CityCenterDC
Photo cred: @markstoryphotos
Wowee…where’s Bob Goff when you need him? Because I found a whimsical city square that I think he’d want to see!
Several months after moving here, I finally made my way back to CityCenterDC. The first time I walked through it was actually on accident (I was on my way to DuPont Dolcezza and walked in the completely wrong direction all the way to the one in CityCenterDC…Oops.)
However I found it, I couldn’t wait to go back. I learned that every season, a group of magical people (elves? fairies?) with clearly the best job ever change out the decor that criss-crosses through the center “ceiling.” Walking through here on a cold day was worth it, especially when we made it before the foot traffic picked up and it filled with other visitors and window-shoppers.
According to the Washington Post: “D.C. officials spent more than a decade turning the site of a failed convention center south of New York Avenue, between Ninth and 11th streets NW, into a luxury emporium filled with brands that could help reestablish downtown as a place to be.”
Though it nearly wasn’t built at all due to the financial crisis, it survived the turbulence, racking hefty tax revenue to boot for the District.
The shopping is also something special, with 30 stores and nine foodie spots, luxe labels galore worthy of Rodeo Drive or Fifth Avenue. I made a great decision (or mistake, depending on whether you ask my closet, my credit card company, or my wallet; i.e. my answer to “What’s in your wallet?” is now “Nothing…”) to walk into Moncler and try on puffer coats that retail for about two and a half months of my rent. Ebay, anyone?
Several other designer shops have also parked their DC retail locations in CityCenterDC - I never thought I’d live within bikeable distance to the likes of Gucci, Hermes, Bulgari, Dior, and Paul Stuart (where, rumor has it, “former D.C. Mayor Vincent attended a boisterous charity fundraiser.”) The square also announces on their website upcoming events they host, like spa specials at Caudalie or flash sales.
Attracting the attention it deserves, with all its swank and swagger, CityCenterDC is on everyone’s Instagrammable bucket list for DC (new Wizards coach Scott Brooks has a PH apartment in one of their developments.)
