In case Metro Center is too far to travel for v-neck shirts and stretchy pants, rejoice! American Apparel is opening in Dupont Circle, at 1518 Connecticut Ave NW. Photo below. Dupont will be the second neighborhood in DC to be graced with the presence of the Los Angeles based company. There is currently a store at 1090 F Street NW. In addition to Metro Center, there is an American Apparel in Silver Spring and another planned on M Street in Georgetown.For years, the block was home to Riggs Bank, then PNC Bank. The building has retail storefronts, but they served as storage and office space for the banks. A shame, because the other side of Connecticut Avenue is fairly lively. The single use nature of the building dampened energy on this block, just north of the circle. PNC apparently wised up and realized that you can charge mucho $$$$ to tenants to rent those spaces. Maybe offer some higher interest rates for our savings accounts, yea?
'For Lease' signs have been in the windows of those particular spaces for about a year so and hopefully other retailers will bite. Dupont is sort of meddling right now, regarding its identity. There's some nightlife, some shopping, plenty of restaurants, but nothing defines it as much as the Circle itself. Maybe with another tenant or two on that block will help shape the neighborhood north of the circle.
6 comments:
When I moved back to DC 12 years ago, those spaces were occupied, with at least one being a bar called Rascals, but then Riggs decided to expand their international offices and took over those spaces for that purpose. With the demise of Riggs, I guess they are no longer needed.
I really hate American Apparel. I am cheap, admittedly, but man those plain clothes are marked up 5 times what they are worth. I've long been predicting their demise, but I guess there's a market for it (hipsters?).
Check out the limerick about the new American Apparel store:
http://districtlimerick.wordpress.com/
anon: oh my. my cube mate is wondering why ice coffee just came out of my nose. limericks man... who knew they would crack me up like this!
chris: thanks for the info! i remember the "international" offices. and those enlarged photos of london and whatnot in the windows.
Tim, glad you like them! I write some of my best limericks while riding the 42...
I certainly agree we need retail there - it is a lonely block currently
i would oppose any non-local, chain use. The infiltration of chain stores like Ann Taylor into this vulnerable block is a clear warning to us that we will lose the quirky, unique character of Dupont Circle if we are not careful to support our local stores. Think of all the book stores we used to have on Conn. Avenue above and below the circle. We are down to three, and I fear we may lose one of those. It would be a shame if Dupont Circle were turned into an outdoor mall.
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