DC doesn’t have much of this type of building, though, given that its primary industrial products have traditionally been bullshit and hot air. However, what there is of this type of building here is almost entirely in or adjacent to the Rhode Island corridor – just not in this area, per se. Heading north along the east side of the Metro and CSX tracks there are half a dozen empty industrial buildings, as well as clusters around the BET building as well as in Eckington. There are already conversions in place in Brookland – the Dance space as well as the Brookland studios are examples.

If DC wants an art district, they need to craft some revisions to the zoning codes and set aside some subsidies for conversion of these spaces. Make it affordable – there’s plenty of artists in DC who would love some place to work. At least, there used to be until they all moved to Baltimore.