Center Market, Washington, D.C.
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. 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. 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." The first Center Market opened soon after on this land by the Washington City Canal (now Constitiution 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. 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. 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, 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: 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. 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. Layout. The building had three wings connected to one another with a total of 666 stalls: These three winds 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: 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. 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. 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. 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. Location. 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: 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.