Florida Market Tour, Saturday June 24, 9 a.m.

The Capital City Market, more commonly known as the Florida Market, is the primary wholesale food distribution center in the city. A number of the businesses sell to retail customers. The cinder block "DC Farmers Market" building on Neal Street is comparable to Eastern Market, except it is privately owned, and a lot less pretty. The market area is under great development pressure because of its location and the attractiveness of the New York Avenue subway stop. The Office of Planning Cluster 23 Study proposes that the market be revitalized through a food-centered plan. An alternative proposal suggests demolishing everything and starting over. We're interested in showing people the assets that the market has to offer.

On Saturday, Elise Bernard of the Frozen Tropics blog, and I will lead a free tour of the market. It will start at 9:00 a.m. at 4th and Morse Streets, NE. We will then go eat at Young's Deli (inexpensive Korean and other foods). People could join us at 9:40 at Young's (300 block of Morse St., NE) for the rest of the tour if they are not up for kimchee. We will then visit eleven other places that sell retail, including the multi-vendor cinder block "Farmers Market" and the outdoor flea market, before finishing at Litteri's, which in my opinion, has the best Italian sub sandwich in the city (sorry Vace, sorry Mangialiardo's). We should finish up around noon.

We will repeat the tour on Saturday, July 29, at 9 a.m., beginning at the same meeting place.

The market area is a lot more interesting than this photo might indicate. Flickr photo by EZRAW.

Index Keywords: urban-revitalization