Would you follow me – or someone else – through this door? If the door does not look familiar, look just inside the main doors of Eastern Market, it is to be found just through the doorway on the right as you enter. The door leads down a flight of stairs and into the basement of the market – and is usually, as the sign indicates, firmly locked.
This Saturday, October 28, you will be allowed down to look behind the scenes at Eastern Market. The Capitol Hill Restoration Society will be hosting their annual House Expo that morning in the North Hall. Along with getting chance to chat with vendors who can help with buying and renovating your house, from financing your new place to getting a professionally done house history, they have also organized some volunteers to give tours of the market.
This is your opportunity to learn a little more about the market, from its, to its design by Adolph Cluss, its heyday around the turn of the century, and how it was expanded in the early days of the last century, how it almost succumbed to the changes that roiled the neighborhood around it, how the community rallied to save it, and how a fire kicked off a long-needed renovation. The tour will circle the building before entering and going down into the basement, where you can search for evidence of the rifle range that used that space over 100 years ago.
Back up in the main building, you will get a chance to see some of the vendors at their stands and hear their stories. This is also where the tour will end, after which you most certainly will have a chance to get some of the best meat and produce in the District.
To join a tour, enter the North Hall from the north entrance, and a volunteer will get you into the next available group heading out. Looking forward to seeing you there!
More information about the House Expo at this link.