I needed a coffee during my walkabout on Saturday and was passing by the Old Post Office. I hadn’t been there in over 15 years but I remembered that the place was filled with small shops and cafes. Opening the door on the south side of the building I found a descending stairwell with security guards on the lower landing. The stairs up were blocked. Well, I thought that this wasn’t the entrance I was looking for and left to find another door.  I went to the west door on 12th Street and found it locked with a sign that had me going back to the south door. Well, now I was determined and so went back to the south door and went through security. Why security? Turns out the building is federal (duh…Post Office) and owned by the GSA. On entering, I was shocked…the place was a ghost town. Just a few shops open and all of them had signs that announced their closure. Seems like Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka are leasing the building from GSA and will turn it into a luxury hotel. Based on the Trump reputation, I’m guessing that GSA didn’t do well on the negotiations.My first impression was one of nostalgic sorrow, here was this national landmark being repurposed into a hotel for the Trumps! But later on that evening, I was talking to a lady who lives in Chinatown. She was taking photos of the Washington Monument at the same time and place as I and we talked for quite a while. Her opinion was that without people like Trump, buildings like the Post Office would rot away. She was happy that the building was going to be preserved and she hoped it would still be available for people to go into the Tower.The shot below is taken from the mezzanine looking down the grand staircase to the first floor. The place used to be a bustling, laughter filled space. This was taken at 4:00 on a Saturday. Almost empty. I wonder.

I needed a coffee during my walkabout on Saturday and was passing by the Old Post Office. I hadn’t been there in over 15 years but I remembered that the place was filled with small shops and cafes. Opening the door on the south side of the building I found a descending stairwell with security guards on the lower landing. The stairs up were blocked. Well, I thought that this wasn’t the entrance I was looking for and left to find another door.  I went to the west door on 12th Street and found it locked with a sign that had me going back to the south door. Well, now I was determined and so went back to the south door and went through security. Why security? Turns out the building is federal (duh…Post Office) and owned by the GSA. On entering, I was shocked…the place was a ghost town. Just a few shops open and all of them had signs that announced their closure. Seems like Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka are leasing the building from GSA and will turn it into a luxury hotel. Based on the Trump reputation, I’m guessing that GSA didn’t do well on the negotiations.My first impression was one of nostalgic sorrow, here was this national landmark being repurposed into a hotel for the Trumps! But later on that evening, I was talking to a lady who lives in Chinatown. She was taking photos of the Washington Monument at the same time and place as I and we talked for quite a while. Her opinion was that without people like Trump, buildings like the Post Office would rot away. She was happy that the building was going to be preserved and she hoped it would still be available for people to go into the Tower.The shot below is taken from the mezzanine looking down the grand staircase to the first floor. The place used to be a bustling, laughter filled space. This was taken at 4:00 on a Saturday. Almost empty. I wonder.

I needed a coffee during my walkabout on Saturday and was passing by the Old Post Office. I hadn’t been there in over 15 years but I remembered that the place was filled with small shops and cafes. Opening the door on the south side of the building I found a descending stairwell with security guards on the lower landing. The stairs up were blocked. Well, I thought that this wasn’t the entrance I was looking for and left to find another door.  I went to the west door on 12th Street and found it locked with a sign that had me going back to the south door. Well, now I was determined and so went back to the south door and went through security. Why security? Turns out the building is federal (duh…Post Office) and owned by the GSA. On entering, I was shocked…the place was a ghost town. Just a few shops open and all of them had signs that announced their closure. Seems like Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka are leasing the building from GSA and will turn it into a luxury hotel. Based on the Trump reputation, I’m guessing that GSA didn’t do well on the negotiations.My first impression was one of nostalgic sorrow, here was this national landmark being repurposed into a hotel for the Trumps! But later on that evening, I was talking to a lady who lives in Chinatown. She was taking photos of the Washington Monument at the same time and place as I and we talked for quite a while. Her opinion was that without people like Trump, buildings like the Post Office would rot away. She was happy that the building was going to be preserved and she hoped it would still be available for people to go into the Tower.The shot below is taken from the mezzanine looking down the grand staircase to the first floor. The place used to be a bustling, laughter filled space. This was taken at 4:00 on a Saturday. Almost empty. I wonder.