L'Enfant Plaza and the Horsemen of Failed Retail Along the DC Metro | 100k Sub Special | ExLog 128

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Welcome to L'Enfant Plaza! In this special episode, we dive into the history of a dead mall in DC that bears the name of the man who built the city itself. We also take a walk through three other locations: Macy's at Metro Center, Gallery Place in Chinatown, and Union Station. These four locations make up the Four Horsemen of Failed Retail along the DC Metro. This one is for you, railfans.
THANK YOU ALL FOR 100,000 SUBSCRIBERS!!!
#exlog #salguido #dmodfam

[@sal]

Thank you all for 100,000 Subscribers!!! I won't let you down. I have years of backlogged content to produce, so get excited and here's to another 100,000k!!

[@quailstevens8150]

Glad to be a part of the community, going on five plus years strong! 💪😎👍

[@michaelimbesi2314]

Well done! It looks like your next ExLog is going to be your 150k special

[@arnoroorda3201]

153k!

[@DeadMallsOfTheWest]

The 25-30 exlog arc is gonna be crazy! Here’s to the next 5 years!

[@arnoroorda3201]

166k!.......

[@danielmonahan6195]

As a former employee at USPS HQ, I appreciate this look back at familiar environs.

[@ecaillette]

Danke from Germany! This brought back memories from my visit to Washington in the early 2000s. I had an absolutely liminal moment in the metro very late at night, and your video brought it all back right down to the smell. Congrats on 100000 subs!🎉

[@sal]

Hey thank you so much!! Glad I could bring those memories back for you!

[@matthewconstantine5015]

I worked at L'Enfant from 2019 to 2022. One of my offices was way underground, down by the lowest level of the parking garage. It was wild that you could open a door and find a room that was relatively untouched since the 80s, where a bunch of old office chairs and whatnot had just sat, gathering dust for 40 years. Things have been built and rebuilt so many times that you can open a door and behind it is another door, that is locked. What's behind that? No idea. Or a tiny staircase that goes to...nothing at all. But the place needed serious work. I remember my first week there, it was raining pretty hard out, and I decided to avoid going outside and just use the tunnels to get to the Metro. Turned a corner and there was essentially a waterfall coming down out of the ceiling, creating a pool on the floor of the hall. Not a drip. A full on gush of water. Not great. It was also brutal during the summer, because all the waste heat from the restaurants got vented down there, so if it was hot outside it was so much hotter in the sub-basements. That said, they were doing a pretty good job of filling store-fronts until Covid hit. By January of 2020, there weren't that many empty storefronts, at least in the main area. There was even a cool, locally owned and operated bar that had opened, I think in that event for vampires space you came across. But, a lot of places closed and never reopened. I remember walking past the Vietnamese sandwich place and seeing the same bottle of soda sitting out for like 2 years, like the owner closed the door and never came back. A few reopened but then closed because of the substantially reduced business. The reduction in office staff grabbing breakfast and lunch hurt. The place is still usually busy at lunch on weekdays. And absolutely SLAMMED during school tour season. I was there a few weeks ago on a Saturday, and it was the same story. There was at least one school tour group and a bunch of tourists, all looking for food. But there were only 4 or 5 spots open. None of the retail shops were open, and people were looking in the windows, wanting to buy souvenirs and such. That said, the businesses there don't do themselves any favors with their schedules. I can't tell you how many times I'd walk through on a Saturday and see hundreds of people milling about, looking for something to eat or to buy something, and there'd be like three things open. The Panda Express, Subway, and Philly cheesesteak place were the only things you could really rely on. And everything closes at like 5 or 6PM, even though again, there are lots of people passing through, who might actually want to grab something. Especially once the hotel opened. The wayfinding sucks, too. That's apparently an issue with too many stakeholders and layers of red tape. Metro doesn't talk with the property owners, who don't talk with the L'Enfant Bid, who don't talk with the DC city government, etc. etc. etc. So, trying to get clear signs that say, "go here for X or there for Y" is more complicated than the peace process in the Middle East. I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of Brutalist buildings. I'd love to see, at the very least, the two office buildings on either side of the Spy Museum, torn down and made into something less...concrete. Lord knows, they could use some housing. And some greenery. I've heard that the empty square behind Spy, where the glass atrium stands, is on the books to be turned into another big building. But I'm not sure if those plans have been scrapped post-pandemic.

[@sal]

Thanks so much for sharing!! Are the underground tunnels and labyrinths still accessible??

[@matthewconstantine5015]

@@sal I don't think they're "open to the public" per se, but you should be able to access them & likely won't be stopped unless security is bored or feeling especially antsy. At the ends of the "arms" of the cross-shape, sort of behind the public restrooms, there are doors that lead to hallways, and there are "freight" elevators that will take you down to...level -3 I think. It was labeled something different on the elevator I used most often, but that elevator is very much not accessible. That subbasement is where you'll find the Frontage Road loading dock for all the businesses. There are a couple offices, for maybe government organizations or possibly contractors. And I believe the maintenance/housekeeping offices are there. There are definitely security booths by the loading docks & the place is wired up with cameras. A couple of those "back room" elevators look like something out of a horror movie. Like you're gonna open the door and find Leatherface waiting for you. I was always nervous, especially on a Friday evening, that something would happen and I'd be stuck in the elevator until Monday, because they sometimes see so little use.

[@sal]

Hey thanks for the response. I’ll leave those levels of the back rooms alone lol. Wonderful images for my minds eye, though!

[@maxplanck1423]

Your enthusiasm and diligence in developing such outstanding content has resulted in achieving this milestone for your channel. Keep up the good work and thank you.

[@sal]

Hey Max, thanks so much for watching, and especially for your encouraging words!

[@SuperBuickregal]

Thanks for the great entertaining, informative and well produced video Sal!

[@sal]

Hey thank you so much! I really did find inspiration with this one, and I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@SuperBuickregal]

@@sal No problem and Keep em Rolling Sal!

[@danib62]

I think you really did L'Enfant dirty by going on a Saturday. You go during the week during lunchtime, especially during peak school trip season, the place is absolutely hopping.

[@sal]

The foodcourt is. The rest is not. I went during the week a few times and it was awkwardly busy in the foodcourt, but the rest of the mall was barren. Not tenable for filming, and still not an inaccurate representation of the malls current health.

[@danib62]

@@sal The thing is I'd say that 3/4s of this "mall" is food court. The store that is only open 6 hours a week though is totally bizarre. Saw it open during my lunch today and was somewhat tempted to go in. I really wish that CVS was still open though...

[@sal]

@danib62 they need to rethink this entire space. It doesn’t work as a retail concourse at all. The foodcourt rocks, as I stated in the narrative…but the retail mall concourse is dead.

[@danib62]

@ I kind of wonder what you do though because none of the retail space is large enough to support a traditional anchor. I’m in there almost every day and it does seem like things seem to be changing. The owner was recently foreclosed on so hopefully someone new brings some fresh ideas.

[@jenkyseth1202]

Thanks!

[@sal]

Hey you rock!!! Thank you!!!!

[@QuietJ0Y]

Thank you so much! I love expedition log 86, and I’m so glad to see an update with Union Station having people in it. 🌹

[@sal]

Hey good to see you! Been a while. It was great to see so many people in there.

[@seabee73]

Congratulations on the 150,000 subscribers. Finally. Love the old Carvel commercial. I feel old now😅. This was a good episode. Have a good evening.

[@sal]

Thank you so much!!!

[@brittanywhyte7246]

The sound of the Amtrak bell is so nostalgic!

[@christinalillbellspark8284]

I remember the original spy museum as a kid. I remember how fun it was inside! I wonder what the new one’s interior looks like! And overall you did a great job of capturing the Metro and its numerous historical shops! This brought back the nostalgic feeling of being a kid in the metro again! Another stop that I would be nice to capture is Friendship Heights and Downtown Bethesda!

[@robertstratton6444]

If you ever drive on the highway from West to East past L'Enfant Plaza, there was a distinctive building with NO windows. That was housing the AT&T (Bell System) #4 superswitch through which most of the long distance phone traffic for the entire DC metro local area used to pass to the rest of the world.

[@sal]

oh yeah, that one is super creepy

[@jnyerere]

I'm 35 yo. Sbarro has been in that Union Station food court literally my entire life. I've never known a Union Station food court without the Sbarro in it. When there used to be a movie theater at Union Station we would go eat at that Sbarro after watching the movie. What a time to be alive.

[@catherinehayes8912]

Thank you, Sal! This was an excellent video!

[@BlueJay6441]

Thank you for this episode! Awesome explore, and congrats! You are soaring past 100k already!!

[@sal]

Hey thank you so much, and yeah the growth has been absolutely crazy!

[@BalooUriza]

I see "Step back! Doors opening." is the DC version of Portland's "The doors...are closing."

[@TheMallFox]

All of those cars at 1:06:33 are Trabants, a East German car manufacturer that manufactured over 3 million cars. I wonder what celebration they were having, super cool.

[@tristanwoodmansee477]

You? Trouble!? NAHHHH, not you. I can't imagine that. I have ALWAYS loved how you tell us the history of all these malls. Your so good at this. I would watch you go anywhere! The architecture in all these buildings are just stunning! I would not do very well with the escalators and how high they go. Floor levels. Pizza looked really good! You would make a great tour guide! Great content as always! Thank you! Stay safe out there😊

[@sal]

haha yes...I've always been a perfect little angel! But thank you for sticking with me through the years, you rock!!!

[@tristanwoodmansee477]

@ Most welcome! It is my pleasure! I will continue to do so as well! Your my favorite! If you ever get out to Cali, I hope you let me know!

[@bruiser66]

Thank you for an epic video. Congrats for 100,000 subscribers. 😁.

[@TechGorilla1987]

@3:37 - Bro - I'm watching at you're at nearly 150K You're a beacon!

[@MrDan708]

5:55 Ah, the esteemed Mr. Carvel! I remember him once being interviewed about how people are so easily duped into thinking other ice creams are superior because they have French-sounding names. I never saw him so angry!

[@allysonalt5291]

I think I just missed you at Macys-I was there on the same day you were, midday. It was seriously depressing in terms of how decrepit parts of that store felt (I took the world's crappiest elevator to the top floor as I had vertigo that day.) I miss the old department stores of my youth-the downtown stores seemed so fancy to me in the 80s and 90s.

[@sal]

You should’ve said hi!

[@SashaKreider]

Absolute banger of an episode, been looking forward to it since you started advertising it. And congrats for the channel taking off like a rocket - just in the time it took me to watch this, you gained an additional 1000 subscribers!

[@sal]

Thanks so much for watching! The growth has been legendary, and I'm totally humbled by it.

[@Mom2my4blessings]

Congratulations on 100,000 subscribers!! You deserve every one of them 🎉

[@sal]

Thank you so much!!

[@SilverballMetal]

I ran several arcades in the 80s and 90s, and most of the DC & and Maryland malls I worked at are gone. Laurel Centre, Wheaton Plaza, Golden Ring, Lenfant Plaza. I think Forest Village Park may still be around.

[@dongaradixie]

Congratulations, you're on your way to 200 000 subscribers!! Great work thank you 👍👍🌻🌻

[@sal]

Thank you! 😃

[@lauriesmith5008]

Thank you for all your blogs. You look fabulous, keep up the good work.

[@sal]

Hey, thanks for the kind words Laurie! Lots more on the way!

[@ForestTekkenVideos]

1:11:30 I think "sterile" is a good word. I've never been and it's really nice to see all of this via youtube though!

[@ivyseal5161]

Sal congratulations on you 100,00 Subscribers you have I have enjoyed all your videos since I started watching them keep up this fantastic work and looking forward to seeing many more

[@sal]

Thanks a bunch!

[@Joelsef]

ElevatorJones and I watched together tonight and he’s ready to go on some adventures now. Thanks for documenting the DC Metro!

[@shortythenut1]

Awesome video, very interesting! And congratulations!

[@sal]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@qadiva56]

Great video as always Sal! I went to Howard U in the 90s and the Metro was my only mode of transportation as well. This brings back great memories.

[@danielgyllenbreider]

Thank you!

[@sal]

You're welcome!

[@JustCallMeMeghan]

This was so interesting. Living and working in DC, I enjoy learning interesting facts. I also used to manage that Regal at Gallery Place. Lol.

[@FanOfVacuums2]

I vaguely recall my parents taking us on a vacation and staying in the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in the 2000s when I was a child. I do not remember much, but I remember the glass pyramid, my dad calling it L'Elephant, my parents being disappointed with all the closed businesses and the hotel being in bad shape compared to the pictures, and the valet at the hotel putting a massive dent in my mom's Ford Windstar and claiming he did not do it.

[@sal]

I'm seriously not surprised your old Windstar got a dent in it in the 2000's at L'Elephant Plaza. Thanks for watching, and for sharing!

[@cardshot]

I live in Baltimore, but as a huge live music fan, I find myself in D.C a lot. L'enfant Plaza tends to be where I park for the spy museum or the anthem. As many times as I've been there, I've never been in the mall!

[@lookout101]

Im sitting here as you walk around outside and think to myself... man, i've played waay to much The Divison 2 in the day, recognizing a lot of the buildings. Cheers from germany!

[@sal]

Cheers!!!

[@jackrobin1829]

Awesome video. I used to live on Capitol Hill & always felt sad to see what a mess L’Enfant was. After the success of The Wharf hopefully they will do something similar.

[@dianeleone1634]

Congrats on the 100thou subscribers💥

[@jeffarmstrong3519]

Hey Sal, I've been watching you since sometime in 2018/19. I'm still not exactly sure what started to captivate me about the dying retail thing. I know it had something to do with a work trip to Phoenix is 2017 when I wandered into the now defunct Metrocenter mall. I was stunned at how incredible the place was, and that was before I knew Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure had been filmed there lol. Then I found Dan Bell and started to be captivated by the whole urban exploration thing. Anyway I just wanted to say your content has been some of the absolute best I've seen. The narrative you weave and the facts you shed light on really illuminate the interesting history behind the communities we live in. Its not about shopping or consumerism, these places really bound our society together at one time and I'm not sure the online madness we're replacing them with is as good. I feel like we're loosing something valuable and its not shop until you drop black Friday sales. Anyway I wrote to much. I just wanted to say thanks and that I appreciate the work you've been doing. Congrats on 150k!

[@sal]

Hey Jeff, thanks so much for the kind words. I really do appreciate your comment, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

[@sunsetrecords2548]

Great video and congrats on 100k

[@sal]

Thanks for sticking with me all these years!

[@sunsetrecords2548]

@@sal you're welcome!

[@nopereradicator]

202 represent! Thanks Sal!

[@pmcguigan2151]

Congrats on the 100,000 subscribers. Well done.

[@rfuerstwagner]

It would be a very interesting contract to look at the suburban malls that are still hanging on along the Metro. Wheaton, Springfield, Silver Spring, and of course the thriving Tyson’s…

[@CarlSmith-p2c]

Gallery Place Metro is also very convenient to the Old Patent Office, which now houses the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. From there, it is about 5 blocks downhill to the National Gallery of Art and the rest of the National Mall. (Follow 7th Street.)

[@ybunnygurl]

I never even knew there was a mall at L'Enfant Plaza. I have lived in the DC area for 38 years!

[@Pauls.Malls84]

This was an excellent video. I've only been to the Macy's of the "Horsemen" but I definitely want to see L'Enfant Plaza next time I'm in DC. And agree what you said about Macy's, especially when it comes to their food service division, they seem to only really care about New York and maybe Chicago.

[@scentnation6223]

If you ever need right to get around the DMV, I run a fleet of Ride free vehicles when Your urban dead mall retail exploring been living in the area for 40 years. Can tell you how it used to be before and after and show you cool hidden mall like Eden Center etc. Let me know. I wish you were around when white Flint Mall was up ultimate 80s retro mall.

[@sal]

Hey, are you talking about that Vietnamese strip center? The Eden Center?

[@scentnation6223]

@ yes exactly Eden Center It’s like walking through a time capsule of the early 90s late 80s. There was this other place closed years back called skyline Mall which is a target now in Bailey’s crossroads there is a abandoned McDonald’s underground that’s not been touched since it closed in 2005. It is so retro and preserved. You should definitely see if you can go there. I have some pictures to send you if you can let me know what your email is!?

[@JenniferinIllinois]

I've never been to DC so thanks for showing me around. Brutalist architecture just screams dystopian future but I have to admit I love it. The HUD building is fantastic! Guessing that windowless building used to house phone exchange equipment (have some smaller ones like that where I live that were owned by GTE/Verizon). BTW congrats Sal on passing 150k!!!!

[@mikewatkins8342]

I love your videos keep it up

[@sal]

Thanks, Mike! I have *YEARS* of content ready to produce. Stay tuned!

[@edwardfine1922]

Excellent video. Minor correction: as of 2024 full operations of Union station have been transitioned to Amtrak. This includes retail operations

[@sal]

Thanks, Edward. Further, Amtrak leased the retail concourse to Ben Ashkenazy. He’s done a great job.

[@stoneji]

​​@@salAshkenazy lost control of Union Station Investco to Rexmark in 2022 in a foreclosure. Did Amtrak turn around and lease the concourse to Ashkenazy again after taking control of the retail from Rexmark??

[@briangriffin4937]

I remember the L’Enfant Plaza movie theater was the screening venue for the American Film Institute in the early ‘70s. I went there a lot when I was in high school to watch the “old movies.” 🎞️

[@barbmorrissey2051]

Congrats, Sal! What was the song playing when you were wrapping up and thanking everyone? Love your videos and can’t wait for more!

[@BRFilmStudios]

Metro trains and malls are like my 2 favorite things, this is my dream video lol! You think Macy’s is going to survive 2025? We’ll learn the first 65 closures any day now. Glad to see Union Station is doing better! L’Enfant Plaza was awesome too! Merry Christmas, and congrats on 200k! That was fast lol

[@katmariemp3]

My car got locked into a garage under L'Enfant Plaza after a show earlier this year. We walked around the mall hallways and they most certainly lead to the backrooms!

[@randomcommenterfromdownund8949]

LOL @ sketchy nights at Dupont Circle. I can relate...

[@jnyerere]

"Leh-Fant" or "Le-Fant" is the local pronunciation of the station. That first "n" is silent.

[@sal]

Sry, French lessons getting in my way of local dialect. Thanks for watching!

[@PositionLight]

I just call that first area "Gallery Place-Chinatown" to align with WMATA naming.

[@NickMartin-s5c]

Epic video bro!! Maybe the mall will become a Kmart

[@sal]

Read what you just typed. Then read it again and understand how farfetched the idea is.

[@andrew6xrv]

I would absolutely love if you somehow made your way to San Francisco Centre in SF! It’s a 9 story mall with spiral escalators (the top four floors were Nordstrom which closed last year), with the center court under the dome of the historic Emporium department store. Now it’s about 80% empty, despite being beautiful inside. Has Bloomingdales, a decent food court, and a few remaining luxury stores here and there.

[@sal]

Thanks for watching! My plan is absolutely to come out west…stay tuned :)

[@andrew6xrv]

Love your content! Definitely no shortage of dying malls here in California.

[@sal]

@andrew6xrv really?? With Horton Plaza gone, it feels like they’re all thriving???

[@andrew6xrv]

Recently it seems to have been moving towards one ultra-thriving mall per metro area. Some other malls that are on the dying side (or dead) are Westminster Mall, Puente Hills Mall, Manchester Center, West Valley Mall, Sunrise Mall, Southland Mall, Shops at Tanforan, Somerville Towne Center, Northgate Mall (San Rafael), Santa Maria Town Center, Capitola Mall, Bayfair Center, Paseo Nuevo, La Cumbe Plaza, Newpark Mall, and Lakewood Center. Quite a few malls with only Macy’s as an anchor also.

[@sal]

@andrew6xrv noted…. Thank you!

[@mia4md]

“Sir, Sir, you can’t film here” I swear that guy followed you. Maybe a short of all the times you got told you can’t film here.

[@sal]

it certainly wouldn't be a short "short"

[@GENIUSA1A]

I also went to school in DC. Never once have I went to the mall there.

[@keyahsblair]

That train, no windows building scene was giving "Salt" vibes 😂❤

[@sal]

Right?!

[@GENIUSA1A]

JBG Smith holding the bag with all this bad retail space

[@dianeleone1634]

Ha ha. Lite Trouble😎

[@sal]

No comment lolol

[@johnburke1317]

Nice video

[@melasnexperience]

First time I've seen Union Station in at least 7 years (used to go at least once a month, sometimes once a week, for work from Philly via Amtrak until we had to shift to remote), and while I'm very glad that the stores & mall are thriving, it appears that they took out the seating for Amtrak/MARC passengers...? Ugh, I hate when places do that. At least 30th Street Station put theirs back after a couple years of complaints.

[@sal]

Hey thanks for watching! If you look carefully, you can see that they created a big Amtrak seating area in a long section of closed storefronts in the retail concourse first floor.

[@AUTISTICLYCAN]

Jack Kemp once said the HUD building was a high rise filled with basements. The supports at the base of the HUD building were called Elephant legs. I think the HUD headquarters looks like a massive inner city poor peoples project. You've made me want to visit these places.

[@sal]

Definitely visit, it's a sight to behold!

[@andrewdavis8709]

Makes me miss DC, as it’s been almost nine years since graduating grad school and moving back to CA. Although not likely dead, how are Wheaton and Pentagon City holding up?

[@arnoroorda3201]

Holy mother of 🧀! You have 150k subscribers! I just got out of bed prepairing breakfast started the video Finished my coffee.... Lets goooooo! 🫶🏻 👍🏼 💪🏻 😂 nuclear kloaka! Wait till you see what my pet bird (Pyrrhura Frontalis) drops in the morning! 😳 😅 Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving Sal!

[@MonicaSevery]

Unless there are tour groups, the plaza is quite dead since most government workers don't come to the office. I own Charleys Cheese Steaks in the plaza. Our sales have dropped tremendously since COVID.

[@azmax623]

I'd really like living in a city where I could take the subway to shops, theatres and work. Alas, Phoenix doesn't have decent public transit.

[@JF_ARVA]

Sal, you should definitely do something on Eden Center in Seven Corners. I’ve spent the last 20 years in the area and all the bar routes you mention are the same as mine, the Big Hunt was my favorite however (RIP).

[@sal]

Is there an actual substantial indoor portion of the Eden Center? Or is it 99% outdoor strip mall?

[@JF_ARVA]

yep, there are 3 buildings with indoor corridors, 15-20ish stores each, "Saigon East" and "Saigon West" are the main two. You can kind of see a section of one on google maps: www.google.com/maps/place/Eden+Center/@38.8729883,-77.1545156,3a,75y,273.37h,74.6t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sAF1QipNeH0Hch_wP_pF6aLh30zmuIbRUqA64wC8BcBHM!2e10!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNeH0Hch_wP_pF6aLh30zmuIbRUqA64wC8BcBHM%3Dw900-h600-k-no-pi15.400013200785608-ya291.5113538354508-ro0-fo100!7i13312!8i6656!4m18!1m8!3m7!1s0x89b7b48bff045e15:0x916864396e3b5776!2sEden+Center!8m2!3d38.873835!4d-77.1538285!10e5!16zL20vMDJtMWx3!3m8!1s0x89b7b48bff045e15:0x916864396e3b5776!8m2!3d38.873835!4d-77.1538285!10e5!14m1!1BCgIYEg!16zL20vMDJtMWx3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIwNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

[@sal]

Hey thanks for the follow up! I'll head over to check the place out for "lunch" next week and see what I can find...

[@azmax623]

I wonder if malls like L'Enfant do themselves a disfavor by having mazes of hallways connecting various parts of the mall together.

[@sal]

Nope. It’s bad.

[@devineleven514]

you should have put in some vid on those old Ladas if we are getting into brutalist conceptual arts and life lol

[@MonicaSevery]

A party store and large retailer store will be opening in the plaza in 2025. :)

[@dgtllo]

I really enjoyed this video. It's a shame to see how far down the mall has gone down since the revamp not too long ago. Sidenote, the DOE cafeteria was pretty good the last time I ate there.

[@sal]

Are civilians allowed to eat there? The sign looked out of place for anyone that wasn't an employee.

[@dgtllo]

@@sal when I worked there, it wasn't open to the public, but I just checked their website. It's open to the public now, but it's not open every day. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

[@onlygafabotwhatigafbout8495]

The Doe cafeteria is trash and starting next year under new management

[@BalooUriza]

Ah yes, the DC Metro. The only train system I can think of offhand that doesn't seem to understand you can just open the doors, there's no reason to wait five seconds after stopping to do that.

[@porcelainthunder2213]

Keep in mind, many of those agency offices are dead, too, with most employees still teleworking. That’s a reason why it’s still dead. Same with the other metro malls, and the Metro itself. That is supposed to be changing under the new administration, so these spaces might have a brighter future.

[@sal]

Good point!! Didn’t occur to me!

[@RyDawg084]

I’ve only gotten off at L’Enfant Plaza a few times to go to the Wharf, And never knew they had a dead mall there with a food court. Thanks for sharing this with us. That area from outside definitely looks straight out of cold war Russia. The FBI building on the other side of Mall with the same style looks so out of place. I’m always afraid one of the gigantic concrete blocks that overhang are gonna fall and kill somebody

[@sal]

The concrete is out of control in Southwest DC!! Make sure you check this place out in person, it's awesome.

[@jnyerere]

"Doors Opening." "Doors Closing." *Ding Dong* Only the real ones remember this one.

[@mclatchyt]

What's more painful, the dentist's office or the DMV?

[@sal]

Yes.

[@davidbowman9494]

You want brutalist check out Boston City hall.

[@azmax623]

1:06:52 is that a Trabant or a VW squareback?

[@sal]

According to @themallfox yes

[@MargaretWhite-r5t]

Thanks for the forecast! I need some advice: I have a SafePal wallet with USDT, and I have the seed phrase. (alarm fetch churn bridge exercise tape speak race clerk couch crater letter). How should I go about transferring them to Binance?

[@sal]

recklessly

[@jnyerere]

"Le-Fant" That first "n" is silent.

[@sal]

To DC locals mispronouncing French *

[@pilotgrrl1]

Dumpy the Pumpkin... Sounds like a nickname for the president-elect.

[@scanmead]

NTSB!

[@MonicaSevery]

It became a dead mall when the government workers started working from home. When Trump gets back in office and government workers return to the office, L'enfant Plaza will come back to life.

[@aaronolson2234]

Sal, the reason for your success - as well as the short amount of time for you to reach 100k subscribers - is because your videos are quality. You got the goods, kid! Heres to continued success. May the road rise with you.

[@sal]

Thanks, Aaron! That means a lot. Stay tuned, I have a ton on the way!

[@Nisha-09-d6z]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@GENIUSA1A]

Such a dead area of the city prime for redevelopment.

[@TechGorilla1987]

Personally, I don't think the malls failed - I think the "community" failed.

[@sal]

Possibly.. but at the end of the day, it’s the developers job to make an enticing and safe enough reason for the community to visit…right?

[@TechGorilla1987]

@@sal I cannot disagree. In the end, it's a fundamental change from the times when I grew up and the nostalgia of better times is a compelling emotion. Stay well, Sal!

[@stevemcgowen]

Exactly. Malls where I live are thriving. Crime where I live is very low.

[@lalida6432]

You are NOT allowed to film in the Metro for security reasons. What are you doing?

[@sal]

Filming in the metro for non security reasons.

[@plumpdn]

The gum chewing is throwing me off. It’s making you seem unlikable, despite the good content.

[@sal]

Hey, sorry. I didn’t want to spit it out inside the metro and I spent so little time out on the street between places. Apologies.

[@JohnPork-f2v]

GRM makes gooder videos than you

[@zennybb]

dude is so full of himself now i miss the old sal =v= time to unsub ig at least the proper people and bright sun films are still chill

[@Sor3e]

Wdym

[@sal]

wait what lol

[@SuperBuickregal]

@@Sor3e ?????

[@SuperBuickregal]

I like those guys mentioned also but Sal does a great job in a historical presentation of his videos of these places along with some great satire on occasion, enjoy the rest of your Holiday weekend!

[@mandaJt]

wtf are you talking about?