DCist: Arts Orgs Trying to 'Turn On' Dupont Underground

erahk0

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:52:12 -0500

Dupont underground would be a great spot for motorized wheelchair death races. handguns (legal of cours) and small explosives should be permitted.

monkeyrotica

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:30:56 -0500

Two words: laser tag. Either that or subterranean Texas roadhouse, complete with a mechanical riding CHUD surrounded by mattresses. And they'd have cheap Shiner Bock because that stuff comes from Hell.

IMGoph

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:29:45 -0500

i applaud anyone for trying to make something work there. i'd love to see something that contributes to the city's tax base, of course. would an arts installation like this be tax-exempt?

spookiness

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:24:11 -0500

tootrueblueman, I can't be any more of a firetrap than Landmark E Street cinemas. How that place passed code I've never figured out. I think this space can (and should) be made into something, but it won't be easy or cheap.

monkeyrotica

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:13:53 -0500

Well, of course the east side is a sh**hole. Isn't that how things are in the rest of DC?

Heather Goss

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:07:57 -0500

@dcguvworker -- I'm not sure which part you toured, or if it was the whole thing, but my understanding is that the east tunnel is in far, far worse shape than the west tunnel, which is why they want the west one. According to the ad hoc committee, it's in pretty fair shape.

monkeyrotica

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:04:24 -0500

It is a total dump - trash, human waste, and many remnants of Dupont Down Under. So it's pretty much Adams Morgan then?

dcguvworker

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:56:53 -0500

I toured this space recently (with police escort, of course) and have a difficult time believing that DMPED would put any money towards renovation. It is a total dump - trash, human waste, and many remnants of Dupont Down Under. Private investment is likely the only thing that will save it.

IMGoph

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:54:08 -0500

and i keep reading ACDU as ACLU. and i have no joke for that.

erahk0

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:48:31 -0500

Monkey the city sued him - we were scammed!

Henry Krinkle

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:27:53 -0500

I keep reading ACDU as ACDC. Anyone know where I can get tickets to their Verizon Center show (without paying an arm and a leg?)

monkeyrotica

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:39:22 -0500

Looks like the Morlocks have been hitting the tanning salon, working out, and shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch. Good for them! Didn't the Dupont Underground food court developer end up suing the city (or visa versa)?

DrLRonHoover

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:03:14 -0500

It was dank and sleazy when they opened it as a food court/whatever. No cutesy rendering is going to change this. No money - especially NOT public money - should be spent on this.

erahk0

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:40:00 -0500

They are not fire hazards. More like pestilence burrows. I wish they would finally just backfill them with earth from any one of the buildings sprouting up around d'town.

monkeyrotica

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:39:46 -0500

I remember when they opened that dump up. It looks NOTHING like the artist's rendering. They'd have to dig another 5-feet of ceiling out to make the hallway that high, and they'd have to quadruple the amount of halogen lightage to make it that bright. And the air system they were using is layered with FAIL. There was NO circulation. Dank, dismal, cramped. You're looking at a ton of money to make it look that metrosexual. PS. Parking was ample.

tootrueblueman

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:36:05 -0500

Flaming! HA!

qbert

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:30:50 -0500

Based on the two people on the right side of the artists rendering, it looks like they're going to put the sun down there, so that's pretty cool I guess.

ist full of dollars

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:27:56 -0500

I also support rounding up all of the city's artists and forcing them underground.

indiecognition

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:50:16 -0500

Didn't they try turning the tunnels into "Dupont Down Under," which was supposed to be a mall/food court type of thing?

HCE

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:37:13 -0500

What about accessibility? Is there an elevator that reaches the space?

IMGoph

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:36:10 -0500

aw man, tootrueblueman, why you gotta be such a downer? besides it's not like there aren't a lot of other flaming things around dupont [/rimshot]

dsade

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:35:41 -0500

Yea, i'd back that. the only thing those tunnels have been used for recently is dumping dead bodies

traclay

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:27:56 -0500

Damn, would ya look at that? DC actually trying to get hip. I do hope this becomes reality.

tootrueblueman

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:14:40 -0500

These tunnels have to pose some sort of fire hazard or something, right? I don't know much about the space. Anyone have a link to some plans/blueprints or something?

smittydc

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:06:33 -0500

I support this whole-heartedly.