Quote:
Originally Posted by x2drich2000
For reference AC as I mentioned above is 490k sqft.
DC (Walter Washington Convention center) - Hall ABC looks to be 473k sqft - so a little small but maybe possible especially if you would be willing to separate into the 2nd floor hall as well. But I'm not sure breaking the show into multiple areas would be a good thing.
Philly would work based on size (main hall is 528k sqft + the ballroom if you wanted to separate for more space).
Baltimore - IMO the show has now unfortunately outgrown the convention center. The main hall is only 300k sqft.
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The Washington Convention Center is not a great place for the show. I have gone there for the auto show, World Stamp Expo, Health and fitness expo and small events. The main hall is only about 160' x 90', or 155' x 60'. I used their virtual floor plan program with measuring tool and got several different measurements. The Auto Show uses multiple floors. Even though the main hall is a nice rectangle, it would not seem practical. I believe the main hall is also in the basement.
I have walked in the area quite a bit when I go to the D.C. Archives for research. The convention center takes up about 3 old city blocks. Directly to the north is mainly residential rowhouses and Howard University. To the west is mostly rowhouses, small condos. To the east is low income housing and Dunbar High School. To the south across the intersection of two major avenues (New York and Massachusetts) is Chinatown and Capital One Arena. There is not enough parking close to the building with no parking structures. There is a parking area in the building, but that may just be for exhibitors and deliveries. Very few places to eat - Subway and some small restaurants. As for hotels; there is one in the next block - Marriott Marquis. After that all of the larger hotels are 5-8 blocks away - Grand Hyatt, Hilton Garden Inn, Sofitel, Washington Marriott, Washington Hyatt.
The only positive is the Mt. Vernon/Convention Center/7th Street Metro stop is directly below the building. The exit/entrance to the subway station is under part of the building so you come up the escalator and walk 30 feet into the building. One of the subway lines that stops here goes to Crystal City in Arlington, future home of Amazon HQ2, and there are 13 hotels there.