Whether you are looking for unique treasures or shopping for fresh produce, Eastern Market is a great place to explore on Saturday and Sunday. It offers a nice change to shopping at the mall. Here you can enjoy the fresh air, chit chat with vendors and find great bargains.
Just hop on the Orange/Blue Metro line or take one of the 30 buses, and get off at the Eastern Market stop. The market is located at 225 7th Street SE on Capitol Hill. Find map and directions here.
From the Metro station or bus stop, cross Pennsylvania Ave. towards the Bread & Chocolate. If it’s not too crowded, drop in and have a cup of coffee, soup, sandwich or dessert. After getting some nourishment, continue towards the parking lot where you will see the flea market. Here you can find African masks, Middle Eastern carpets, Tibetan jewelry, Chinese furniture and many other things from around the world.
Across the street from the flea market is the historic Eastern Market building which was completed in 1873 and designed by Adolph Cluss, a prominent local architect who designed the Franklin and Sumner Schools, and other post-Civil War buildings. Here you will find vegetables, fruit, meat, dairy products and more. You can also buy fresh produce at the farmers market outside the Eastern Market building. In the fall and winter you can enjoy a glass of hot cider at the farmers market.
After you walk through the farmer’s market, you can continue on to the indoor Market 5 Gallery, where you can discover paintings, photography and other creations by local artists. Artists also set up in the area outside the Market 5 Gallery.
Historical Information about Eastern Market
“Eastern Market was built to provide an orderly supply of goods to urban residents. It acted as both an anchor to keep residents from leaving Capitol Hill for a neighborhood with better civic services and as a magnet to draw new people. The Market also symbolized the much-desired urbanization of Washington, DC. At the end of the Civil War, the city was under pressure to erase it's image as a sleepy southern village or face having the Federal Government removed. Eastern Market became part of the attempt to reshape the city's image and became the first city-owned market to be built under the public works program of the 1870s.
As Capitol's Hill's population spread in the early 20th century, the pressure to expand Eastern Market mounted. The city's office of Public Works, under architect Snowden Ashford, designed the new addition containing the Center and North Halls in 1908. With its growing importance, Eastern Market was unofficially recognized as the "town center" of Capitol Hill.
Even as Eastern Market expanded, changes were underway that would almost destroy Washington's market system. Developers began abandoning the "out-of-date" portion of Capitol Hill, which included Eastern Market. Competition for Eastern Market also formed with the arrival of the "grocery store chain." By 1929, Eastern Market had lost too many customers to support the vendors who occupied the North Hall. After an attempt by the city to close the market, civic groups and individuals in the Eastern Market neighborhood protested and the Market lived on.
The downturn of the market house after World War II further threatened the Eastern Market. When the DC Government moved to close the remaining public markets, Charles Glasgow, Sr. suggested he assume management responsibility for the market in the mid-1950s. Glasgow formed the Eastern Market Corporation and leased the South and Center Halls for many years thereafter. Recently a new firm, Eastern Market Joint Venture, has been hired to manage the entire market. In recent years, since the reoccupation of the North Hall by Market 5 Gallery in the 1970s and it's ensuing development of outdoor arts, crafts and flea markets, the Market has served as a focal point in the revitalization of the Capitol Hill area, making Eastern Market once again a "town center," both politically and commercially.”
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