Grand museums stand by skeletons of buildings strewn with construction equipment and surrounded by shopping, clubs and restaurants. Thanks to this, Penn Quarter is a neighborhood of contradictions - but also of opportunity.
When Gifford's Ice Cream and Candy Company moved into its E Street location between 10th and 11th Streets this April, Gifford's employee Rishard found himself amidst never-ending construction as he scooped ice-cream cones.
"They're always tearing up the streets and building new buildings," Rishard said. "Every time you turn around they're building something new."
Born and raised in D.C., Rishard described the Penn Quarter neighborhood as relatively quiet. But for students looking for fun in the area, he suggested they could frequently find it at Platinum Night Club on F Street.
Penn Quarter also offers an alternative to clubbing at E Street Cinema, where students can get discounts on movie tickets Monday through Friday. An E Street Cinema employee named Erick said Penn Quarter allows for a complete night out without much hassle - food and entertainment options are all close at hand. He said the area has gotten busier as new businesses move in, but it is still low-key.
"It's pretty cool, laid-back. It doesn't get jam-packed," he said.
Visitors quickly realize how easy it is to find food in the area. Ella's Wood Fired Pizza greets metro riders when they take the Galleries Exit out of the Gallery Place Metro stop. When happy hour strikes, the open door lets out lively chatter and music. Employee Adnan said the area's ongoing refurbishing, particularly Museum Montiago's opening across the street, draws more tourists.
"We get our neighborhood office clientele for happy hour, but this is now a very touristy area. We're getting a lot more business in the restaurants," Adnan said.
Even the pickiest diner could find something in the up-and-coming Penn Quarter neighborhood, despite the renovations. This includes ice cream and smoothie parlors, sandwich and salad shops, caf?s and coffee shops with Wi-Fi connections, pizzerias, all-American style restaurants and bars, sushi bars, seafood restaurants, Spanish and Southwestern influenced menus, Irish pubs, French and Indian fine cuisine and much more.
Diners can also be shoppers. Fashion and athletic outlets, household accessorizing retailers and book stores are all in the area. Banners across 7th Street between H and G Streets welcome Bed Bath and Beyond into its new location. The preexisting retail establishments like Urban Outfitters, H&M and various hair and body salons provide opportunities for fashion statements.
But the available dining can also compliment an excursion to one of the many museums. These include The International Spy Museum, The Marian Koshlan Science Museum, The Museum of National Law Enforcement and The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum, which moved into the Gallery Place location in July.
Smithsonian employee Jane Conley said that the National Portrait Gallery, with its free admission, is a good place to go between work and the many evening events in the neighborhood. She said she was pleased with recent improvements and development in the area.
Conley also touched upon a recurring theme among the people working in Penn Quarter: The area feels safer now than it did several years before.
Alongside the bustling tourist attractions, restaurants and shops, deserted businesses also mark the neighborhood's transition. Ornately painted ceramic tiles draw one to Becky's Caf? Restaurant only to find a sign in the dark window, announcing that Becky's would be closing because the building had been sold to developers.
Museums, theaters, restaurants and shopping venues give the neighborhood a festive vibe. But development for new residential living and office space pushes some of the festivity to the side. Contractors' names, apartment lease ads, construction cones and pedestrian detour signs match the number of signs leading to the historical and cultural hot spots. Slick apartment building lobbies visible from the street may not excite a visitor to the neighborhood, but they play a role in the revitalization of the commercial and tourist influences that are never far from the glassed-in residential buildings.
Outside The Shakespeare Theatre Company's Lansburgh Theatre on 7th Street between D and E streets, employee Eryn Chaney emphasized the change and growth in Penn Quarter over the past three years.
"It's definitely more urban-chic than in the past," she said. "It's a great area now. You can see and do anything."
She said she loves the neighborhood for its multiple entertainment venues. She suggested students look into Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Flashpoint Theatre, Regal Cinema and Lucky Strike Bowling Alley at the Verizon Center, or take in a Wizards game. The Shakespeare Theatre Company will add even more kinds of live entertainment when they open Harmon Center for the Arts down the street in October of 2007, Chaney said.
For entertainment with a historical edge, Ford's Theatre on 10th Street offers students half-price tickets. Before seeing the play "State of the Union," students can visit the house across the street where Lincoln died and get Chinese-American breakfast at any time of day at The Waffle House. Now that's a sign of a neighborhood on the rise.
Penn Quarter's Restaurants and Eateries
In The Eagle's never-ending quest to provide the AU community with a better understanding of what D.C. has to offer, here is a handy list of some of the culinary opportunities to be found in the rebirth of Penn Quarter.
Quiznos Clydes Cosi Five Guys Ollies Trolley Harries Hard Rock Caf? ESPN Zone Oya Capital Q Texan BBQ Californian Tortillas La Tasca, Spanish Tapas Bar and Restaurant Qdoba Mexican Grill Indebleu Haagen-Dazs Maggie Moos Irish Channel Pub
