Eating at International Square Food Court - Underground Food Court at Farragut West - Closing at the End of 2019

[brettashley01]

On 8/31/2007 at 2:25 AM, DameEdna said:

General Tsao's Chicken from the steam table. Hot and quick. In fact, it was good.

Eating at International Square Food Court (brettashley)

where oh where is "international square?"

[edenman]

where oh where is "international square?"

The dungeon below 19th/K-ish. A food court for those who work upstairs (and those who want a Five Guys fix)

[The Hersch]

International Square is two conjoined buildings, one fronting on the southern side of the 1800 block of I St NW (just above one of the entrances to Farragut West Metro Station), the other fronting on the north side of the 1800 block of K St NW. It is not an attractive edifice, although it offers many thousands of square feet of office space, a great deal of which is rented by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, along with another building on the other side of K St., where I believe Dr. Yellen now delivers her perorations, while the Martin Building (one of the three buildings the Board actually owns) at 20th and C undergoes a massive remodeling (I'm afraid nothing they can do to it will make it pretty).

[DaveO]

On 5/21/2017 at 8:41 PM, The Hersch said:

International Square is two conjoined buildings, one fronting on the southern side of the 1800 block of I St NW (just above one of the entrances to Farragut West Metro Station), the other fronting on the north side of the 1800 block of K St NW. It is not an attractive edifice, although it offers many thousands of square feet of office space, a great deal of which is rented by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, along with another building on the other side of K St., where I believe Dr. Yellen now delivers her perorations, while the Martin Building (one of the three buildings the Board actually owns) at 20th and C undergoes a massive remodeling (I'm afraid nothing they can do to it will make it pretty).

Well it was actually 3 conjoined office buildings, constructed between 1977-1982.  The food court was the subterranean unified element of a 1.1 million square foot office complex.  When built and for a long time it defined ground zero, for location, location, location in downtown DC, both for office and retail space.  On the retail/restaurant side for a long time it was located in the densest most occupied portion of downtown Washington DC.  The food court was available for breakfasts, lunch and up to about 5 or 6 pm for dining.  It was a fast food emporium, never really distinguished with better quality dining, but certainly had a healthy number of places that pleased lunch customers.  You could access the food court directly at 18th and I via metro, walk through the food court to 19th and K, all under cover and enhance the walk portion of a daily work day commute during bad weather.

Anyway, it is closing at the end of the month. 

That is nostalgic for me.  I lunched there a healthy number of times for close to two decades when I worked in that area.  Can't say that any one of those meals was memorable.    I also knew the original Italian food/pizza operator from a retail leasing perspective.  Nice guys. 

Anyway, famous old Oliver Carr built International Square as part of his "empire of office buildings" in and around DC.  At his peak he had to have had more office space in DC than any other developer/owner/landlord.  The commercial real estate depression occurred in the late 80's /early 90's and he put most of his buildings in a REIT (real estate investment trust)-- and later sold it to Tishman Speyer in the latter 90's.  Tishman Speyer still owns the property.  Well I'm sure old Olly and Tishman Speyer both made a lot of money off that property, and I've got to add that my lunch purchases for about 2 decades contributed to those earnings. 

Can't say that its demise will alter or diminish the Washington DC food scene.

[sandynva]

Bummer!  When I was in the area I would pop by to get the food from the Indian place, which was run by the lovely people who previously ran the much missed Nirvana.  I hope they don’t abandon the food business altogether, but rather open a place somewhere else.  

[MsDiPesto]

One of the many places I would pass through when I worked in Lafayette Center on 20th St. NW, I'd go out and explore on my lunch hour. Will that sculpture stay that hangs over the court?