Historical Overview of Eastern Market

Photos of Eastern Market in 1914

Eastern Market is one of Washington's most important cultural resources. It is one of the few remaining vestiges of Washington's 19th and early 20th century public market system, and the ONLY operating historic fresh food market left in the city. Located in the heart of the Capitol Hill Historic District, Eastern Market is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated local landmark. It is housed in a handsome brick building built in two stages and designed by two notable Washington architects. (visit www.empdc.org for more detailed information.)

The South Hall, which still functions as a public market, was designed in the Victorian style by Adolf Cluss and constructed in 1873 as part of the post Civil War program of civic improvements. The T-shaped Center Connector and the North Hall were designed in the classical revival style by Snowden Ashford and built in 1907. The two-story Center Connector was built to house a separate fish market with a "tea room" and rest rooms above it. The tea room is now a pottery studio and the food operation has moved to the first floor. On the front of the Center Connector was an arched opening or "loggia" designed as an outdoor stall. The stall is now used as the kitchen for the Market's restaurant. The North Hall, now called the Market 5 Gallery, serves the Capitol Hill community and the city at large as an arts and community center.

Both halls need restoration work, but the building is in a remarkable state of preservation in that it is so little altered from the time of its construction. At Eastern Market one can observe how public markets worked in the 19th and early 20th century when such markets were an essential part of social and commercial life.

Eastern Market is living history. For more than 100 years the market-day scene has been reenacted at Eastern Market every Saturday. Farmers from Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia bring fresh produce, baked goods, and flowers to the Market's farmer's line. Among these farmers are families that have been coming to the market since it was built.

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