How many of you have gotten off at L’Enfant Plaza Station? Or for that matter, actually changed trains there? Before moving to Capitol Hill, L’Enfant was just this big transfer station to other places I’d never go to, like Congress Heights or Branch Ave. For-for?

Now, I ride through it every day, and I’ve noticed that during peak hours, it’s as busy as Metro Center, if not more busy. After all, four lines pass through it, more than any other station (yes, Gallery Place and Metro Center both only have 3 lines, and all other transfer
stations share two).

But get off at L’Enfant Plaza? What for? It’s just a bunch of federal
buildings and maybe a Smithsonian nearby. My opportunity to explore L’Enfant arose when I had to go meet an out-of-town friend there for lunch.

“Don’t use the 7th & Maryland Ave. exit! Go the other way,” she
instructed me. Good going, there were two other exits: 7th & D St and L’Enfant Plaza. I should have followed my nose instead of my wits, because after I tried 7th and D and ended up in some Nixon-era federal plaza, the warm scent of fresh lunch meat wafted its way down the escalator leading to L’Enfant Plaza.

As soon as I exited, I found myself in an immense underground mall. AH. A PLAZA. There’s stores. Restaurants. Au Bon Pain. USPS. And every inch of the mall walkways appear to be etched with shimmering plate gold, like some gaudy 70s shopping center. There’s no real brand stores there, but you’re sure to find what you need. The restaurants there are geared towards the lunch crowd. That makes sense since the buildings above L’Enfant Plaza are mostly occupied by the Department of Transportation. In all, it’s a pleasant surprise, especially since I’ve never heard anyone say, “Oh, I just shopped at L’Enfant.”

So, for those of you who think the only mall in DC exists across the city limits (save for The Shops at Georgetown), try checking out
L’Enfant Plaza sometime. And okay, here’s some hearing humor for you courtesy of Wikipedia.

It is somewhat of a joke amongst veteran Metro riders that Metro train operators commonly mispronouce the French name “L’Enfant” as “luh-font.”