Working Near Union Station - What's the Good, Bad and Ugly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - this is all very helpful. I am coming from an area of town that has a lot more going on, so it's good to know what to expect. Thank you!

OP, if you can't tell from these responses, it depends on where exactly your office will be located. Everyone responded from their own POV from where they personally work to the point that one PP suggested that all the offices are one direction from union station (false -- i work the other direction). If you're near Georgetown Law, I agree that's kind of deserted except for food trucks and it's kind of a PITA to even walk to union station. I work on the opposite side of union station, right next to it. It's very easy for me to get there and it's an easy walk on a nice day down to H street. Plus, there are some decent restaurants on Mass Ave. up that way -- Cafe Berlin and there's a french place. There's a little market at 2nd and F St that does sandwiches during the day that's pretty good, but kind of pricey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I hated it when we first opened here! now, I'm sad my office is moving - again - to the hinterlands.

Aw man, I thought they were changing their minds about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can also walk over to H street and there are some lunch options there. I like the Nando's and if I have time I like to take the free streetcar to the other side of H street to have lunch at Maketto's.

Zillow says that's an 11 minute walk from the front of union station. All the offices are west and south of there, so you're talking 15 minutes to walk to nandos. No one who works here goes to H street.

No, from my office it is at most 5mn. Sorry it is so far for you.

Then you ain't that close to Union Station.

-NP

NP here. You're wrong. Union Station is a huge building with multiple exits. I work in an office building that is literally connected to US by the walkway next to McDs. If I walk out the back door of my building, I'm at Second in-between G and H Streets, literally less than a 5 minute walk from Nando's.

You blew my mind that there is a walkway to another building next to McDonald's. I've worked in the Union Station area for nearly a decade and I never knew that.

[Anonymous]

^SEC and Kaiser are adjacent to US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^SEC and Kaiser are adjacent to US.

Don't forget the Anerican Chemistry Association (or something like that)!

[Anonymous]

I work at the SEC and on Fridays when the weather is nice, I walk to H street. Options are : Boundary Road, Nando's, Fare Well, The Big Board, Po'Boys, Taqueria,...
However the better lunch options are on the other side of H street, which you can do if you take the free streetcar and have more time to burn: Maketto's, Bullfrog Bagels, Sospeso, Dangerously Delicious, the Thai place whose name escapes me, &pizza, Taylor Gourmet etc...

Of course, there is also the brand new Whole Foods. I also saw a coming soon Buredo sign next to the H street Starbucks.

Not far from my building there is also an Italian restaurant, the Ebenezer coffee/sandwich place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My firm moved here from metro center a few years ago. The general consensus from almost everyone is that union station sucks compared to where we used to be.

There are several lunch options at union station, but union station is a fair walk from any offices (versus metro center, where there is always a couple restaurants on the ground floor of every building). As others said, LOTS of homeless and panhandlers around, and so many tourists, and union station is so chaotic, so my colleagues almost never walk to get lunch there. A lot of people started bringing from home. Food trucks help. Other than union station, there's a Philip's café, Corner Bakery, Bistro Bis, Art & Soul, and everything else starts being a farther walk.

If you are on commuter rail or red line, public transportation options are great. I gather the drive from Virginia is pretty good. Driving from Maryland is terrible. I live near U street in DC, and finally gave up on public transport because it was often taking an hour (metro delays; and no bus routes that run diagonal in the city).

No lunchtime shopping whatsoever, save for the Walgreens in the basement of union station, a handful of small-scale stores in union station (ann taylor, victorias secret, mac and a few other randoms). Walmart is within walking distance. People think of that new development at K and 5th (safeway, restaurants etc) as being in the same neighborhood, but those 5 blocks are super long blocks and cross the highway, so it's either 20 minutes to walk to there or 5 minute cab. No hair salon, nail place, etc that you can just run down to for lunch. No banks, no other services.

In sum, getting here is okay. Once you're here, absolutely nothing to do. Unless people are going to the foodtrucks, most people don't leave their offices during the day.

let me guess- arnold and porter? their old location was way better, i agree.

Ah, now that explains all the daytime shopping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - this is all very helpful. I am coming from an area of town that has a lot more going on, so it's good to know what to expect. Thank you!

OP, if you can't tell from these responses, it depends on where exactly your office will be located. Everyone responded from their own POV from where they personally work to the point that one PP suggested that all the offices are one direction from union station (false -- i work the other direction). If you're near Georgetown Law, I agree that's kind of deserted except for food trucks and it's kind of a PITA to even walk to union station. I work on the opposite side of union station, right next to it. It's very easy for me to get there and it's an easy walk on a nice day down to H street. Plus, there are some decent restaurants on Mass Ave. up that way -- Cafe Berlin and there's a french place. There's a little market at 2nd and F St that does sandwiches during the day that's pretty good, but kind of pricey.

+1

The only caveat I would add is that I think there are a decent amount of homeless people in every direction but that kind of comes with being in an expensive city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My firm moved here from metro center a few years ago. The general consensus from almost everyone is that union station sucks compared to where we used to be.

There are several lunch options at union station, but union station is a fair walk from any offices (versus metro center, where there is always a couple restaurants on the ground floor of every building). As others said, LOTS of homeless and panhandlers around, and so many tourists, and union station is so chaotic, so my colleagues almost never walk to get lunch there. A lot of people started bringing from home. Food trucks help. Other than union station, there's a Philip's café, Corner Bakery, Bistro Bis, Art & Soul, and everything else starts being a farther walk.

If you are on commuter rail or red line, public transportation options are great. I gather the drive from Virginia is pretty good. Driving from Maryland is terrible. I live near U street in DC, and finally gave up on public transport because it was often taking an hour (metro delays; and no bus routes that run diagonal in the city).

No lunchtime shopping whatsoever, save for the Walgreens in the basement of union station, a handful of small-scale stores in union station (ann taylor, victorias secret, mac and a few other randoms). Walmart is within walking distance. People think of that new development at K and 5th (safeway, restaurants etc) as being in the same neighborhood, but those 5 blocks are super long blocks and cross the highway, so it's either 20 minutes to walk to there or 5 minute cab. No hair salon, nail place, etc that you can just run down to for lunch. No banks, no other services.

In sum, getting here is okay. Once you're here, absolutely nothing to do. Unless people are going to the foodtrucks, most people don't leave their offices during the day.

let me guess- arnold and porter? their old location was way better, i agree.

Ah, now that explains all the daytime shopping.

Not a&p. They're way west from union station. I think they are closer to that Safeway development, no? Basically agree with others I guess it depends on location. I guess there are a couple buildings east of union station and they can walk to h street. There are some buildings 5-10 minutes west of he station that are ten minutes to gallery place. Most of the buildings ring union station to the south and immediate west, and we are a far walk from everything.

[Anonymous]

There is a whole new development going up where the bus station used to be...

[Anonymous]

There is a lot of homeless people. They are always hanging outside of Union Station. I saw one urinating in the columns during lunch time. Hate the traffic around there as well. Ebenzer's coffee makes great coffee & Toscana cafe next to it is soooo good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^SEC and Kaiser are adjacent to US.

Don't forget the Anerican Chemistry Association (or something like that)!

American Psychological Association

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^SEC and Kaiser are adjacent to US.

Don't forget the Anerican Chemistry Association (or something like that)!

American Psychological Association

No, the sign on the building lists (along with SEC and Kaiser) American Chemistry Council.

[Anonymous]

While there are some things to walk to, the problem with this neighborhood is that there's not much room for improvement. Union station is always going to be there. The postal museum (which is a full city block with no ground floor retail) will always be there. The semi circle and then blocks of parks in front of union station will always be there. The congressional parking lots will always be there. So while buildings can pop up here and there, this neighborhood will never really fill in the way gallery place did in the late 90s. Note that I'm excluding the development along mass ave west of union station from this, because it's really not "union station" and admittedly that neighborhood is filling in quite nicely. But if you work "at" union station, you'll never be close enough to that mass stretch to use it for lunches, etc.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of people in and around US who seem to take joy on impeding of obstructing your path when you're trying to get around. People who walk SOOOO slowly in large groups who take up the entire walkway. Homeless people who enter your personal space to try to intimidate you or approach you from behind to scare you. People who know better standing on escalators so you can't pass.

Especially going into the Metro from the 1st street entrance. All the people taking MARC and VRE hug the entire right side of the walkway, the part that leads to the Metro turnstiles, so it's sometimes impossible to get into Metro without lots and lots of maneuvering. They're huffing and puffing with their rolling briefcases or whatever, taking their sweet time. Good lord.