“Pave paradise, put up a parking lot.”

The Wendy’s that sat in the middle of the chaotic Northeast D.C. intersection of New York and Florida Avenues was hardly paradise. But it was weird. In that sense, it was a testament to the unplanned wonder that often contributes to the charm of neighborhoods, and that, in Washington especially, is gradually being smothered by an influx of money and by the ever-present tide of modernity. As I wrote in 2021 after the last night this Wendy’s was open for business (having been purchased by the D.C. government through eminent domain):

But what can’t be denied is that it was a lingering rebuke to the designs of planners who have grand ambitions for what places should look like at the same time that they have contempt for the seemingly haphazard features of neighborhoods to which their residents nonetheless become attached.

On that last night, another area resident told me he hoped there would be some kind of memorialization of this awkward plot of land, unanticipated by the original D.C. city plan, after the Wendy’s itself was destroyed. For almost two years, we did have a memorial, of sorts: The Wendy’s itself. No longer in business, surrounded by fencing, colorfully (legally) decorated, the original building continued to stand empty. It was a reminder of what had been — and of the apparent failure of the city government to make good on the alleged promise of the demolition: to ease traffic. From September 2021 onward, the only reduction in congestion arose from the absence of cars going into and out of the restaurant itself.

So I assumed it would remain indefinitely. It takes a long time for anything to get done in a city like D.C. On a run this morning, I stopped at one of the intersection’s many lights, this one adjacent to the property on which the Wendy’s once stood. I saw a razing permit dated 12/29/22 — more than six months ago. I scoffed and ran off, assuming the razing would never happen. Well, mere hours later, it did. The Weird Wendy’s is officially no more. (Images attached to prior Wendy’s posts make stark contrasts to the image attached to this one.)

As I have noted in a previous dispatch, the city’s plans for the intersection are uncertain. Alleged improvement is forthcoming, as well as perhaps some kind of park where the Wendy’s once was. Maybe these things will be better; it would be nice to have a less congested thoroughfare. But I wonder how much better this planning anomaly ever actually could get. And I doubt a “park” at the intersection of two of the city’s busiest streets is a place where people will spend much time. To me, it will always be a Wendy’s.

“Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone . . .”