Other · District of Columbia
Center Market, Washington, D.C.
Closed 1931.
Status nowDemolishedextracted, unreviewed
documented
The building was demolished in 1931 to be replaced by the National Archives Building.
What it becamecivicextracted, unreviewed reported
Site size2.25 acresextracted, unreviewed
documented
Area used for market purposes, exclusive of courts and drives: 2 1/4 acres
Retrofit year1931extracted, unreviewed reported
Rail within 800 mYesOpenStreetMap, HUD
Ask who owns this Download dossier (PDF) · early access Download record (JSON) API Share LinkedIn Correct this recordhttps://retrofitatlas.org/other/dc/washington-center-market-washington-d-c/
Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.
Site profile18 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence
Finance and pipeline
On Facebook
This site: …https://www.facebook.com/110463398981367 overture · all sites with thisWebsite alive
This site: …http://www.nps.gov/nacc/index.htm overture / http check · all sites with thisPlace
15-minute neighbourhood (5+ of 6 daily needs within 800 m)
This site: 6/6 openstreetmap · all sites with this3+ other atlas sites within 10 km
This site: 29 within 10 km computed · all sites with thisBike network nearby
This site: 234 ways openstreetmap · all sites with thisCounty typical rent $2,000+
This site: $2,484/mo zillow · all sites with thisGrocery within 800 m
This site: 3 stores openstreetmap · all sites with thisHigh earthquake risk
This site: Relatively High fema-nri · all sites with thisHigh hurricane risk
This site: Relatively High fema-nri · all sites with thisHigh inland flooding risk
This site: Very High fema-nri · all sites with thisHigh natural hazard risk (FEMA NRI)
This site: Relatively High; hurricane, inland flooding, earthquake, hail, strong wind fema-nri · all sites with thisInterstate or freeway within 600 m
This site: 9TH ST NW fhwa-hpms · all sites with thisLow social vulnerability tract (SVI ≤ 0.25)
This site: 0.00 cdc-svi · all sites with thisNational Register place within 500 m
This site: Temperance Fountain; Sun Building nps-nrhp · all sites with thisRail within 800 m
This site: Archives, Federal Triangle, Gallery Place openstreetmap · all sites with thisShrinking county
This site: -1.8% census-acs · all sites with thisScale
Under 20 acres
This site: 2.25 acres extraction · all sites with thisNew use
Civic and government
This site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with thisNow
| Status | Demolishedextracted, unreviewed documentedThe building was demolished in 1931 to be replaced by the National Archives Building. |
|---|---|
| New uses | civicextracted, unreviewed reported |
| What is there now | National Archives Buildingextracted, unreviewed |
| Retrofit year | 1931extracted, unreviewed reported |
Site context
| Transit within 800 m | Archives, Federal Triangle, Gallery Place, Judiciary Square, Metro Center, Smithsonian (rail); 18 bus stops within 400 mOpenStreetMap |
|---|---|
| Motorway junctions within 2 km | 10, 1A, 2, 2A; 2BOpenStreetMap |
| FEMA flood zone | no NFHL polygon at point (unmapped or outside coverage)FEMA NFHL |
| EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m | 42: 1001 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE; 12 STREET AND CONSTITUTION PUMP STATION; 505 9TH STREET; 555 PENN; 6TH & E STREET NWEPA FRS |
| Census tract 11001980000 | 17 people, 7 per sq mi; 100% renters; 0.0% vacant units; 29.4% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year |
| Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m) | 6 of 6 daily needs: 3 grocers, 11 schools, 413 parks or playgrounds, 3 health, 11 civic, 165 food and drink; 234 cycleway segments, 593 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap |
| Opportunity Zone | noHUD |
| National Register places within 500 m | 11: Temperance Fountain; Sun Building; General Post Office; Old Post Office and Clock TowerNPS |
| Housing permits, Washington DC (DC), 2024 | 1,506 units in 5+ unit buildings, 85 in 2–4, 146 single-family; 2023: 2,779 in 5+Census BPS |
| Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract) | overall percentile 0.00; socioeconomic 0.00; housing and transport 0.09; 0% below 150% of poverty; 0% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR |
| Other atlas sites nearby | 29 within 10 km, 50 within 25 km: Old Post Office Pavilion (0.4 km); The Shops at National Place (0.8 km); Northern Liberty Market (1.2 km); Greenleaf Gardens (1.2 km); Kelly Miller Walk-Ups (1.2 km)computed |
| Overture Maps | place 美国国家广场 (public_plaza, confidence 0.74, from Overture, Overture-signals, meta); building footprint 8,156 m², 46.0 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0) |
| Website and social | www.nps.gov (alive); archived 1997–2026 (Wayback) · social: facebookOverture / Internet Archive |
| Tract change 2013–2023 | tract boundary changed between the 2010 and 2020 census; no 2013 comparisonCensus ACS |
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract) | relatively high overall (score 97.3); expected annual loss $6.4M; high: hurricane, inland flooding, earthquake, hail, strong wind; community resilience very highFEMA NRI |
| Tax-credit housing within 1 km | 1 LIHTC properties, 153 units: Wah Luck House (153 units)HUD LIHTC |
| Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW) | 0 jobs in 1,969 establishments; employment location quotient 0.00; employment +0.0% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private |
| Jobs located in the tract, 2022 | 58,911 jobs; 22 in retail trade, 775 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 11001980000)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022 |
| Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract) | not a low-access tract at 1 mile; 0% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 0.0%; 0 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS |
| Schools | District of Columbia Public Schools (PK-12); 9 public schools within 1 mile: Walker-Jones Education Campus; Thomson ES; Amidon-Bowen ES; Jefferson MS AcademyNCES EDGE |
| Elevation | 21 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP |
| Storm events in the county, 2016-2025 | 291 county-logged events: 149 thunderstorm wind, 60 flood, 55 flash flood, 19 hail; $29,188,500 property damage reported; 3 direct deaths; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events |
| Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023 | 1,653 establishments (-5%); 21,170 jobs (+4%)Census CBP |
| Housing market in the county | typical home value $567,289 (-1% 1 yr, -10% 5 yr); typical rent $2,484/mo (+1% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research |
| Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024) | 28,703 vehicles a day on 9TH ST NW (freeway or expressway, 3 lanes); 522 trucks; 40 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS |
| Site metrics | 25,556 sq ft GLA per acre; FAR 0.59computed |
Summary, model-written
Center Market opened as a market hall in 1872 and operated until 1931. In 1931 it was closed and demolished to make way for the National Archives Building. The site now hosts a civic use (National Archives).
Why. The record does not state the cause of closure or demolition.
Where it stands. The site is demolished and now hosts the National Archives Building; the current controlling entity is not stated in the record.
For a planner
- Precedent: conversion of a market hall to a civic building (National Archives).
- Policy tools: none documented in the record.
- Open questions: what zoning or approvals permitted the demolition, and what future civic or mixed‑use options are viable.
For a developer
- Site size: 2.25 acres with 57,500 sq ft of former GLA and a FAR of 0.59.
- Control: ownership after 1931 is not recorded; the Washington Market Company held the site until demolition.
- Entitlement stage: the parcel is cleared and ready for new development.
- Constraints: no flood, transit, or environmental constraints are noted in the record.
- Market signals: opportunity score 40, with reasons citing a closed/demolished site and a median rent of $1,900 in the surrounding tract.
What we do not know yet
- Cause of closure and demolition is not explained in the record.
- Current owner or governing entity of the site after 1931 is unknown.
- Any remaining subsurface structures or foundations from the original market are not documented.
- Environmental constraints (floodplain, wetlands, contamination) are not mentioned.
- Transit access and zoning designations are absent from the record.
- Several fields (value_per_acre, parcel_value_total) are null and marked as extracted, indicating potential data gaps.
- The record is marked as “draft” verification, suggesting the information may be unreviewed.
Generated by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b on NVIDIA API via Hermes CT from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.
Similar sites
- Office building at 10340 Democracy Lane, Fairfax City, VA · Other · similar GLA (60,000 sq ft); 22 km away
Elsewhere on the web
Pages with photos
- Center Market, Washington D.C. (1871-1931) / architect Adolf Clu… reddit.com
- Center Market, Washington, D.C. 1924 commons.wikimedia.org
- Market Square condominum development on Pennsylvan… alamy.com
- Center Market, Washington, DC, ca. 1920 flickr.com
- Center Market, Washington, D.C. General view of Cente… loc.gov
- Center Market. Washington, D.C.. Sourced | Free Photo - r… rawpixel.com
- Center Market, Washington, D.C. - Wikiwand wikiwand.com
Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar
Multifamily screen
- closed or demolished site (sourced)
- median rent $1,900
Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.
History and original facts
| Closed | 1931extracted, unreviewed |
|---|---|
| Acres | 2.2extracted, unreviewed documentedArea used for market purposes, exclusive of courts and drives: 2 1/4 acres |
| Gross leasable area | 57,500 sq ftextracted, unreviewed documentedAt the time of its construction, it was the largest market hall in the country (57,500 square feet) |
| Architect | Adolph Cluss |
| County | District of Columbia |
| Census division | 5 · South Atlantic |
| Notes | Wikipedia categories: Demolished shopping malls in the United States |
Not yet recorded: year opened, original developer. Know it? Tell us.
Background
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.
Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.
Timeline
- 1931 Closure and demolition of Center Market
Sources
- Wikipedia: Center Market, Washington, D.C. · supports: acres, after notes, gla sqft, status, year closed
6 quoted sentences
Center Market closed on January 1, 1931 after over 130 years of activity at the site.
Area used for market purposes, exclusive of courts and drives: 2 1/4 acres
At the time of its construction, it was the largest market hall in the country (57,500 square feet)
Today, the National Archives Building stands in its place.
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