Crystal City
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Crystal City   

Crystal City's underground economy

Details
(Area code: 703)
Crystal City Shops, South 15th Street and Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. 1), Arlington, 922-4636: Record Town, 412-0166; B. Dalton Books, 413-0558; Cosmetic Center, 418-4815; Dress Barn Woman, 412-6086; American Phone Shops, 413-7175; La Marionette, 418-2196; Ship's Hatch, 413-6289; Geppi's, 413-0618; Commuter Store, 413-4287; Ruth's Chris Steak House, 979-7275; San Antonio Grill, 415-0126; Hamburger Hamlet, 413-0422; Crystal Food Court, 413-0930
Team Sports Bar, Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Jefferson Davis Hwy., 920-3230
Crystal City Sports Pub, 529 S. 23rd St., 521-8215
Transcendental Meditation Group, 2320 S. Eads St., 486-2222
Crystal City Toastmasters Club, Aurora Hills Public Library, 735 S. 18th St., 308-2061; meets first and third Tuesday of month from 7:15 to 8:40 p.m.
Washington Shakespeare Company, Clark Street Playhouse, 601 Clark St. S., 418-4807

 

By Theodore Fischer, Sidewalk 

Crystal City Shops is the collective name for disconnected clusters of underground businesses that sprawl along a nine-block network of tunnels and walkways. The complex consists of more than 125 shops, cafes and restaurants; some 50 doctors' and dentists' offices; and banks, travel agencies, the Crystal Forum conference center, a post office, a Virginia ABC (liquor) store, a campus of George Washington University and an underground Safeway. (A word to the wise: Grab a green directory and map at the earliest opportunity or you might never be heard from again.) Most of the enterprises are grouped into five clusters – Plaza Shops, Park Building Shops, Crystal Mall Arcade, Crystal Gateway and Underground Shops – but the latter, right beside the Crystal City Metro station, is where most of the action is.

While the Underground Shops has its share of standard-issue shopping options – Record Town, B. Dalton Books, Cosmetic Center, Dress Barn Woman – the winding subterranean corridors produce a lot of cozy crannies that lend themselves to occupancy by cute little specialty stores. American Phone Shops carries every imaginable type of phone and phone accessory. A cubbyhole called La Marionette dangles puppets on a string (but absolutely nothing of the hand-in-sock variety) and decorative masks.

The Ship's Hatch is a shipshape space that carries official U.S. Navy ships' caps and other clothing, ships' bells and chronometers, model ships and other nautical accessories. It probably doesn't get many of the same customers as Geppi's Comic World (above left), a comic-book superstore that also stocks plenty of trading cards and plastic models. Along with giving away bus and train schedules and maps, the Commuter Store sells bus- and rail-fare cards for local transit systems and runs a matching service for car- or van-pooling Virginians.

There are plenty of places to eat within the Crystal City matrix. Top of the line – in both altitude and price – is Ruth's Chris Steak House on the 11th floor of Crystal Park 3, where prime beef plays second fiddle to the dramatic airport and river view. Prices and location are more down to earth at the San Antonio Grill, where the Tex-Mex dishes and decor both have good taste. Hamburger Hamlet, which advertises this location as "The Hamlet Bar and Grille," is still best for charcoal burgers gussied up with avocado or Thousand Island dressing.

The Team Sports Bar in the Crystal City Marriott promises (warns?) diners "all burgers cooked well done." Order the steak salad if you have a problem with deep frying. The Crystal City Sports Pub, not connected to the tunnel system, has 27 televisions to amuse a clientele of local regulars and business travelers. The Crystal Food Court in the Underground Shops has a mix-and-match setup – you pay for food from any of the stalls at central cash registers – for Burger King, Manchu Wok, Morrison's, Pizza Hut, Subway, Taco Bell and Yanni's Greek Express.

For evening entertainment you may have to wander away from the Crystal City underground reservation. Chill out at the Transcendental Meditation Group Program Facility a few blocks away. Or drop by a meeting of the Crystal City Toastmasters Club, a friendly bunch that convenes on first and third Tuesdays to practice speaking in public.

But seriously, folks, Crystal City's premier cultural institution is the Washington Shakespeare Company, an accomplished troupe that occupies the Clark Street Playhouse, a malleable converted warehouse. WSC specializes in engaging theater and innovative productions of second-string Shakespeare – The Winter's Tale as the McCarthy hearings meet Beach Blanket Bingo this season – plus classics by Ibsen, Shaw and Chekhov. Avid Arlington government and community support keeps the ticket prices on the low side and theatrical risk taking on the bold side.

See also: Crystal City and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Museum

 
Theodore Fischer, 1801 August Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20902, Tel: 301-593-9797, Fax: 301-593-9798, email: tfischer11@hotmail.com