Washington City Paper: Contents for Jan. 9

When Pigs Fly
Fifteen years ago, D.C. built a convention center that was a failure the day it opened. Now the city's getting ready to do it again.

Cover Story

In the late 1970s, Washington's best minds got together to build a new convention center. It was an age of bold, optimistic projects conjured by bold, optimistic city fathers. Emancipated from congressional rule just a few years earlier, the District's new elite was determined to put up a hometown D.C. that could outshine the overlords' federal capital. It would be an important city, a modern city, a culturally rich city. Not coincidentally, it would also be a city where builders who cozied up to politicians could make unimaginable bundles of money.

And so, on the eve of a boom that would make Washington the hottest real estate market on the planet, the District's attention turned to construction. It's hard to imagine how different the city looked back then. At 14th and U Streets NW, the new Reeves Municipal Center had yet to rise out of the ashes of 1968. Techworld had yet to span 8th Street and trump L'Enfant. But on a plot of land just north of Chinatown, the glorious convention center rose from the ground. As originally conceived, it was to be a glittering, glassy building, one of the biggest convention centers in the country, and an entertainment beacon to the entire region.

The roar of construction drowned out the cries of historic preservationists, but it didn't obscure the cold logic of the balance sheet. Congressional meddling led to design changes and budget cuts. One after another, the convention center's glorious features—and, really, they were never all that glorious—were jettisoned.... Continued

Issue of Jan. 9 - 15, 1998

News and Features

When Pigs Fly
Fifteen years ago, D.C. built a convention center that was a failure the day it opened. Now the city's getting ready to do it again.
Cover Story By Michael Schaffer
International Geographic
To preserve the heritage of the Maya, Bill Garrett first had to become a diplomat.
Feature By Louis Jacobson
Municipal Senility
D.C.'s elder statesmen mark the road to nowhere.
The City By Elissa Silverman
Historic Enervation
Developers who are forbidden from swinging the wrecking ball let entropy do it for them.
The City By Michael Schaffer
Chain of Foolishness
The Mail By Barbara Bode
Getting Personal
The Mail By Rebecca Shannon
Something for Everyone
The Mail By Jeremy Siegel
Send Up the Clowns
The Mail By Erik Linden
Good Sport
The Mail By P. Francisco Semiao
Aggravated Assault
The Mail By Glen Hamilton
Raining on His Tirade
The Mail By Mike McRougal
Low on Developer
The Mail By H.R. Crawford

Columns

Lord of the Ring
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
Broadcast Ethics
City Desk By Chaka Freeman, Amanda Ripley and Elissa Silverman
D.C. Schools Pamper Promise Keepers
Loose Lips By Ken Cummins

Eats

Movies

Let It Lie
Film Review By Joel E. Siegel
Bringing the War Home
Film Review By Mark Jenkins

Music

Soul Vengeance
Music Review By Rickey Wright
Schoolgirl Report
Music Review By John Dugan
Early Music
Music Review By Amy Domingues
Joya
Music Review By Amy Domingues
Buster's Spanish Rocket Ship
Music Review By Rickey Wright

Theater

The Stars Spell Out Her Name
Theater Review By Trey Graham
Jukebox Zeros
Theater Review By Bob Mondello

Arts and Events

East Side Story
The fragile old heart of downtown Washington is up for grabs, and D.C.'s developers are digging in with all the subtlety of the British Army.
Arts By Bradford McKee
Time Has Come Today
Art Review By Chris Gilbert
Bell Weather
Artifacts By Louis Jacobson
It's All About the Benjy
Artifacts By Jason Cherkis