Midcity at the Crossroads

—Shaw Heritage Trail —

After this neighborhood's original Northern Liberty Market on Mount Vernon Square was razed in 1872, a new Northern Liberty Market was built along Fifth between K and L streets. When owners decided that fresh farm products weren't drawing enough customers, they added a massive second-floor entertainment space. This was Convention Hall (1893), the city's first convention center, seating 6,000. While farmers did business on the first floor, the second floor hosted balls, banquets even bowling tournaments. Soon it was called Constitution Hall Market.

When the Center Market downtown on Pennsylvania Avenue was razed in 1931 to build the National Archives, many vendors moved here. Convention Hall Market became New Center Market. Then in 1946 the building burned in a spectacular fire, visible for miles. Partially rebuilt with a low, flat roof, it continued to sell foodstuffs despite the arrival of modern supermarkets. But by 1966 the vendors were gone, and the building became the National Historical Wax Museum. When the museum closed, rock 'n' rollers flocked to "The Wax" for concerts. The city's second Convention Center opened in 1983 at Ninth and H streets, NW, and two years later the Wax Museum was demolished.


As you walk to sign 17, notice the handsome rowhouses on your right. These are part of a full square



of 53 houses designed and built in 1890 by the prolific T. Franklin Schneider. Developing an entire square, though common in most city neighborhoods, was unusual in Shaw, where most houses were built individually.

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Show me all markers in:  Washington, DC  |  20001  |  District Of Columbia  |  United States of America

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History in a House
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The Place to Shop
Roots of Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral
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Words and Deeds
Reaching for Equality
Central Public Library
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