RSS FeedWaPo: 9:30 Club Retrospective (A Penn Quarter Graduate?)
You might call the 9:30 Club, which moved to the old WUST Radio Music Hall at 8th and in the 800 block of V Street (corner of 9th and V St) NW in 1996, a graduate of the Penn Quarter and downtown DC. It first opened in the Atlantic Building at 930 F Street at 9:30 pm thirty years ago and we remember the days that you could come downtown, find easy parking and catch a show that you would not be able to see anywhere else in DC. Sunny’s Surplus (an army surplus store where the Ventana Condo stands), the Fifth Column dance club (now the shut down Platinum nightclub) and the only downtown Wendy’s east of 16th Street (now gone but formerly next to the McDonalds in the 900 block of E Street) were all draws for us as teenagers. But none could match the allure of alt-music at the 9:30 Club and today the Washington Post celebrates the venue with a fantastic retrospective both online and in print. Check it out to glimpse a window into a slice of the Penn Quarter’s past.
Food “Revolution” Coming to 7th Street (413 7th St NW)
Window signs announcing a food revolution went up into the two bays to the left of Pitango Gelato’s forthcoming Penn Quarter location at 413 7th Street NW. Formerly a single space housing the Zenith Gallery, a demising wall now separates Pitango from the newly announced joint. The due date indicated on the signs? Simply the summer…7th Street NW as restaurant row marches onward. More photo evidence follows…
Chinatown Featured On HGTV Tonight
We learned that tonight’s episode of My First Place on HGTV will feature Chris Chan looking for a condo in Chinatown. The show airs tonight at 8 pm Eastern time and here’s the blurb from the HGTV website:
For Chris Chan, buying a home in Chinatown would allow him to stay close to work in Washington D.C. and also stay connected to his heritage in a neighborhood he grew to love as a renter. After a long search in this expensive city and some tough negotiating, he finally gets a good deal on his dream condo. But surprise lending restrictions on new construction bring everything to a halt. For months, the only thing Chris can do is wait and wonder whether he’ll ever get to close on his first place.
Call Of The Mild
As the barker calls the crowds begin to gather. All eyes look up towards the man on the pole, excited & expectant. “HAMBURGER!,” yells the barker. Only a few repeat, under their voice, looking nervously at their peers. “Come on, I need to hear all of you; let’s try again. HAMBURGER!” cries the barker once more. “HAMBURGER!” chants the crowd. “CHEESEBURGER!” the barker lets loose. “CHEESEBURGER!!!!” the crowd now cheers enthusiastically. The barker will move on to chicken, salads, and more. All of the offerings that Hard Rock will make available to the tour group for their meal.
While most of our readers probably don’t dine at Hard Rock, it is arguably the most popular attraction on any school trip to DC. We imagine the students pouring over the itinerary: National Mall: Boring, Library of Congress: Boring, Ford’s Theatre: Boring, Lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe: Hell Yes.
Maybe we’re being unfair, but that’s the way we’d have reacted when in high school. So while we may never dine at the Hard Rock Cafe, we certainly like to see so many excited faces chanting away their options for dinner that night.