Center Market, Washington, D.C.

Center Market was a market hall in Washington, D.C. designed by architect Adolph Cluss which operated in Washington, DC from 1872 to 1931. The building was demolished in 1931 to be replaced by the National Archives Building. A market called Center Market had been in operation on the same block of land since 1802. In 1931, the name of Center Market was transferred over to the Northern Liberty Market located a few blocks north.

In 1797, President George Washington designated two acres in Washington City to be used as a public marketplace. On October 6, 1802, a City Council Ordinance is approved by Mayor Robert Brent to establish Center Market south of Pennsylvania Avenue NW, between 7th and 9th Streets NW. Section 5 of the Ordinance states "That no person shall sell or expose for sale in said market any unsound, blown, or unwholesome meat or articles of provision, under the penalty of five dollars for every offence."

The first Center Market opened soon after on this land by the Washington City Canal (now Constitiution Avenue). It was a hub of commercial activity for the city and it is said that President Thomas Jefferson visited the market. Until the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia in 1862, slaves were sold at the market. It then became a place of business for African Americans who owned some of the stalls and sold goods.

By 1850, the market was a mixture of frame buildings with no coherence though located in such a prestigious location between the White House and the Capitol. Despite its popularity and major importance in the local economy, Congress and the public considered the market a health and safety hazard with its 700 vendors in 1870. A new building was needed with better ventilation and drainage.

In 1863, Mayor Richard Wallach had Adolf Cluss and Joseph Wildrich von Kammerhueber design a brick structure on B Street NW (Constitution Avenue). A two-story building was designed and construction started. By June 1864, a unanimous vote from both the members of the House of Representatives District Committee and then the entire House of Representatives stopped the project as Congress had not authorized the building. It was torn down but the walls were already up and showed what a modern market could look like.

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