What About That Old Post Office Pavilion?

When did it close?

It closed maybe 7 or 10 years ago – it utterly failed as a retail “mall” (although there was a bar there with mini-golf long before H St. Country Club was gleam in someone’s eye…). I believe since then GSA has tried to market the property as a destination retail or entertainment venue, but it just never got any traction.

There’s typically long lines of tourists to get into the OPOP and the food court inside, which IMHO is one of the worst in DC. Why “there’s no need for [additional shops]” escapes me.

The Washington Post, Aug 15, 2001: “Tucked away in a niche of the Federal Triangle, the dusty relic is somewhat hidden from view. But if you take the trouble to glance southward as you walk along Pennsylvania Avenue at 11th Street NW, you’ll see the sorry sight. The so-called East Atrium was a tack-on to this strategy, a separate commercial pavilion attached via a narrow bridge to the Old Post Office and its awesome atrium food court. (Now there’s a real atrium.) But the add-on didn’t work. Not many families, as it happened, chose to take their kids downtown for a game of miniature golf, one of its not-so-stellar attractions. Step 2 came with the opening of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center four years ago in the immense, irregularly shaped lot facing Pennsylvania Avenue and 13th Street NW. With its engaging array of public and private uses, this building represents a huge expansion of the Triangle’s potential.”

I came across a Senate report entitled, “TO PROVIDE A SITE FOR THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA” Apparently, the NHWM was interested in establishing its museum in the East Atrium, but negotiations with the GSA were not successful:
http://ftp.resource.org/gpo.gov/reports/108/sr204.108.txt.

The report is quite lengthy, but includes lots of interesting information about the annex, such as
“Early in 2002, NWHM initiated discussions with GSA to
explore the possibility of using the Annex for a national
women’s history museum. . . . S. 1741 would require the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) to reach an agreement with the National Women’s History Museum (NWHM) to lease space in the Pavilion Annex located next to the Old Post Office in Washington, D.C.”

Looks like congressional attempts to help the NHWM to move into the East Atrium failed. The NHWM future location may be at 12th and Independence, but they are still waiting for the Senate to approve the location: http://www.nwhm.org/contact-nwhm

The space appears to have so much potential use, it would nice to put something there with purpose rather than a souvenir store.

Two decades ago, when the Old Post Office atrium food court opened, it was THE place to go along PA Ave. There were a couple of decent restaurants, and the food court was always jammed. Then came the shops at National Place, and then, about fifteen years after the OPOP opened, Penn Quarter took off. I started working in Penn Quarter in 1984. Then, the only spots to eat were the Dutch Mill (now DC Sports Bar, on Indiana Ave.), Antonios (now the site of Woolly Mammoth) and DC Space (now Starbucks at 7th and E). I never imagined then that I or anyone would live in the neighborhood. Things have really changed and the OPOP outlived its market life.

The Observation Deck in the bell tower still gives one of the best panoramas in the city. It’s run by the park service:

http://www.nps.gov/opot/planyourvisit/hours.htm

The rest of the area is just sad. I remember that in the mid-eighties that theer were a number of shops and eateries.

Sigh

How about turning into a luxury hotel with some great restaurants? The Union Station Hotel in Nashville looks very similar to the Old Post Office building:

http://www.unionstationhotelnashville.com/index.html

There is a desert place in the food court that has great cheescake. Since I discovered that I have to stay away to avoid cheesecake over dose