Center Market, shoppers - Washington, D.C..jpg|Shoppers on B Street NW (Constitution Avenue) with the Capitol Building in the background

File:Fruits of the sunny south and their buyers, in famous old Centre Market 1s02939v.jpg|Outside vendors in front of the Center Market

File:Horse-drawn wagons in front of the Center Market, 09959v.jpg|Horse-drawn wagons at the corner of B Street NW and 7th Street NW

File:Center Market, Wash. D.C. LCCN2016820371.jpg|Shopper in the exterior part of Center Market

File:10-30 P.M. At Center Market 03776v.jpg|10:30 P.M. At Center Market. 11 yr. old Celery Vendor Gus Strateges, 212 Jackson Hall Alley. He sold until 11 P.M. and was out again Sunday morning selling papers ana gum. Has been in this country only a year and a half. Location: [Washington (D.C.), District of Columbia

=Demolition=

The Market was sitting on prime land along what was to become Constitution Avenue. It was incompatible with the McMillan Plan, a comprehensive planning document to redevelop the National Mall by removing the Victorian landscaping and building low Neoclassical museums and taller Federal buildings on the sides.

Center Market closed on January 1, 1931 after over 130 years of activity at the site.Center Market Passes Into History - January 4, 1931 - The Washington Post - pg. MF5 Many of the vendors moved to the new Center Market on 5th Street NW and K Street NW. That market was originally known as the Northern Liberty Market and later as Convention Hall Market.Merchants Plan To Open After $800,000 Fire - March 2, 1946 - The Washington Post - page 1

Location

File:1909 map of Downtown Washington, D.C..jpg

The Center Market occupied an entire block with Pennsylvania Avenue NW on the northern side and Louisiana Ave NW, 7th Street NW on the east, Constitution Avenue on the south and 9th Street NW on the west.

The Center Market was a hub for public transportation, since several of D.C.'s trolley lines converged there:1888 Washington DC Streetcar Map - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streetcars_in_Washington,_D.C.#/media/File:1888_WDC_Streetcar_Map.JPG

The Washington & Georgetown line
The Metropolitan line
The Anacostia & Potomac River line

In addition, street parking was available for the few cars of the time.

Today, the National Archives Building stands in its place. Louisiana Ave NW has been renamed Indiana Ave NW east of 7th Street NE and no longer exists on the west. The US Department of Justice Building stands where the avenue used to be.