Washington Convention Center
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The Walter E. Washington Convention Center is a 2.3 million square foot (210,000 m²) building located in Washington, D.C. The center was designed by Atlanta-based architecture firm Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates. The center is located in a superblock bounded by Mount Vernon Square and 7th, 9th, and N streets, N.W. It is served by the Mt Vernon Sq/7th St-Convention Center station on the Yellow and Green lines of the Washington Metro. It was completed in 2003.
The Washington Convention Center Authority (WCCA) Board of Directors agreed to expand the newly built convention center by 75,000 square feet (7,000 m²) and build and own a hotel with between 1,220 and 1,500 rooms and an additional 100,000 square feet of convention and ballroom space.
Most of the inaugural balls for the 2005 Presidential Inauguration of George W. Bush were held at the convention center.
In 2006, the Council of the District of Columbia approved legislation naming the Washington Convention Center in honor of the city's first home-rule mayor, the late Walter E. Washington.
[edit] The old Washington Convention Center
The first Washington Convention Center was located one block southwest at 909 H Street NW, occupying the city block bounded by New York Avenue, 9th Street, H Street and 11th Street.[1] Construction on the center began in 1980, and it opened in 1983. At 800,000 gross square feet it was, at the time, the fourth largest facility in the United States. However, during the 80s and 90s numerous larger and more modern facilities were constructed around the country and by 1997 the Washington Convention Center had become the 30th largest facility.[2] After being replaced by the new Washington Convention Center, it was imploded at approximately 7:30 a.m. on December 18, 2004.[3] The site is now a municipal parking lot and is also used for special events such as Cirque Du Soleil.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Old Washington Convention Center Site, WashingtonPost.com City Guide, Retrieved May 9, 2007
- ^ A History of the Washington Convention Center Washington Convention Center website, Retrieved May 9, 2007
- ^ Old Convention Center Imploded NBC4.com, Retrieved May 9, 2007
