A Few Hours ... Walking 6 Miles in 3 Quadrants

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Photo of the Florida Avenue Market area by Melina Mara/The Washington Post

NOW THAT IT'S MAY, the risk of any random springtime snow (like last month's freak wintry mix) is essentially nil and the entrenched seasonal temperatures makes now a great time to explore the city — before it gets hot, humid and miserable. So taking a six-mile trek through three of the District's four quadrants — which is what this writer did on a recent Saturday — might be better done now versus, say, mid-August.

During the walk, which snaked between the New York Avenue-Florida Avenue-Gallaudet University station in Northeast and the Navy Yard station in Southeast, we stopped by places as varied as the Joshua Bell experiment site, the Bartholdi Fountain and the Union Station food court.

And more importantly, we explored a place we've written about many times before this: D.C.'s "other" market, which might be the next best place to get that Eastern Market-in-exile feeling.

So follow along as Free Ride takes you on a tour of what's happening where ...

For the full tour, read onward. To explore the route, click on the Wayfaring map below.

» STARTING AT THE SCARLET OAK: If you decide to follow along at home and you're kicking off your trip as we did, at the New York Avenue-Florida Avenue-Gallaudet University Metrorail station, be sure to take look at the scarlet oak leaf sculpture by artist Barbara Grygutis. The artwork, honoring the city's official tree, has accompanying poetry by D.C. poet laureate Dolores Kendrick. Across the way, a hulking symbol of the domestic front of the War on Terror, the fortress-like Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (which will be devoid of flat-screen televisions) is still under construction. Some day ...

» "ATF Director Is Linked to Cost Overruns for New Building" [WaPo]
» "D.C. Office of the Poet Laureate" [DC.gov]

» FLORIDA AVENUE MARKET: Now that Eastern Market will be closed for the next 18-24 months because of Monday's disastrous fire, the Florida Avenue Market might be the next best thing. This writer has always thought of the city's wholesalers market district as Eastern Market on steroids, but without the charm. Saturday is the worst and best day to go to the market, also referred to the Capital City Market, which is home to the old Union Market, the D.C. Farmers Market and a flea market. (It's just like, it's just like a mini mall. Okay, not really.)

From the Red Line, the nearest entrance to the market is at Florida Avenue and 4th Street NE. Greeting you when you arrive: A sign for Korean market man Sang Cho Oh's Gateway Market and Residences, which says, "Pretty soon you won't recognize the place. Promise." The city recently held public meetings on how the market is going to be redeveloped. In the meantime, it'll be the same old shabby, smelly market, complete with vendors selling diabetic socks and turkey necks.

But there's more to the market than that. It could take an entire day to explore the place. This map from washingtonpost.com is slightly outdated, but a good guide to the market. Check out one of the Korean cafeterias, and if you're in the mood for D.C.'s best sub, pop into A. Litteri, an Italian market. Pedestrians beware: Cars, forklifts and a lack of sidewalks can make parts of the market slightly dangerous if you aren't paying attention.

» "Fenty Sees a Rebuilt Market Within 2 Years" [Free Ride/Express]
» "Across D.C., Mourning One Terrible Monday" [Free Ride/Express]
» "Take That, Eastern Motors" [Free Ride/Express]
» "The Gateway to the Next Great Place" [Gateway Market Center, Inc.]
» "Where to Shop - Capital City Market" [WaPo]

» ULINE ARENA: Walking west on M Street NE, you'll come across the old Uline Arena, which you see every time you're heading in or out of Union Station on Amtrak or MARC.
The historic landmark, owned by maverick developer Douglas Jemal (who recently escaped a jail sentence, thanks to good behavior), was the scene of the Beatles' first U.S. concert and "the site of Joe Louis’ first, and possibly only, bout as a professional wrestler," when it was the Washington Coliseum. Its roof was built with a now-rare thin-concrete construction method.

» "D.C. Jury Acquits Jemal of Bribery" [WaPo]
» "Uline Arena Landmarked" [Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space]
» "Arena Football" [City Desk/City Paper]
» "A Rare Concrete Roof" [Free Ride/Express]

» H AND 4TH STREETS NE: Down a few blocks and around the corner, is Jim Abdo's Senate Square condo complex, which is nearing completion. The site was once the home of the Washington Children's Museum. Abdo more or less has built around the historic structure, which has been turned into Landmark Lofts. If you're driving to some of H Street NE's bars and clubs, you'll notice the place as you're crossing the Union Station rail yard viaduct. This isn't your normal P.N. Hoffman cookie-cutter project; the development is quite sensitive to the site and from the sidewalk, at least, appears to provide a decent balance of old and new.

» "Senate Square" [Abdo]

» UNION STATION: In the coming years, Union Station's rail yards will look a lot different. Developer Akridge has secured the air rights and has an initial green light to eventually build on top of the rail yards, giving D.C.'s main rail terminal a decidedly subterranean New York Penn Station-like feel. The 3-million square-foot project, called Burnham Place, would tie into Union Station itself from H Street NE. It's a huge project and will take years to make happen.

In the meantime, Union Station is the same old place, one of the city's Beaux Arts treasures. One of the District's most amazing interior spaces can be enjoyed by simply taking the escalator up from the basement food court into the shopping/ticketing concourse.

It's not just people who have taken the trip between the station's floors, though. Just before President Dwight Eisenhower's 1953 inauguration, Train 173, the Federal Express, went out of control, crashed into the station and fell down into the baggage room, which was located where the food court stands today.

» "Burnham Place and Union Station" [Akridge]
» "The Crash of Runaway Train #173" [Steam Locomotives]

» CAPITOL HILL: Walking from Union Station to the Capitol campus, we almost stepped foot into Northwest D.C., but our path through Upper Senate Park — one of the most attractive parks in the city — allowed us to avoid a four-quadrant trip.

Heading back further into Northeast, check out the Hart Senate Office Building, an edifice that most people tend to love to hate. When it was built in the late 1970s and early '80s, the expensive, technically advanced (for its time) building was lambasted as a white marble senatorial Taj Mahal. Inside, Alexander Calder's last piece, a mobile-stabile, occupies the central atrium, often a spot where protesters gather to hang banners for strategic photo-ops. it may be a cold building, but for lovers of modern architecture, it's pretty cool.

As for the rest of the congressional campus, the over-budget and long delayed Capitol Visitor Center project has torn up the East Lawn of the Capitol for a good chunk of this decade. Right now, there's not much to see. The CVC is supposed to open soon, but we've been hearing that declaration from the Architect of the Capitol since 2004.

» "Home Is Not Where the Hart Is" [Roll Call, subscription req'd]
» "The Capitol Visitor Center" [AOC]
» "Shocking News! Capitol Visitor Center Delayed" [Free Ride/Express]

» BARTHOLDI FOUNTAIN: Escaping Capitol Hill, heading down to the intersection of Washington and Independence avenues in Southwest. Across from the U.S. Botanic Garden — which we recently visited — is the Bartholdi Fountain, which sits in a beautiful garden within view of the Rayburn House Office Building and the Department of Health and Human Services. The fountain itself is striking, too, but has seen better days. It won't be turned on this summer; repairs are said to be pending.

Looking toward the southeast is the Capitol complex's power plant, which dominates the skyline. But don't take too deep a breath. As The Post's Lyndsey Layton reported last month, the power plant's smoke stacks are a major polluter and have been found to be in violation of the Clean Air Act.

» "Escape the Office: U.S. Botanic Garden" [Free Ride/Express]
» "Bartholdi Fountain" [USBG]
» "Reliance on Coal Sullies 'Green the Capitol' Effort" [WaPo]

» D AND 7TH STREETS SW: At the heart of Southwest D.C.'s bureaucracyland, federal buildings loom. One corner is occupied by the massive Nassif Building home, for now, to the Department of Transportation. The department is exiting soon, though for new digs and the building is set for a major overhaul (goodbye white marble, hello glass and steel) and a new name, the Constitution Center.

Across the street is the Weaver Building, the headquarters for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a double-Y shaped building, pictured here, that is recognized as triumph in modern design and the first federal building to use pre-cast concrete as its primary exterior and internal structural element. In a former professional life, this writer worked across the street: At night, the odd flattened doughnut umbrella lights create a one-of-a-kind visual effect when viewed from above.

» "Nassif Building Secures New Life After DoT Moves On" [WBJ]
» "Robert C. Weaver Federal Building (HUD), Washington, DC" [GSA]

» L'ENFANT PLAZA: Next to the Weaver Building is the massive L'Enfant Plaza mixed-use complex. Designed by I.M. Pei, the interior shopping concourse is a truly alienating space and is usually barren on the weekends. Near its entrance at the L'Enfant Plaza Metrorail station is where The Post conducted its famous experiment with world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell.

Finding you way inside L'Enfant Plaza's shopping concourse can be a challenge — and getting out is just as tough. Look for small courtyard staircases that will bring you to the actual plaza above, which is an interesting space to look at, but not necessarily a place you'd want to hang out in. Walk south across I-395, pause for a moment at the neglected Benjamin Banneker Overlook and make your way down to the Southwest waterfront.

» "Blending In, Standing Out in a Bureaucratic Maze" [Free Ride/Express]

» HALF AND M STREETS SE: While there's plenty to see along the waterfront, we wanted to move on and to get to the end of the trip. Walking east on M Street, look for the South Capitol Street baseball stadium construction site. The upper deck is slowly taking shape.

Once the stadium opens next year, the intersection of Half and M streets SE will be a hive of activity. This is where the Navy Yard's expanded western entrance is taking shape, as is the ballpark entertainment district. Just down the way, the new Department of Transportation headquarters stands at New Jersey Avenue, ready to serve the federal government. In these parts, if you're not content with the neighborhood, wait a few weeks or months. The area is constantly changing, and won't look the same next year.
» "Stadium Construction Camera" [Clark]
» "Ballpark Entertainment District" [JDLand]
» "New DOT HQ" [JDLand]

Photo credits, from top: Melina Mara/The Washington Post, Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post, Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post, Michael Grass/Express, Abdo Construction, Melina Mara/The Washington Post, Kevin Clark/The Washington Post, General Services Administration, Michael Lutzky/The Washington Post