I couldn't believe this when I saw the report this morning and then heard about it on WAMU. Three years working in the Eastern Market area of Capitol Hill meant that I hung out at Eastern Market. I bought food there for company BBQs and took home cheeses and produce. The fire has devasted the facility, but Mayor Fenty has said he'll rebuild. Thankfully, no one was killed in the blaze that started last night. My biggest worry now is for the merchants and for the community that counted on people stopping by other stores when they stopped by the Market.

Eastern Market reminded me of several old-style markets in Philadelphia and Baltimore. I grew up going to Reading Market and the Italian Market in downtown Philly. I remember working in Baltimore and visiting Lexington Market over by Shock Trauma by the University of Maryland Baltimore. I worked for several years in Fells Point where I used to hang out every morning and lunchtime at the Broadway Market. These old cavernous buildings with stalls of meat, produce and fish lining the walls and center areas were the cornerstone of community. You would see people who you lived with, worked with, or just met at the market. These places were always alive when the doors were open; people running in and out, scurrying about, picking up last minute items or stocking up for the week.