Looks like we’ve got a replacement for the old Bao Restaurant and Lounge located at 1018 Vermont Ave, NW just off K Street. It looks like this could be a very promising lunch option for those that work nearby. I’ll be sure to revisit when they open.
In the meantime – where do you get your current kabob fix?
This pretty huge retail space is located on the south east corner of 11th and K St, NW.
The Old Post Office Pavilion located at 1100 Pennsylvania Ave, NW is one of my favorite buildings in DC. Though, I always seem to forget that it even exists until the next time I pass it on a walkabout, when I find myself marveling at it’s beauty again. (We judged it back in May ’09) So I was very excited to see some potential news from the Downtown BID:
All eyes are on the Old Post Office Pavilion (1100 Pennsylvania Avenue), the 112-year-old historic landmark that soon could see a new use in the days ahead. The General Services Administration (GSA) is seeking a private partner to restore the 400,000 square foot (SF) property and the adjacent vacant pavilion. GSA plans to issue a request for information soon. Several possible uses have been discussed over the past few years, including turning the seven-story building into a hotel. The building currently houses the National Endowment for the Arts , the National Park Service (NPS), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and several hundred office workers. In addition, there is 15,000 SF to 20,000 SF of food outlets and tourist retail. The NPS runs the observation facility that provides programming for, and access to, the bell tower, a great place to take in excellent views of Downtown Washington, DC, and the National Mall.
A more active use than an office building could help reinvigorate Pennsylvania Avenue, much as the Newseum (555 Pennsylvania Avenue), Central Michel Richard restaurant (1001 Pennsylvania Avenue) and Café du Parc (1401 Pennsylvania Avenue) have. Several members of Congress, including DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton—a longtime champion of the project’s redevelopment—are anxious to push the project forward. And with good reason: it is reported that the property loses more than $5 million annually due to underutilized space, low retail rents and high operating costs.
So what do you think would be the best use for this amazing building – a hotel? Combination hotel and restaurants? A museum? A movie theater? A Trader Joe’s? (I’m just kidding.) What do you think would be the best (combination of) use(s) for developing this amazing space?
Photo by PoPville flickr user JosephLeonardo
Back in July the whole area was fenced off and a reader wrote that:
“Rehabilitation of McPherson Square: This includes but is not limited to replacing all the sidewalks in the interior of the park, replacing concrete curbing, re-setting historic granite curbs, removing lead paint from decorative fence, re-painting decorative fence, removing one Chinese Elm tree, re-grading portions of the site, replacing the benches and trash receptacles with new, installing post and chain at all corners and along sidewalks with the greatest impacts from foot traffic, replacing the streetlight system along the interior sidewalks, replacing the sod, replacing drinking fountains with handicapped accessible models, and relocating the electric supply access from the street to the interior of the park.”
Looking good. Here it is from July:
Though now nearby Franklin Square remains far more crowded:
Ten Penh is located at 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. I can’t believe we haven’t judged them yet because I feel like they have a very good reputation. Their Web site says:
“TenPenh is the second venture for the owners of DC Coast and now Ceiba and Acadiana restaurants, as well. Located in the heart of the city at Tenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, the upscale southeast-Asian-inspired restaurant opened its doors in July 2000. A Feng Shui Master respectfully directed the owners to follow certain Asian customs and guidelines.”
You can see their menu here. Is still Ten Penh still as good as I heard it was a few years ago?
Qdoba plans on opening March 15th at 1850 M St, NW. You can see their menus here.
Who wins the Qdoba vs. Chipotle war?
I don’t think I’ve appreciated the Warner Theater before, located at 1299 Pennsylvania Ave, NW. According to their Web site:
The Warner’s special place in the history of Washington began in the 1920s when dozens of grand theaters and moviehouses lit up downtown. Built first for vaudeville and silent movies, the Theatre was opened as the Earle Theatre in 1924. It was complemented by a rooftop garden that attracted thousands of visitors per night. The basement was also famous, first as a restaurant and ballroom, and in the 1930s as the Neptune Room. The Earle featured its own precision dance troupe-much like the still-famous Rockettes-called the Roxyettes. They kept the traditions of vaudeville alive at the Earle until 1945, performing before and after feature films and with guest performers such as Red Skelton and Jerry Lewis.
The Earle switched to a movies-only policy in 1945 and in 1947, owner Harry Warner, one of the Hollywood’s Warner Brothers, visited Washington and told his tour guide Julian Brylawski (one of the original builders) that since he owned the theatre, his name should be on the marquee. Thus the Earle Theatre became the Warner Theatre.
Adapting to new entertainment trends in the 1950s, the auditorium was redesigned for Cinerama movies. The screen stayed lit into the 1960s featuring such memorable runs as Ben Hur, Dr. Zhivago, and Hello, Dolly! As with much of downtown Washington in the early 1970s, the Theatre fell into disrepair and disrepute, even functioning briefly as a pornographic movie theater. By the mid-1970s, the Theatre blossomed anew, mainly as a destination for concerts. The Rolling Stones performed a surprise small-venue show here in 1978.
In 1989 the wonderful mix of 1980s concerts in the genres of soul, jazz, punk, world music, heavy metal, and funk, as well as many touring and local plays finally took its toll on the 65-year-old building. The Theatre closed for three years to undergo extensive renovations and enhancements under the eye of real estate developer The Kaempfer Company. The “new” Warner-opened in 1992 with a gala featuring Frank Sinatra (in his final D.C. appearance) and Shirley MacLaine-became once again a destination, not only for revitalized downtown Washington, but also for national and international recording artists and the finest in theatrical, dance, and television presentations.
“Dear PoP,
Not sure how recent this is, but the BK at 16th and K is closed. One of the only downtown options for old school fast food.”
The WBJ’s Missy Frederick was first to break the news back in early Feb. that a Fuel Pizza would be replacing the Burger King at 16th and K St, NW, she writes:
“Fuel will open locations at 600 F St. NW, in a former bank building across from the Verizon Center, and at 1606 K St. NW, where a Burger King location just closed.
Fuel, which started as a way to bring New York-style pizza to Charlotte, has 11 locations there.”
Will anyone miss the BK? Anyone folks ever try the Charlotte spots before?
“Dear PoP,
So I went to dinner at FunXion (1309 F St, NW) with a friend last night. We had one of those daily deals for 20.00 worth of food and drinks. I read one of your old posts where people were pretty dissatisfied with it overall before I went and was not expecting much when I got there. However, I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised and happy with the place. Our waiter was extremely friendly and the service was excellent, the food was really reasonably priced as well as delicious and fresh tasting. I got a small Asian Chicken Salad with a Portabello Mushroom Slider and my friend got the Black Bean Salsa and the Buffalo Nachos. We both really enjoyed our own (and each other’s food) and we left feeling the perfect amount of full. People complained that the place was expensive but our total bill only came out to 19.00, which is nothing for the amount of food we got.
Also, we chatted with the waiter for awhile and he told us that they were going to have a grand reopening next month where they would have a new license that would allow them to remain open 24 hours as well as serve alcohol until 4am and food all day and all night.”
Ascot Restaurant is located at 1050 17th St NW (not far from K St.) Any fans? If so, any must order items?