Thanks for using the DCPL Commons. For some reason it is strange to me that this building's last use was to house a wax museum.

Let us know if there's anything in particular you'd like to see,

Aaron Schmidt
Digital Initiatives Librarian, DCPL
http://dclibrarylabs.org/amino
http://twitter.com/dcpl

The Washington DC Library has recently begun posting photos from the E.B. Thompson collection to the DC Public Library Commons at Flickr. There are some wonderful color lantern slides including this one of Liberty Market a.k.a Convention Hall. The slide is undated but appears to be of similar vintage to the 1920 National Photo Co. image.

We won't see buildings of the like again.

More pics of that fine beauty:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/57668330@N00/575870246/

http://popartmachine.com/item/pop_art/LOC+1532529

When I went to college in DC in the late 1970's a bit of this still remained -- it was leveled down to the first floor and given a flat roof -- but for some reason parts of the corner spires were allowed to stick up. For a while it housed a really tacky wax museum.

I love Shorpy, but the idea that magnificent structures have disappeared is kinda sad. In my home town we had two huge market halls, also with wonderful detailing - also torn down somewhere in the fifties. * sigh *3

Born and lived in DC and later the burbs my whole life and I've never laid eyes on this building before. The building burned in the 40s and may have looked much different afterwards until it was torn down perhaps. I was born in 1957.

That is what brickmasons are ALL about, right there. Sheer beauty and perfection.

Impressive doesn't even begin to cover it. A joining of both architectural and photographic art.

What a beautiful building and a terrific picture. This site has a brief history of the building, but no pictures:

http://www.dcconvention.com/history.aspx

The Liberty Market burned in 1946 and was finally torn down in the 80s, and a replacement center was built nearby. Someone on flickr said that the parking lot you see there now will end up being condos soon, but I can't find any confirmation of that.

And now, a fine parking lot...

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I usually just surf the site but I just had to post "WOW!"

This will certainly be humbling to anyone who considers himself a "photographer." Maybe I should just throw my pathetic little $3k camera out the window and become a "writer." Sigh.