December 16, 2005

You Gotta Comment?!?

"Go Ahead and Call It a Comeback:" says columnist Harry Jaffe in the WE where he declares downtown the "hippest, hottest place in D.C." Move over, Georgetown, Adams Morgan, Capitol Hill, Dupont Circle, the New U, Jaffee says.

Metro converges Downtown. It's close to the Capitol and the White House. I always believed that the wig shops on 9th St. were the anomoly and that someday, somehow old Downtown would be D.C.'s focal point.

Has 7th St. eclipsed Wisconsin and M Streets? Or Tysons? Where does one have to stand to be at the center of DC? Washington? The Metro Area?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Perhaps Jaffe has borne witness to the swelling crowds downtown but I'm guessing he hasn't tried living there. The downtown/Chinatown area is still resident-hostile, lacking fundamentals like a decent grocery store. I'd hardly call the influx of chain stores and restaurants "hot", futhermore. Downtown is becoming yet another poorly-concieved DC neighborhood that's going to wilt once the novelty of having an Urban Outfitters where there used to be burnt-out liquour stores wares off for the yuppies.

dcbubble.blogspot said...

As far as being resident hostile, Balducci's is coming....I know, I know it $20 bucks for a bagette and a hunk of cheese.

You've gotta admitt its getting better and could not have gotten much worse.

Colin said...

I'd love to live in that area. But yeah, it really needs a grocery store.

David said...

Downtown is coming back. Much more retail is coming in that part of downtown area with the ongoing development and openings of the huge condominium projects along MAss avenue ( 555 Mass, 450 Mass, etc).

Anonymous said...

i just moved to the chinatown area. they desperately need a grocery store. i don't care for gourmet balducci's or a poorly placed bed bath & beyond next to the mci center. i mean what we're they thinking?

dcbubble.blogspot said...

At least its something. I agree with you about Balducci's. Over time its gotta get better

Anonymous said...

There IS a downtown grocery store coming, but I don't think negotiations are completed yet or else construction would have started. A Giant, maybe? Near 3rd & Mass, I believe. You'll still have to wait a while, but it's coming.

Anonymous said...

There is a grocery store coming at the old wax museum site on 5th and K- a Safeway. It will be a mixed use development-condos, retail and grocery store- I think construction will begin in 06.

Stef said...

I think downtown is great - I work in Penn Quarter and I've been amazed to see the transformation. Sure, it's pretty commercial and the neon can be harsh, but it's great to have so many things to do close by. But I can't imagine I'll ever earn enough to be able to buy into any of the condos.... so I'll continue to live in Columbia Heights and spend my fun time downtown!

Great blog, by the way.

Anonymous said...

And the first D.C. Fringe festival is happening downtown next summer!

Anonymous said...

You have a great website here, and I'm going to tell all my friends about it.