The Life and Death of Center Market

Located near the United States Capitol, Center Market occupied valuable and symbolic space in the heart of Washington D.C.

From the beginning, this public space in the stately capital city was controversial. Pierre Charles L’Enfant reserved space for a central market in his original plan for the city, but he claimed that noise and disorder of a market was an objectionable necessity.

For the next 130 years, city leaders, planners, and developers would spar over the proper use of the land. The plans for the space shaped the changing values and priorities of the American city.